Cheung rallies past O'Sullivan as Trump also exits Northern Ireland Open

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump were both beaten 4-3 in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open on Monday, adding to a series of early exits for leading players in Belfast. According to BBC Sport, Hong Kong's Ka Wai Cheung won the final three frames against O'Sullivan, while Martin O'Donnell defeated Trump in another deciding-frame finish at the Waterfront Hall.

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Cheung, ranked 110th in the world, secured his first main-draw knockout victory at a ranking event. The 27-year-old took the opening frame before O'Sullivan answered with three successive frames, compiling breaks of 56, 138 and 72 to establish a 3-1 advantage. That left O'Sullivan one frame from victory, but Cheung recovered to book a meeting with Stuart Bingham for a place in the last 16.

The comeback began after O'Sullivan missed a red in the fifth frame. Cheung made 88 to reduce the deficit, then followed with 77 to bring the match level. Another miss by O'Sullivan opened the door in the decider, and Cheung produced a break of 61 to complete the turnaround. Speaking to BBC Sport NI afterwards, Cheung said he was pleased with his performance under pressure and described beating O'Sullivan as a particularly satisfying experience.

O'Donnell's victory over Trump followed a different pattern. He moved ahead three times, only for Trump to equalise on each occasion, before winning the seventh frame. World number three Trump made breaks of 91, 94 and 52, but O'Donnell, ranked 56th, recorded three breaks of at least 50 and earned his first victory over the former world champion.

For O'Sullivan, the defeat marked an unsuccessful return to competition in the United Kingdom after his 13-12 second-round loss to John Higgins at April's World Championship. The world number 13 was appearing at the Northern Ireland Open for the first time since 2022. His previous participation in a Home Nations event had been at the 2024 English Open.

Other Monday results included Daniel Wells beating Barry Hawkins 4-2 and Jamie Jones overcoming Chris Wakelin 4-1. Kyren Wilson, the 2024 Northern Ireland Open champion, advanced with a 4-0 win against Ben Mertens, while Luca Brecel defeated Lei Peifan 4-1. Those results followed Sunday's departures of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Xiao Guodong, Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter.