World Snooker results: Ronnie O'Sullivan beaten by Stuart Bingham in the World Championship quarter-finals

The Rocket's 22nd quarter-final on this stage was perfectly poised at the beginning of the third and final session of this engrossing affair, 16 frames unable separate the two men, but with the scores level at 10-10, it was the underdog who reeled off the next three frames to march into the last four.

O'Sullivan's exit wasn't short of talking points - the first coming in the 12th frame when he was hailed for his sportsmanship after seeming to play safe rather than opting to pot a red close to the black because he believed the black had not been spotted correctly.

The 23-time Triple Crown winner, who won his eighth Masters and eighth UK Championship earlier this campaign, repeatedly asked referee Desislava Bozhilova to replace the ball because he believed it was rolling fractionally off its spot, which incorrectly gave him an opportunity to pot it.

He was 14 points behind at the time and on a break of 20 and although he crucially went on to lose the frame, his gesture, was branded "the greatest bit of sportsmanship I’ve ever seen” by Neil Robertson on the BBC.

O’Sullivan later had another incident with Bozhilova, telling her to “chill” after she asked him to resume playing while play had to stop for some spectators to retake their seats in the arena.

On the act of sportsmanship, the Rocket told Eurosport: “To be honest with you, some of the refs, I think they’ve got it in for me, so I just wanted to prove to her that she got it wrong.

“I didn’t feel good about potting the ball after that, but I just wanted to make the point. The point was made. I’m not that hungry to win it in that way, so once the principle’s been made I can sleep at night.”

He later changed his tune with the press, insisting: “I won’t be commenting on players or referees, it’s not worth it. I’ll keep silent on that sort of stuff. I won’t comment on players and I won’t comment on referees. I just leave it as it is. My life’s too good and I don’t need the hassle.”

On the match itself, O'Sullivan said: "I quite enjoyed it. I like the fight. A lot of the time I haven’t had the fight. It’s just about controlling that sort of temper. I used to get angry and it would last for 20 minutes but now I can pretty much delete it and it doesn’t affect my performance."

Then he revealed he only decided to participate at the Crucible after the involvement of a new sponsor.

He said: “Rule number is just to enjoy what you do. I’m contracted to do certain events in China, contracted to do my own shows in China, contracted to go to Saudi Arabia. Obviously they’ve got first dibs. Then it’s like spending time at home with the family.

"I wasn’t going to playing in this one until a new sponsor came along, and they twisted my arm.

“If I hadn't have come here I would have done (punditry) days with Eurosport. They’ve been pretty good with me. I wanted to fulfil that.

“There are so many things to do in my life, man. I have such a busy, good life. Probably done painting with Damien Hirst, ate good food, taken the dogs out, seen my children, gone to Champney’s Spa.

“It might sound boring to you but it’s bloody exciting to me.”

WATCH: WILL THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STAY AT THE CRUCIBLE?

The early throws of the session again saw the two trade punches as the terrific standard showed no signs of relenting and when O'Sullivan produced a run of 62 to level at 10-10, many might have expected it would be he who landed the knockout blow.

It wasn't. A missed red with the rest from O'Sullivan allowed Bingham to move 11-10 in front and he followed up with a fabulous 104 break to move within a frame of a famous victory.

There was drama to come as Bingham almost suffered a late scare.

That came when Bingham inexplicably missed a simple pink to middle when 52-0 ahead in frame 23 and the 2015 champion must have feared the worst as O'Sullivan began to clear the table, pulling off a series of daring pots until finally coming unstuck when faced with a tricky path from yellow to green.

O'Sullivan tried to power the yellow into its pocket but when the pocket refused, a relieved Bingham was handed another chance which he gleefully accepted with both hands and keep alive his hopes of becoming a multiple world champion.

For O'Sullivan, who knows what the future holds. One thing is certain: number eight will have to wait.

WATCH: WHERE ARE THE NEXT SNOOKER STARS COMING FROM?

World Snooker Championship: Draw and round-by-round results

ROUND ONE

Best of 19 frames (April 20-25)

• (1) Luca Brecel 9-10 David Gilbert
• (16) Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu
• (9) Ali Carter 7-10 Stephen Maguire
• (8) Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian
• (5) Mark Selby 6-10 Joe O’Connor
• (12) Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
• (13) John Higgins 10-6 Jamie Jones
• (4) Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
• (3) Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei
• (14) Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden
• (11) Zhang Anda 4-10 Jak Jones
• (6) Mark Williams 9-10 Si Jiahui
• (7) Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
• (10) Gary Wilson 5-10 Stuart Bingham
• (15) Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day
• (2) Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-1 Jackson Page

ROUND TWO

Best of 25 frames (April 25-29)

• David Gilbert 13-4 Robert Milkins (16)
• Stephen Maguire 13-9 Shaun Murphy (8)
• Joe O'Connor 6-13 Kyren Wilson (12)
• (13) John Higgins 13-12 Mark Allen (4)
• (3) Judd Trump 13-7 Tom Ford (14)
• Jak Jones 13-9 Si Jiahui
• Jack Lisowski 11-13 Stuart Bingham
• Ryan Day 7-13 Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)

QUARTER-FINALS

Best of 25 frames (All matches April 30-May 1)

• David Gilbert 13-8 Stephen Maguire (QF 1)
• (12) Kyren Wilson 13-8 John Higgins (13) (QF 2)
• (3) Judd Trump 9-13 Jak Jones (QF 3)
• Stuart Bingham 13-10 Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) (QF 4)

SEMI-FINALS

Best of 33 frames (May 2-4)

• David Gilbert v Kyren Wilson (SF 1)
• Jak Jones v Stuart Bingham (SF 2)

FINAL

Best of 35 frames (May 5-6)

• Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2

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