Phil Haigh ✍️
Ronnie O’Sullivan breezed past Stephen Maguire into the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship with a 13-5 thrashing, despite complaining about an ‘unplayable’ tip on his cue early in the match.
The Rocket was not at his best over the first session as he struggled with his tip, but overcame the problem and hit top form later in the contest.
The six-time champion returned for the final session on Wednesday morning needing just two frames for victory and he mopped it up in style, making breaks of 71 and 126 to secure the win.
Stephen Hendry said of the final break: ‘That last frame was just artistry with the cue ball, nobody does it better. You can’t play snooker better than that. There’s been no one like him.’
This all came after O’Sullivan looked really unhappy with his tip in the first session on Tuesday, despite coming out of it 6-2 ahead.
O’Sullivan told Eurosport of his tip: ‘As long as it doesn’t implode on me, then obviously it will stay on.
‘Les Dodd [cue expert] did a fantastic job. It was unplayable at the start of the day. I called him up to come and tidy it up, he’s tidied it up.
‘Listen, it’s not ideal, but hopefully the more I play with it, the more I get comfortable. I have played with worse and won.’
Jimmy White was concerned about his pal losing focus because of the tip issue, but clearly the Rocket was not derailed.
‘He has been playing really well all season, he’s played well in this tournament so we know it’s in the tank,’ White told Eurosport.
‘But the tip situation is making him lose focus, lose his concentration and you see Ronnie O’Sullivan in the balls and he doesn’t really know what to do.
‘The main thing is he’s getting the W, getting through to the next round. It looks like he’s going to win this match, let’s be honest, he’s that far in front.
‘But if he’s going to beat John Higgins, he can’t play like that, that’s for sure.’
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