Ronnie O'Sullivan and Williams Book Semi-Final Spots in Riyadh

Ronnie O’Sullivan secured a dominant 4-0 win over Ding Junhui to reach the semi-finals of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia. The seven-time world champion raced to a 2-0 lead then fired consecutive breaks of 129 and 113 to seal the victory. Ding failed to score in the final two frames and Ronnie O’Sullivan finished with an impressive 84% pot success rate. The 49-year-old will now face Mark Allen in Friday’s semi-final.

In the other quarter-final, Mark Williams edged world number one Judd Trump 4-3 to reach the last four. After the match was tied at 2-2, Trump produced a 107 break to take a 3-2 lead. However, Williams leveled the score and then, trailing 34-8 in the final frame made a break of 68 to clinch victory. Williams, who turns 50 next year will face Luca Brecel in the semi-finals.

Belgium’s Brecel advanced with a tense 4-3 win over world champion Kyren Wilson. Brecel led 42-1 in the final frame but after missing a routine red, Wilson had a chance to clear. However, Wilson only potted one red before Brecel returned to seal his place in the semi-finals. Brecel said, “It was really tense… I just tried to stay composed.”

Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen secured his semi-final spot with a 4-2 victory over Mark Selby. Selby made a clinical 68 clearance to lead 2-1 but Allen responded with three straight frames including breaks of 76 and 75 to clinch the win.