Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Shaun 6-2 to close on eighth title

LONDON (Agenices): Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Shaun Murphy 6-2 to reach his 14th Masters final and close in on a record-extending eighth title. The world number one took the first two frames and the fourth to lead 3-1 after Murphy compiled a superb 131 break. While another Murphy century brought him within a frame, O’Sullivan then went through the gears with runs of 90, 71 and 62 as he sealed his victory.

O’Sullivan will now face either Mark Allen or Ali Carter in Sunday’s final. As at the UK Championship in December, O’Sullivan, 48, now has his sights on the £250,000 top prize after a five-year absence from the showpiece match. Already the tournament’s youngest winner almost 29 years ago, he could now become its oldest too, eclipsing Stuart Bingham, who won his only Masters title, aged 43, in 2020. “At the start there were a few mistakes but I cleaned it up a little bit – and I need to do that these days, because I can’t pot as well as these guys but I can make breaks among the balls and make up for it that way,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport. “I don’t feel that old. I feel young in my mind. I feel a lot younger round the table when I play these younger players.

They look old and their brains are quite slow. I still feel my brain is pretty quick round the snooker table, which is enough. “They need to get their acts together because I am going blind, have got a dodgy arm and they still can’t beat me.” If O’Sullivan were to add a 23rd Triple Crown title to his collection, he would also become the oldest winner of all three of snooker’s most prestigious events. And on this evidence, it would be hard to back against him regardless of whether he is at his best or not, with his aura also seemingly placing pressure on his opponents. While O’Sullivan dominated the concluding stages of the match, Murphy had several good opportunities earlier on.

But he faltered on the green in the opener – in what would have been a stunning counter clearance – missed a black off its spot when among the balls in the second frame and played a loose safety shot in the fourth to hand his opponent a two-frame advantage at the mid-session interval. “He was just too good – simple as that,” Murphy told BBC Sport. “I missed a couple of shots here and there but it felt like I played better in that match than in the previous two. I just thought Ronnie was superb and if he plays like that, you may as well give him the trophy now. “I am disappointed to lose but I tried my best and gave everything and it wasn’t to be.”