Ronnie O'Sullivan left red-faced after 'this geezer can't play' quip after Kyren Wilson match

Ronnie O'Sullivan issued a damning, but ultimately redemptive, assessment of Lei Peifan after the young star's nail-biting over in the . Lei's remarkable win shocked many and knocked out the title defender, prompting to remember his initial, unimpressed view of the 21-year-old.

"I played him a couple of times and I thought, 'this geezer can't play'," O'Sullivan, 49, admitted on TNT Sports after the match. "His cue action was all over the place, he was missing a lot of balls. It was one of them where I thought he's going nowhere, this guy."

The veteran's remarks painted Lei as raw and unrefined in their early meetings. But that perception was turned on its head with the poise Lei displayed against the World No. 2.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

This latest performance proved that Lei has both the composure and skill to handle pressure on the biggest stage. O'Sullivan also pointed to Lei's recent Scottish Open campaign, where he stormed back from 5-3 down to defeat 6-5 in the semi-final, before going on to topple Wu Yize for the title.

"To do that against someone like Mark Allen, who is an unbelievable match player, is something," O'Sullivan said. "He just plays his game and he is a very, very, very good match player with a great temperament."

He continued: "A lot of these Chinese players come over and are incredible. Look at [Zhao] Xintong at 15, he beat 6-1 and made three centuries, but some of them come over and don't look great. He [Lei] won that tournament and now you watch him play and think he's a handful for anyone."

Wilson's early exit meant he became the latest player to fall prey to the long-standing 'Crucible Curse' - a streak in which no first-time champion has defended their title since the event shifted to Sheffield in 1977. Though Wilson didn’t perform poorly, O'Sullivan suggested his may have left him fatigued.

"I always text Kyren through the season because I get on quite well with him," the Englishman revealed. "He has gone deep in a lot of tournaments, won a lot of tournaments... [but] I think he played in too many tournaments that he didn't need to play in.

"To win this World Championship, alright you need to be playing well, but you need at some point, around February, remember that it is all about the World Championship. I saw him playing and then the next day he’s in Leicester for seven or eight days. I'd be thinking I want to go and chill out and put your cue down.

"It is a very fine line but you want to come here with a spring in your step and play yourself into form, rather than being at your limit, because it probably will go the other way.

"I think Kyren could have missed a few tournaments because he didn't necessarily need to play then," O'Sullivan added.

"This is the one you want to win, you want to come in a little undercooked. Take a month off from playing... You need to be feeling fresher for this tournament. You need to be feeling ready and strong for the quarters and the semis. To me, I think he's played too much match snooker."

Next up, Lei will challenge either Jak Jones or Zhao Xintong. O'Sullivan begins his Crucible campaign on Tuesday against , with the winner advancing to face Zhang Anda or Pang Junxu in round two.