Ronnie beat Kyren Wilson by 6-5 from 5-1 down to book his place in the semi-finals. Hewill play Neil Robertson on Saturday

Ronnie was absolutely awful during the first part of the match. Nothing was right: his long potting was non-existent, he didn’t have the pace of the table therefore his safety was poor, and his concentration was wandering resulting in basic mistakes. Kyren Wilson, on the contrary, was playing very well. As usual, his positional play wasn’t the best but it didn’t matter much because he was potting everything from distance. He had a 131 in frame two.

After the MSI, there were signs of improvement. Ronnie should have won the fifth frame, but yet another basic mistake allowed Kyren to steal it. When, in the next frame, Ronnie failed to pot a ball, it looked like it would be all over very quickly. Ronnie was 5-1 down, Kyren needed just one more frame for victory.

But then, at the start of frame seven, Ronnie slotted a long red in and made a 107 from it. In the next, Kyren Wilson was first in and made 49, before fouling on the blue. From there Ronnie managed to win with a 51 break. A 124 from Ronnie in the next, and he was only one behind. Kyren was still ahead but appeared shaken. His long potting lost its accuracy, mistakes crept in. Ronnie dominated the last two, despite still not playing at his very best. The Chinese crowd was supporting him enthusiastically and was delighted to see him win. Kyren Wilson looked absolutely gutted – quite understandly.

Listen here to Ronnie’s reaction after the match:

Some great pictures by Tai Chengzhe – Thanks Tai! 

Here is the match

Shanghai Masters 2019 QF ROS v KyrenWilson

And the report by Worldsnooker (excerpt)

Thursday 12 Sep 2019 05:54PM

Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 5-1 down to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5 in a thrilling quarter-final at the Shanghai Masters.

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The result means that O’Sullivan has narrowly managed to extend his remarkable winning streak in Shanghai. Having won the event in 2017 and 2018 he hasn’t lost in the city for three years and has notched up 13 consecutive match victories.

O’Sullivan has now won his last four matches with Wilson, including last year’s Shanghai Masters semi-final which he won 10-6 and the Champion of Champions final where he emerged a 10-9 victor.

It had looked as if the five-time World Champion was down and out when breaks of 131, 67 and 57 helped Wilson to establish his seemingly unassailable 5-1 lead.

43-year-old O’Sullivan wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight and summoned a comeback charge. Breaks of 107, 51 and 124 helped him to get back into contention at 5-4.

There was then a remarkable 10^th frame. O’Sullivan was in first with a break of 69. That left Wilson needing snookers. However, a foul from O’Sullivan afforded Wilson a free ball and presented a chance to clear and win. It was an opportunity he spurned. Both players missed further chances and O’Sullivan’s was visibly showing his frustration, but he eventually got over the line to force a decider.

The decisive move was a break of 60 from O’Sullivan which allowed him to take the final frame and secure a remarkable win.

“I’m really happy to finally get over the line. I am still a bit disappointed with how I started. I was making so many mistakes, “said O’Sullivan. “I never stopped believing and I never stopped trying to get into that place where I could play some brilliant snooker, but it just didn’t seem like that was there tonight.

“He is a tough player. He is young and hungry. He is the modern day player and pots a lot of good balls. I just wanted to give him a game. The last two frames I was on 60 or 70 and made silly mistakes and gave him the chance to win. It was a weird, weird game but I am pleased to get through”

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