O'Sullivan fights back to defeat Wilson in Saudi

a day ago

Ronnie O'Sullivan fought back from 5-3 down to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5 as he reached the Saudi Arabia Masters semi-finals.Seven-time world champion O'Sullivan made breaks of 88 and 116 to establish an early 2-1 lead before Wilson - who won the recent Shanghai Masters having beaten the 49-year-old at the same stage - knocked in four half centuries to move within a frame of victory in the best-of-11 encounter. But 'The Rocket', who has not won a ranking event for 19 months and has barely played competitively since January, compiled breaks of 110 and 118 as he reeled off the next three frames to triumph from behind for a second consecutive match.O'Sullivan will face Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals of a tournament which offers a £500,000 top prize and is regarded as snooker's 'fourth major' by organisers."It was a tough match and I had to rely on Kyren to make a few mistakes," said O'Sullivan."I felt OK all night but I am still not playing enough good shots consecutively. I throw in some bad ones. I can use my experience, be patient and make it hard for my opponent."I get treated very well here, so to do well in this tournament was a big ambition. Now I'm in the semis, I'd like to do even better. We both had great support tonight from the fans, they were cheering my name at the end. "I guess they remember seeing me when I was young and now I'm nearly 50, so 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 win over current world champion Zhao Xintong by defeating his fellow Englishman Barry Hawkins by the same scoreline.The 33-year-old is now guaranteed £100,000, the largest amount he has earned from one tournament.Hawkins became the latest victim of snooker's so-called 'Ding Curse'. On each of the past 22 occasions that Ding Junhui has lost in a tournament, the player to knock him out - in this case Hawkins - has lost in the next round.Meanwhile, Elliot Slessor overcame a former Crucible winner in a deciding frame for a third consecutive day as he advanced past Mark Williams. Slessor, who had already beaten John Higgins and Stuart Bingham, delivered four half centuries and a break of 130 before winning a tense 11th frame and will now play former practice partner Neil Robertson, who beat the in-form Ali Carter 6-4.

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Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters LIVE RESULTS: Ronnie O'Sullivan to face Robertson in final after hitting TWO historic 147s

The Sun

14 minutes ago

The Sun

Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters LIVE RESULTS: Ronnie O'Sullivan to face Robertson in final after hitting TWO historic 147s

Super semis Welcome back to SunSport's coverage of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, and we have reached what is expected to be a blockbuster semi-final stage. One hundred and twenty-eight WST stars started in the field at the iconic Green Halls alongside 16 wild cards from Saudi. Judd Trump returned as defending champion after he beat Mark Williams 10-9 in a match of the year contender to win the inaugural title last year. But the World No 1 surprisingly went crashing out at the first hurdle following a 5-3 loss to Oliver Lines. This then opened the door for Seven-time world champ Ronnie O'Sullivan to take the crown in Saudi after his disappointing quarter-final defeat to Kyren Wilson at the Shanghai Masters. And he is just two wins away from claiming the huge jackpot after beating Kyren Wilson 6-5 in yesterday's nailbiting quarter-final.

Ronnie O'Sullivan makes historic two 147s in stunning Saudi Arabia Masters semi

Metro

43 minutes ago

Metro

Ronnie O'Sullivan makes historic two 147s in stunning Saudi Arabia Masters semi

Ronnie O'Sullivan has made two 147s in his Saudi Arabia Masters semi-final with Chris Wakelin, banking a £147,000 bonus for his efforts. The Rocket has become only the second player ever to make two maximums in the same game after Jackson Page did so in World Championship qualifying last season. In making his first 147 of the evening in Jeddah, O'Sullivan became the oldest player to make a professional maximum at 49 years old. The second maximum of the night beat his own record by a couple of hours. The seven-time world champion made the perfect start to the match by making his first 147 in the opening frame. Further illustrating that he was in sparkling form, he knocked in a break of 142 in the second frame, but Chris Wakelin deserved credit for how he dug in. The underdog was not overawed and scrapped his way back to 3-3 in a race to six, but then came more perfection from the Rocket. It was in the seventh frame that the second 147 arrived, playing a brilliant final red down the cushion to keep his hopes alive and then delivering the max. There is a £147,000 bonus on offer for any player who makes two maximums over the Saudi Arabia Masters, UK Championship, Masters and World Championship. More Trending O'Sullivan has needed just one of those events to land the hefty financial prize, and it is a very profitable week indeed for him in Jeddah. He is already guaranteed £100,000 for his run to the semi-final, with the runner-up taking home £200,000 and the champion claiming £500,000 on Saturday. The £147,000 bonus could actually be claimed again by O'Sullivan if he can make two more maximums over the remainder of the major events this season as up to three of the prizes can be dished out. More to follow… MORE: Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2025 results, schedule, TV channel and prize money MORE: How Chang Bingyu has exploded back from match-fixing ban to become snooker force MORE: Ronnie O'Sullivan heaps praise on rival: 'Like playing Hendry in his prime'

O'Sullivan becomes oldest player to make 147 break

BBC News

2 hours ago

BBC News

O'Sullivan becomes oldest player to make 147 break

Ronnie O'Sullivan became the oldest player to make a 147 break after compiling a maximum in the opening frame of his Saudi Arabia Masters semi-final against Chris was a stunning exhibition of cue-ball control from 'The Rocket', who knocked in 15 reds with 15 blacks before dispatching all the colours to register the 16th total clearance of his career in Jeddah - and his first in competition for seven 49 years and 253 days, O'Sullivan last recorded a competitive maximum during the 2018 English Open. The seven-time world champion's tally of 16 is three more than that of John Higgins, who is a fellow member of snooker's fabled 'Class of 92'.O'Sullivan, who followed up with a break of 142 in the second frame and led 3-1 at the mid-session interval, is aiming to win a first ranking event for 19 months. He is in line to share a £50,000 147 bonus with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who knocked in the third maximum of the season earlier this week. Both players will also collect a further £147,000 if they are able to make another 147 at any of this season's Triple Crown events - the UK Championship, Masters and World Friday's earlier last-four match - at a tournament regarded as snooker's 'fourth major' by organisers - Neil Robertson claimed a 6-3 win over Elliot neither player was at their best, the rejuvenated Australian was always in control and enjoyed two runs of 93 and a 50 as he reached the 39th ranking final of his career."The start was crucial today, I could see Elliot was a bit nervous and I was able to use my experience," said 2010 Crucible winner Robertson."To get to the final is huge in terms of ranking points, it means I should be in all of the big events later in the season which makes my scheduling so much easier. "I took that for granted a few years ago when I was always in the top four. The standard is so high now that I have realised you have to keep your foot down all the time. A lot of hard work has happened to get these kind of results."