Ronnie O’Sullivan, the world's number one snooker player, has lost out on a £52,000 prize fund after losing 10-8 to Englishman, Ricky Walden, in the Shanghai Masters tournament. O’Sullivan said that his defeat was a disappointment but nothing less than he deserved: "There's no excuse. I just have to keep working hard and hope the results come."

Walden is currently ranked 17th in the world (up from 35th) and performed consistently well in both the Belgium Open and in a second Chinese tournament contested last July. Despite being handed abysmal odds by the bookies, Walden squashed both Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis on his way to the final. The youngster also secured convincing victories against Australian player, Neil Robertson, and Masters Champion, Mark Selby.

Walden’s victory in China marked the first time that he has won a major tournament since he turned professional. The former under-21 champion is planning to take his friends to Las Vegas to celebrate his recent success but has made no joke about the difficult task ahead of him. His recent run of form has given him a lot of confidence in his abilities but he is aware that his fans will expect bigger and greater things from him in the future.

The Glasgow Grand Prix began on Saturday 11th October and has since seen both Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis progress to the second round. Unfortunately, despite his performance at the Shanghai Masters, Ricky Walden lost 5-4 in a difficult match against world number 8, Ryan Day. Ronnie O’Sullivan will face 21 year old Chinese player, Liang Wenbo, later today (14th October).