Ronnie O’Sullivan has advanced to his 95th ranking event semi-final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan mounted a comeback from a 5-3 deficit to secure a 6-5 victory over Kyren Wilson, earning him a place in the Saudi Arabia Masters semi-finals.
O’Sullivan, the seven-time world champion, constructed breaks of 88 and 116 to take an initial 2-1 lead. However, Wilson, fresh off his Shanghai Masters win where he defeated O’Sullivan at the same stage, responded with four half-centuries to move within a single frame of victory in the best-of-11 encounter.
‘The Rocket’, absent from ranking event winner’s circles for the past 19 months and with limited competitive play since January, then showcased his prowess with breaks of 110 and 118, claiming the subsequent three frames to seal a come-from-behind win for the second match in a row.
O’Sullivan is set to face Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals of the tournament, which boasts a top prize of £500,000 and is being touted by organizers as snooker’s ‘fourth major’.
“It was a challenging match, and I relied on Kyren making a few errors,” O’Sullivan commented.
“I felt alright throughout the night, but I’m still not consistently stringing together enough good shots. I’m still throwing in some bad ones. I can utilize my experience, remain patient, and make it difficult for my opponent.”
“I am very well-treated here, so performing well in this tournament was a significant ambition. Now that I’m in the semis, I aspire to do even better. We both received great support from the fans tonight, who were cheering my name at the end.”
“I suppose they remember seeing me when I was young, and now that I’m nearly 50, they know I won’t be around for much longer, and they want to see me play well towards the end of my career.”
Wakelin followed up his 6-5 victory over current world champion Zhao Xintong by defeating fellow Englishman Barry Hawkins with the same scoreline.
The 33-year-old is now guaranteed £100,000, marking his largest single-tournament earnings to date.
Hawkins became the latest victim of snooker’s so-called ‘Ding Curse’. In each of the past 22 instances where Ding Junhui has lost in a tournament, the player who eliminated him – in this case, Hawkins – has lost in the subsequent round.
Meanwhile, Elliot Slessor overcame a former Crucible winner in a deciding frame for the third consecutive day as he advanced past Mark Williams.
Slessor, having already defeated John Higgins and Stuart Bingham, delivered four half-centuries and a break of 130 before winning a tense 11th frame. He will now face former practice partner Neil Robertson, who overcame the in-form Ali Carter 6-4.