Can Ronnie O'Sullivan win another world title?

Five-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday after losing 13-9 to fellow Englishman Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals in Sheffield.

The 39-year-old O'Sullivan - who has reached the final for the past three years - fought back from 5-3 down to lead 9-8, but Bingham reeled off five frames in a row to reach the last four for the first time.

It has been an eventful tournament for world number two O'Sullivan who played part of his first-round match without shoes on, was reprimanded for making an obscene gesture and illegally used his chalk to help line up a shot.

Bingham, world number 10, will play Judd Trump in the semi-finals after the Englishman overwhelmed China's Ding Junhui 13-4.

Ronnie O'Sullivan heaped praise on fellow Englishman Bingham, and admitted he deserved to lose the match after struggling to find his best form.

"Well done to Stuart. He's been playing some great snooker for the past four or five years. He is one of the top players now. He played a good match. Tonight he was fantastic. I was well off the pace, and he just pushed me around really for the whole match. I felt the second-best player for the whole match really," said O'Sullivan.

"I can't make any excuses about what happened. It was all there for everyome to see. Everybody can make up their own minds about it. I was off the pace, and I think if you are not committed to playing a lot of events like the other players, I think that is going to happen. It does catch up with you. I have got no complaints. I was the second best player and I deserved to lose the match really. I was trying my hardest, but you can't start looking for form here.

"It is a busy schedule. And a lot of these guys are really sharp. I made so many unforced errors. I might have gotten away with it before, but nowadays you get punished by the players. I'm not surprised (by my defeat). I don't know if the game is getting away from me.."

O'Sullivan will be 40 at the next World Championship, but remains convinced he has the game to win a sixth title at the Crucible despite the disappointment of losing in the last eight this time. It is the first time since losing to John Higgins in the 2011 quarter-finals that he has not contested the final.

"I suppose eventually there has to be a changing of the guard in any sport. Everybody has their time. I've had 20 years. Neil (Robertson), (Mark) Selby, Ding (Junhui), Judd....there are some really good players out there. I will be hurt about losing, but I will get over it. It is back to normal tomorrow. Life has to go on, and it will go on. I didn't deserve to win, but I'm not prepared to live out of a suitcase either going to every tournament, and if you don't do that you are going to lose momentum. I've got a nice girlfriend, and life is good at home. As long as I don't embarrass myself, I'll be back here. If I was prepared to put a work in, I've still got the game to win another world title."

The Shanghai Masters champion Bingham cut an emotional figure, but felt O'Sullivan "wasn't at the races" in the match.

"I had a little tear after that. To get to the semi-finals and the one table set-up is brilliant. I phoned my wife. She is at home looking after the kids. I didn't play that great in the first two sessions, but tonight I hardly missed a ball. He was struggling a little bit. The ref seemed to be getting on his nerves. He (O'Sullivan) kept speaking to the ref, saying get out of the way. And this and that. When you are not focused, you see all that. I thought the referee was fine. He seemed to have a few distractions. And you could see he wasn't at the races."

Bingham believes there are more world titles in O'Sullivan if he is hungry enough and his attitude is right.

"He can't say that (his time has come and gone). He is the best player in the world. No doubt about that. He wasn't today, but he is the best player in the world. Time is catching up with him? I'm only six months younger than him. I heard him say I was a bit more hungry than him, but I'd be hungry to chase my sixth world title. Don't you worry about that."

Ronnie said he was not feeling the "World Championship buzz" after his 13-5 win over Matthew Stevens in the last 16. It was quite apt because he produced a flat performance by his own astonishing high standards in losing to Bingham. Seven-times champion Stephen Hendry said on Tuesday that O'Sullivan did not have the focus for the assignment of winning the tournament. How right he was.

No disrespect to Bingham, who is a fine, fine player, but O'Sullivan should be clearing such hurdles. It just proves that no sportsman is infallible if they are not truly committed. He could have no complaints about losing because he was never at his best. Can he win a sixth world title in future? Of course, he has several more attempts to win it, but it is all down to him.

If he is not feeling the buzz. Or his hunger is on the wane, he might finish on five. The challenge now is to become the first man in their 40s to succeed at the Crucible. He will be among the favourites next year, but the competition is fierce. As Bingham suggests, it would be an act of folly to say O'Sullivan is finished, but in future he must learn to lighten up, focus on snooker, keep his shoes on and forgot about berating referees during matches. Which is easier said than done when it comes to snooker's greatest player. And arguably its most controversial figure.