Ronnie O’Sullivan is closing in on his eighth world final after winning five of the eight frames in the penultimate session of his last-four clash against John Higgins at the Crucible.
Resuming 10-6 in front after clinching a thrilling last frame on Friday night on a re-spotted black, the 46-year-old secured a 15-9 advantage to leave him requiring just two more frames on Saturday evening to progress.
Despite firing three centuries, O’Sullivan was clinical rather than vintage as he mopped up after a succession of Higgins mistakes, the Scot showing his frustration by slamming his cue into the floor when he let his opponent in early in the 22nd frame.
The Scot clawed back again before the pair swapped tons, O’Sullivan compiling a 101 and Higgins responding on the other side of the mid-session interval with a 103 to haul back to 12-9.
Higgins fluffed a simple red to the middle in the next frame, ending a promising break of 16 and letting in O’Sullivan to fire a devastating 121 – the 100th century of this year’s tournament – to emphatically assert command.
Higgins’ dismal session was summed up in the final frame when O’Sullivan pounced on a loose break-off shot to sink a long red and proceed to roll in his 12th century of the tournament – a faultless 134 – and surely make the concluding evening session a formality.
