Ronnie O’Sullivan admits he ‘dragged Neil Robertson down to his level’ in Players Championship defeat

Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he deserved to lose to Neil Robertson after bringing the Australian ‘down to his level.’

Robertson reached the semi-finals of the Cazoo Players Championship with a convincing 6-3 victory over the Rocket.

‘He was good,’ admitted O’Sullivan.

‘I dragged him down to my level a bit and he missed a few and allowed me to get back into it.

‘He was much the better player and I just tried to hang in there and see what happened. When you start snatching at shots it’s hard.

‘If you don’t cue the ball smoothly it becomes a difficult game. Neil is an incredible cueist and gets through the ball so well.

‘You have to cue well and play well to stay with that. I was bits and pieces. I suppose that’s what happens later in your career, you get a few more matches that are not really good enough.’

The Masters champion won three consecutive frames as he stormed to a 4-1 lead in front of a jubilant Wolverhampton crowd, notching an early break of 79.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Remember when Ronnie O’Sullivan needed snookers? ð #CazooSeries pic.twitter.com/bq0SWfBMjR

O’Sullivan replied with a break of his own with a 98 before his opponent rattled off breaks of 52, 82 and 80 to take control of the match.

The six-time world champion responded with a 90 break in the sixth frame to reduce the deficit to one but Robertson eventually held his nerve to progress.

Robertson will play the winner of the last quarter-final between Jimmy Robertson and John Higgins while either Ricky Walden or Barry Hawkins await in the final.

‘Any little mistake I was making or any sign of giving him any encouragement the crowd were taking the opportunity,’ said Robertson, reflecting on his win.

‘A lot of players struggle in that environment but I’ve