Ronnie O’Sullivan, who hit the headlines earlier in the week after it was revealed he will defend his Masters crown with a bizarrely purple-coloured cue, endured a disappointing end to his Championship League debut – after suffering defeat in his final two matches of the evening.

The outspoken snooker idol was defeated 3-1 by Ali Carter and 3-0 by Neil Robertson on Wednesday evening, but prior to that, beat Mark Selby 3-2 and Marco Fu 3-0 in Group Two of the Essex tournament.

Displaying glimpses of his best form, including one particularly eye-catching century of 138, the 34-year-old sealed £700 in prize money after winning half of his 14 frames.

Despite beating the Rocket, Carter had earlier slipped to a 3-0 defeat to the reigning champion Judd Trump, before an equally uninspiring 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Selby.

Perhaps the 30-year-old was saving his best form for the current Masters champion, as he needed just four frames to produce one of the shocks of the evening at Crandon Park.

However, Carter did see off John Higgins, 3-1, in the opening match of Group Two, bringing his prize money total to £600 at the end of the session.

Meanwhile, the Australian, Robertson, could only muster one victory on his first day of the tournament; but it came against the star name.

A 3-0 demolition of O’Sullivan will have inspired a lot of confidence ahead of the Masters. The pair are set to meet in Round 2 of the famous tournament on Tuesday afternoon for a place in the quarter-finals.

Group Two will resume – and conclude – today, with the likes of O’Sullivan, Robertson, Selby and Higgins all vying for a place in the winners’ group.

Rob Swan