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Ronnie O’Sullivan’s pursuit of an eighth Masters crown continues as he takes on Shaun Murphy for a place in the final.
O’Sullivan hit the headlines after describing the Alexandra Palace venue as “disgusting” after his quarter-final win over Barry Hawkins, and the 48-year-old was far from his best in a 6-3 victory, admitting afterwards that he had been fortunate to progress while also revealing he had been battling illness.
Nonetheless, ‘The Rocket’ powered through to set up an encounter with a fellow former champion. It is now nine years since Murphy completed his career Triple Crown with victory at the Masters, but two high-class centuries in his own 6-3 quarter-final win over Jack Lisowski showed the confidence and rhythm he will need to challenge O’Sullivan.
The winner of the match will play either Ali Carter or Mark Allen, who meet later on Saturday, in Sunday’s final.
Follow live coverage of the semi-final below:
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Shaun Murphy – live updates
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Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-1 Shaun Murphy
Ooh that’s an unexpected miss from O’Sullivan! The red to right middle seems pretty straightforward but he’s focusing too much on splitting the pack and misses the pot!
He leads by nine points, at 40-31 but this frame is up for grabs with two reds left.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:34
Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-1 Shaun Murphy
Murphy eradicates O’Sullivan’s lead but a cannon goes wrong and so he leaves the table 19-18 ahead.
But he gets back in shortly after with a nice safety shot and can build his lead further.
Actually, no he can’t! He tries to power a red into the right corner to screw back for the colour but misses the red. 31-19 to Muprhy but O’Sullivan back at the table.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:30
Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-1 Shaun Murphy
Ronnie O’Sullivan straight in among the balls in frame four with a nice pot but he can only make 18 before missing a red tot he corner as it flicks off another red.
Murphy then pots a red to right middle to get himself in a scoring position.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:25
FRAME! Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-1 Shaun Murphy
Wow what a break that is from Shaun Murphy! He looks sublime as he strides round the table and racks up pot after pot. The frame is quickly taken away from O’Sullivan and then it’s just whether Murphy can make the century.
He looks like falling just short when he tries a double off the final red and misses but it careens up the table and flicks in off the green to the corner pocket. What a fluke! He takes full advantage and makes a total clearance of 131 to get a frame on the board.
SHAUN MURPHY PULLS A FRAME BACK TO MAKE IT 2-1!
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:23
Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-0 Shaun Murphy
Stunning pot by Shaun Murphy and then a brave brown to the left middle to follow. Great start to frame three for him and can he make a substantial contribution now and keep O’Sullivan in his seat?
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:13
FRAME! Ronnie O’Sullivan 2-0 Shaun Murphy
O’Sullivan snuffs the second frame out though. Plays a double ont he final red, with safety in mind, and it finds the pocket. Pots a nice green to ensure Murphy won’t return to the table and then clears up to the black.
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN WINS THE SECOND FRAME
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:08
Ronnie O’Sullivan 1-0 Shaun Murphy
A good break by O’Sullivan as he makes 56 but eventually runs out of position and is unable to dislodge the final red from the bottom cushion. Just a safety.
56-32 to The Rocket with 35 points remaining. He’s in control but Murphy not out of this as he returns to the table.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:05
Ronnie O’Sullivan 1-0 Shaun Murphy
Murphy looks typically fluent around the table but then breaks down inexplicably on 32. He misses a black off the spot to the right corner. It wasn’t completely straightforward but any black off the spot, you expect these players to get. He missed it thick.
A 32-point lead nowhere near enough and O’Sullivan can counter with the reds beautifully placed.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 14:02
Ronnie O’Sullivan 1-0 Shaun Murphy
Frame two underway and a surprising miss from O’Sullivan early on. He looks perfectly set with a red to the right corner but tries to crunch it in too hard and it bounces out.
Simple red for Murphy to the middle and he can get among the balls and make the first break in this second frame.
Luke Baker13 January 2024 13:58
FRAME! Ronnie O’Sullivan 1-0 Shaun Murphy
Valiant effort by Murphy as he pots the brown and tries to get the one remaining snooker needed on the blue. But he leaves O’Sullivan a chance at the pot up into the yellow pocket and The Rocket makes no mistake to finish it once and for alL.
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN WINS THE FIRST FRAME
Luke Baker13 January 2024 13:55