Ronnie O’Sullivan Powers Through to 14th Crucible Semi-Final
Ronnie O’Sullivan has reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship for a record 14th time, overcoming China’s Si Jiahui 13-9 in a hard-fought match at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
The victory sets up a semi-final clash for O’Sullivan against fellow Englishman Zhao Xintong, who defeated Chris Wakelin 13-5 in their quarter-final match. O’Sullivan, known as "The Rocket," is seeking to surpass Stephen Hendry’s record of seven World Championship titles and claim his eighth crown.
According to Sky Sports, O’Sullivan held off a spirited fightback from Si Jiahui to take a 6-2 lead into the second day of their quarter-final match. He extended his advantage to 7-2 on Wednesday morning, capitalizing on a mistake from Si to take the opening frame of the morning session.
Si Jiahui, a semi-finalist on his Crucible debut two years ago, staged a brief resurgence to reduce the deficit to 9-6, but O’Sullivan responded with a 64 break to take the final frame of the session and move 10-6 ahead. Si closed to within two frames at 10-8, but O’Sullivan produced a superb break to edge ahead to 11-8.
As reported by Sky Sports, Si won the next frame to keep his hopes alive, but O’Sullivan ultimately secured the win with a pair of impressive clearances.
In the other semi-final, Judd Trump will face Mark Williams, having come from behind to defeat Luca Brecel 13-8. Trump, the world number one, trailed 7-5 and 8-7 but produced a stunning evening session to reel off five consecutive frames and seal his place in the last four.
As quoted in the Sky Sports article, O’Sullivan said: "I got off the hook again. He played pretty poorly in the first two sessions and he did better in the third session but he didn’t finish the frames off and I stole a few. I have relied on other people to win and that doesn’t feel good for me. I always feel better when I force the opening and put the pressure on my opponents."
O’Sullivan added: "I’ve probably played the worst snooker out of everybody at this tournament. I feel like I’ve been so poor I’ve put my opponents off a bit. But when you get to this stage you’ve got to play well, and I’m going to have to find something to get past Zhao Xintong."
The semi-final matches are scheduled to take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with the final set to be played on Sunday and Monday.
World Snooker Championship Quarter-Finals:
- John Higgins (3) 12-13 Mark Williams (6)
- Zhao Xintong 13-5 Chris Wakelin
- Luca Brecel (7) 8-13 Judd Trump (2)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) 13-9 Si Jiahui (13)
Semi-Finals:
- Thursday May 1: Zhao Xintong vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (from 1pm), Mark Williams vs Judd Trump (from 7pm)
- Friday May 2: Zhao Xintong vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (from 10am), Mark Williams vs Judd Trump (from 2.30pm)
- Saturday May 3: Mark Williams vs Judd Trump (from 10am), Zhao Xintong vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (from 2.30pm)
Final:
- Sunday May 4: 13:00-18:00, 19:00-22:00
- Monday May 5: 13:00-16:00, 19:00-22:00
