XI’AN GRAND PRIX SNOOKER: KYREN WILSON HOLDS OFF RONNIE O’SULLIVAN RECOVERY TO REACH FINAL
Ronnie O’Sullivan struggled with his cue action during his 6-4 semi-final defeat to Kyren Wilson in the Xi’an Grand Prix semi-finals, but almost battled back from 5-1 behind to force a decider against the world champion. The seven-time Crucible winner opted to change hands several times after edging Matthew Selt 5-4 in the last eight. Judd Trump and Daniel Wells contest the second semi-final.
World champion Kyren Wilson was forced to hold off an unlikely Ronnie O’Sullivan recovery to book his place in the Xi’an Grand Prix final at the Qujiang E-sports Centre with a battling 6-4 semi-final win.
With O’Sullivan clearly struggling for consistency for large swathes of the contest, Wilson looked likely to enjoy a comfortable passage to the final in moving 5-1 clear of the seven-time world champion with breaks of 57, 74, 64 and 74 leaving him on the cusp of victory.
Despite making 78 in the third frame, the Essex player seemed unsettled on the shot in his 93rd career semi-final as he opted to play left-handed several times when the mood took him in trying to find some momentum.
But a few untimely errors among the balls from Wilson seemed to give O’Sullivan the lifeline he needed as he closed to 5-3 behind with breaks of 87 and 55 before winning the ninth frame 65-58 after a brilliant 37 clearance on a re-spotted black with an audacious double that thrilled the packed crowd.
Both men left the arena with snooker GOAT O’Sullivan shaking his head in amusement amid the bedlam, but it was Wilson who returned the stronger as a terrific long red enabled him to embark upon a composed match-winning contribution of 102.
While O’Sullivan, who also reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters last month, will chase the £500,000 first prize at next week’s inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters in Riyadh and the chance to reclaim top spot in the rankings, Wilson returns on Sunday to meet Judd Trump or world No. 66 Daniel Wells in the second ranking event of the campaign.
Shanghai Masters winner Trump and Wells begin their semi-final at 12:30pm BST on Saturday afternoon in the chase for the £177,000 first prize.