Ronnie O’Sullivan produced a nerveless clearance in the final frame to beat Wu Yize 6-5 and secure his place in the final of the World Open in Yushan.
The Rocket is flying high after a moment of history yesterday saw him craft the highest break ever seen in professional snooker, a run of 153. Having stated at the start of the week he was rebuilding his cue action and struggling to find confidence in his game, it has been a remarkable showing from the seven-time World Champion to this point in the event.
O’Sullivan can now look forward to the 66th ranking final of his career tomorrow over the best of 19 frames. He will face either world number one Judd Trump or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh for the £175,000 top prize.
50-year-old O’Sullivan could enjoy another landmark moment with victory in tomorrow’s title match. He would become the first ever player to win a ranking event in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
Wu and O’Sullivan’s only previous meeting came at the 2022 European Masters. On that occasion it was a one-sided 5-1 win for O’Sullivan. However, Wu is a different prospect these days.
The 22-year-old Chinese star won his first ranking title earlier this season at the International Championship. He defeated John Higgins 10-6 to capture the silverware. Wu came within one frame of the Masters final earlier this year, losing his semi-final 6-5 against Kyren Wilson.
The opening exchanges this afternoon went the way of 41-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan, who made breaks of 86 and 78 en route to a 3-1 lead at the mid-session.
Wu dug deep and after taking the fifth frame he edged a dramatic sixth to make it 3-3. It came down to the final ball and Wu deposited a black along the top cushion reminiscent of O’Sullivan’s shot to seal his 153 break yesterday.
The pair began to trade big breaks as the match went down to the wire. Runs of 97 and 118 from O’Sullivan and 86 and 77 from Wu ensured the match went down to a final frame at 5-5. The first chance went the way of Wu but he was forced to play safe on 43. O’Sullivan sensed his chance and deposited a daring red to the yellow pocket. From that he made 89 and ran out the victor.
“I like my bottle when I’m flowing. I like my bottle anyway really,” said Englishman O’Sullivan. “At 5-5 when he missed I had a chance on the red I had to go for it. The ball went in, which I couldn’t believe, and I made a great clearance.
“I knew that if I got the red I fancied I could clear up. In previous years I was begging my opponent to not miss because I didn’t want to embarrass myself. That is different now. I feel a lot happier because I’m in that frame of mind. Even if I miss, at least I fancy it.
“His cue power and snooker brain is great. He has a lot to learn but it is the easy bits he needs to learn. He’s like me before I met Ray Reardon. He can pot balls and score really well. I’m telling him he needs to learn the other side of the game.”
WST also shared the important sixth frame on YouTube
Here are the scores for that match:
As you can see by these scores it was high quality from both and extremely close from start to finish. It was a really good match to watch, very competitive but played in great sporting spirit, with mutual respect.
There isn’t much to add about the match really.
Ronnie will now face Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the final. Indeed “Theppy” beat Judd Trump by 6-4 only minutes ago1. Both finalist are very attacking players who go for their shots. I don’t expect too much defensive snooker tomorrow. It should be a great final to watch.
Ronnie’s last ranking title came at the World Grand Prix in January 2024, more than two years ago. Can he do it tomorrow? I certainly hope so.
