BIRTHDAY boy Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he would have passed on the celebrations to have won his quarter-final against Stuart Bingham.

The Rocket, who marked his 38th year with a 6-4 defeat, played down the landmark in the run-up to the match.

And after exiting at the last eight, the world champion said: “I would rather have not had a birthday and won the match.

“It’s just one of those things.”

On Bingham’s performance, O’Sullivan added: “He played a fantastic match and has had another brilliant tournament.

“He’s an in-form player doing it season after season and you just have to congratulate him on a fantastic performance and wish him the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.

“It just shows the character of the guy. He’s able to do it under pressure now and this stage doesn’t faze him.”

O’Sullivan, above, hit two centuries during the match, and added: “I give it my best in every match and that’s all you can do. I came up against a better guy. It just goes to show that centuries win you frames but they don’t win you matches.

“Sometimes you have to win the early ones and that’s probably where I lost it. I didn’t compete as well, Stuart got the better of me, but that’s what happens when you get to the quarter-finals of the second biggest event. It’s where the cream comes to the top.”