Ronnie O’Sullivan tickled pink by ‘Mr Bean’ antics of rival Dechawat Poomjaeng

World number one O’Sullivan came from two frames down to progress against the Thai player.

Ronnie O’Sullivan was amused by the performance of Dechawat Poomjaeng, pictured (Richard Sellers/PA) (PA Archive)

World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan compared charismatic opponent Dechawat Poomjaeng to Mr Bean after overturning a two-frame deficit to reach the last 32 of the English Open.

Poomjaeng, who regained professional status in August following a five-year absence, was on course for a major upset after scraping the second frame in Brentwood on a respotted black.

The Thai player kept the crowd entertained with some captivating antics around the table but ultimately fell short of masterminding a shock in a 4-2 loss.

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, who battled back to set up a meeting with Martin Gould, admitted he was amused by his rival’s behaviour, likening him to Rowan Atkinson’s famous comedy creation.

“I thought there was no point just trying to play straightforward snooker, let’s just have a laugh,” O’Sullivan, who made a break of 104 in the penultimate frame, told wst.tv.

“I went for some doubles and trebles, some of them went in, crazy things can happen when you go for it.

“He’s like a Mr Bean type character, he pulls these funny faces and his mannerisms – he should go into comedy, he’d be a great character.

“I was enjoying just going for my shots and trying to make something happen.”

In the pick of Wednesday’s last-32 matches, Mark Allen produced another stunning comeback to once again get the better of Ding Junhui.

Allen, who battled back from 6-1 down to defeat Ding 10-7 in last month’s UK Championship final, recovered from 3-1 behind on this occasion, securing the final three frames with breaks of 86, 94 and 113.

John Higgins pulled off a similar comeback in his 4-3 victory over Robert Milkins, while 2020 champion Judd Trump opened with a knock of 118 as he eased past Fraser Patrick 4-0, and Mark Selby overcame Wu Yize 4-1.

Australia’s Neil Robertson beat Elliot Slessor 4-0 but world number seven Kyren Wilson lost 4-1 to Jamie Jones.

Elsewhere in the last-64 matches, Jack Lisowski, Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy and Luca Brecel were among those to join O’Sullivan in progressing.