Ronnie O'Sullivan's bid to regain form suffered a setback as he was eliminated from the Shenzhen Open by world number 64 Jiang Jun. The match, held recently, marked O'Sullivan’s first competitive outing since reaching the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open in August.

The 21-year-old Jiang delivered a strong performance, securing a 5-2 victory highlighted by a commanding 108 break. O'Sullivan, a seven-time world champion widely regarded as one of the greatest players in snooker history, appeared uncharacteristically off pace. He struggled early on, missing straightforward shots that allowed Jiang to establish a 2-0 lead. Although O'Sullivan fought back with breaks of 92 and 52 to level the score, Jiang regained control by winning three consecutive frames after the mid-session interval.

O'Sullivan had previously described his recent struggles as a "disease" affecting his game and had set an 18-month timeframe to attempt to revive his career. This latest result raises questions about his continued competitiveness on the professional circuit.

In other Shenzhen Open second-round matches, Judd Trump advanced with a commanding 5-0 win over Huang Jiahao. Meanwhile, the defending champion Mark Williams was narrowly defeated 5-4 by Fan Zhengyi.