Although I’m absolutely certain that Ronnie wanted to do well in Saudi Arabia and win this event, he was beaten yesterday afternoon by Si Jiahui. Ronnie I’m sure will be very disappointed with his own performances, but Si played really well and deserves credit both for the win and the manner of it. Si will now play another member of the class of 92, Mark Williams who outplayed Jimmy Robertson.

Here is WST report on that evening session

STUNNING SI DOWNS THE ROCKET

Si Jiahui put on an electrifying display to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-4 and make the semi-finals of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. 

It’s a first ever victory over seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan for Si, who is now guaranteed £100,000. That equals the biggest ever payday of his career. He made the same amount reaching the last four at the 2023 World Championship, where he lost an epic clash with Luca Brecel 17-15.

Next up for Si is a best of 11 showdown with another member of the Class of 92, Mark Williams, tomorrow evening. The pair will do battle for a place in Saturday’s best of 19 final, where a top prize of £500,000 will be on the line.

The last time Si and Williams met was in this year’s World Championship, where the talented Chinese 22-year-old prevailed in a 10-9 thriller. A similar outcome tomorrow would be the biggest moment in Si’s already impressive career.

After taking the opener this evening, Si claimed the second frame with a fine break of 87. He was first in with 60 in the third, but O’Sullivan countered with 65 to steal on the black and trail 2-1. The Rocket then strung together 79 in the fourth to restore parity at 2-2.

When play resumed after the mid-session, a three-frame burst from Si saw him blitz to the verge of a momentous win. He moved 5-2 up with a brilliant maximum break attempt in the seventh. Si deposited 12 reds with blacks, but with the balls at his mercy he ran out of position and missed the 13^th red to end his run on 96.

O’Sullivan was searching for inspiration and he found it when he turned to playing left handed. Breaks of 65 and 56 helped him claw two frames back to trail by a single frame at 5-4. However, Si wasn’t to be denied and made 82 to secure a massive victory.

“Overall I think I played really well in this match. I tried to relax myself and avoid getting too nervous about the occasion. I am pleased with how I dealt with getting over the line in such a big game,” said world number 22 Si.

“This is a very big tournament and there are a lot of ranking points attached. I’m trying as hard as I can not to think about this. It allows me to play as well as I can. I just concentrate on my own game and that is where that performance came from.

“Mark Williams is a very accurate player and a great shot maker. His snooker brain is above anyone else in the game. There is a lot to learn from him tomorrow. I appreciate his mindset and how he approaches a tournament.”

Welsh 49-year-old Williams blitzed his way to a 66^th ranking event semi-final after whitewashing Jimmy Robertson 6-0.

The three-time World Champion was delighted to come through and is looking forward to doing battle with his younger counterpart Si tomorrow.

Williams said: “He’s only 22 and is the new generation coming through. I think he is the one they are putting their hopes on to take over after Trump, when he is approaching 50. I will probably be playing on table 28 walking about with my zimmer frame by then. He has a great future ahead of him and I’m looking forward to seeing where he can go.

“My mentality has definitely helped my career. If I lose a big match which I should have won, I’ve had many of them, it is no problem. I don’t dwell on it and I don’t worry about it. Who cares? Don’t worry about it. It definitely helps me because some players tell me they get nervous before a match, have to go to the toilet and have butterflies. I never get like that. The worst thing that can happen tomorrow is I lose 6-0 to Si Jiahui. That is the worst thing that can happen. When I’m out there I try harder than anybody.”

Willo’s mentality is wonderful and I wish Ronnie could be as carefree as him, but they are very different persons and that will never happen. Ronnie is one of those who get butterflies and sometimes becomes physically sick with anxiety before a match. He may deny it … but I have seen it happen.

Anyway… here are the scores of Ronnie’s QF match:

And some images shared by WST, including on Weibo

And videos shared on YouTube by Eurosport

Am I disappointed? Yes, of course I am. Am I shocked? Not at all, this is not even a surprise to me. Is it time for Ronnie to hang his cue? Of course not, he’s still a top player and, even if he wasn’t a top player anymore, those decisions are only for the person to take and speak about if they so wish.

All this unfortunately only confirms the reality of what Ronnie said after his win over Zhang Anda, as reported by the express.co.uk in this piece by Tom Parsons

…

And discussing his woes during an interview with Eurosport after his victory against Zhang, the 48-year-old explained: “I played better than I have been playing but still so many mistakes, so many unforced errors and just not good enough really, but I have to accept that’s what it is.

“I’ve been on a steady decline probably for five years, it’s just getting a little bit worse and worse, but you just try and hang on for as long as you can – it happens to everybody. It’s something you can’t probably correct, you’ve just got to accept it.

“That’s the frustrating thing. Normally, I feel like I put enough pressure on my opponents to force them to make mistakes.

“I’ve spent most of my career just feeling pretty much in control. I didn’t realise how much I was in control of matches until I’ve experienced not being in control of matches.

“It’s hard because I’m used to feeling a certain way in most games but I haven’t been for quite a while. I suppose I just have to accept it, it is what it is. That’s why I started playing left-handed – because I was getting so frustrated.”

And the Rocket also alluded to the fact that he could call time on his playing career in the near future as he added: “I just want to try and enjoy it. I ain’t got long left. I’ll be lucky if I’m in the top 16 within the next two or three years, the way I’m playing – seriously.

“You look at John Higgins, it’s just one of them – you can’t stop it. You’d like to [stop it] but it happens to everyone – [Steve] Davis, Jimmy [White], [Stephen] Hendry. It happened to John, it happens to everyone – every sportsman.

“You have an up and then you stay there for a while and then you have a gradual down. I just have to accept it. It’s not easy but if I want to keep playing the game I’m going to have to otherwise I’m just going to get frustrated with myself.”

And here is the WST report on the afternoon session … that I didn’t watch

World number one Judd Trump is through to the 63rd ranking event semi-final of his career, after a 6-3 defeat of Australia’s Neil Robertson at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.  

Trump’s relentless consistency levels in recent years can be emphasised that it’s his 33rd trip to the last four of a ranking tournament since 2019.

The Ace in the Pack dislodged Mark Allen at the summit of the world rankings last month, with a run to the Xi’an Grand Prix final, where he lost to World Champion Kyren Wilson. However, Trump is battling to hold on to top spot this week, with seven-time Crucible king Ronnie O’Sullivan still in pursuit. 

Defeat ends a good run for Robertson, who is aiming to return to the sport’s elite after a disappointing 23/24 campaign saw him slump to 27th in the world. The £50,000 won this week has seen him gain one position in the provisional rankings and move to 26th as he continues his bid to return to the top 16 in the rankings. 

A fragmented opening two frames this afternoon both went the way of Trump, before the 28-time ranking event winner fired in a break of exactly 100 to move 3-0 ahead. 

Trump had led 44-0 in the fourth, but fell out of position and allowed Robertson to get back into the frame, which he took to trail 3-1 at the mid-session. 

When play resumed, runs of 77 and 103 helped Robertson take two of the next three and put himself right in contention at 4-3. He had the first opportunity to restore parity in the eighth, but broke down on 44. Trump responded with 77 to move one from victory and then got over the line to book a semi-final meeting with Shaun Murphy. 

Trump said: “Neil was looking a lot more confident than he has done recently, it was just the odd little mistake when it really mattered. I know against someone like him if he got level he would have started peacock-ing round the table. It is never nice when your opponent has the momentum, but I just managed to stay in front. 

“Shaun is someone who can be patchy and in and out, just because his style of play. He tried to really put a lot of effort into his safety a few years back and it didn’t work for him. I think he got bogged down. Now he has just accepted he is what he is. When he’s on fire he is almost unstoppable, going for every shot he can see on the table.

“He’s someone that you have to get off to a good start against, like Neil. When they build up a head of steam and their long potting is going in then you are in big trouble. If I can get in front he sometimes drops his head a bit. That is what I have to try and do again”

Murphy came through with a 6-2 win over China’s Xiao Guodong, to set up a repeat of this season’s Shanghai Masters final against Trump.

On that occasion it was Trump who prevailed by an 11-5 scoreline. However, 2005 World Champion Murphy vows that he has learned from that encounter. 

Murphy said: “I think anytime you walk into someone like Judd Trump you are going to have a handful. I remember playing him on his Crucible debut and he went on to become the complete pro. 

“In last month’s Shanghai Masters final, I learned so much about the game watching him up close. I’ve put that into practice since and my game has improved because of it. I’m not saying I’m going to win, but I am looking forward to the challenge of going up against him.”