Ali Carter 2-6 Shaun Murphy
World number
one Neil Robertson crushed defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 to reach his
third Masters final.
It brought an end to O'Sullivan's 15-match winning streak in all competitions as Robertson made breaks of 100, 66 and 60 to go through.
He faces Shaun Murphy in a repeat of the 2012 final after the Englishman came back to beat Mark Allen 6-2.
Murphy keeps alive his hopes of a career 'triple crown', winning six frames in a row to clinch victory.
"A lot has been said and written about me needing this to complete the triple crown. As much as you try and ignore it, you can't," Murphy told BBC Sport.
"It does mean so much to have another crack in the final. When Neil plays like he has done this week, he is almost unbeatable. It is my job to try and find a nick somewhere."
Having won the 2005 World title and 2008 UK crown, 'The Magician' can join an elite group of nine players who have won all three of snooker's majors.
Robertson beat Murphy 10-6 in the 2012
Masters final
Murphy stated before the tournament that he wants to win the invitational Masters event by 2025, but he may not need that long if he gains revenge over Robertson in Sunday's showpiece.
Northern Irishman Allen took a 2-0 lead with breaks of 83 and 62, before Murphy responded with 80 and 83 as he went 3-2 ahead.
A 76 break plus a century put him further in front at 5-1, before taking the one he needed to advance into his second final.
The first semi-final pitted together snooker's record century-maker in O'Sullivan, and Robertson, who compiled more than 100 century breaks last season.
'The Rocket' had won the Champion of Champions tournament and the UK Championship in the lead-up to this tournament, but he was beaten by a confident and high-scoring opponent.
BBC Sport analyst Steve Davis |
|---|
| "To beat O'Sullivan, it needed a standard of snooker that Robertson produced. |
| "Ronnie has put together so much good stuff over the last few years, that he can't keep on doing it time after time. |
| "It is a relentless standard he has produced and can't always be at his brilliant best." |
Robertson won the first frame with a century break and stole the next with a 66 clearance after O'Sullivan had compiled 63 but missed a frame-ball black.
And the Australian - who had a 97% pot success rate in his win over Ali Carter - took the third, but O'Sullivan, who struggled throughout, made a 101 break in the fourth frame to go two frames behind.
However, with the Englishman continually missing pots, Robertson closed out the match in an assured manner with breaks of 58 and 60 as he looks to win the crown for a second time.
"I am really happy with the way I played. Ronnie was struggling but I put him under pressure early on," Robertson told BBC Sport.
"When he made mistakes, I had to capitalise - that was the key. He never seemed to settle."
No comments:
Post a Comment