Ronnie O’Sullivan romps into Champion of Champions Semi-Finals

Ronnie O’Sullivan raced into the Semi-Finals of the 2022 Champion of Champions after a 6-1 rout of Zhao Xintong in the Group Two final on Thursday.

The three-time champion swept aside his young protégé to reach the Semi-Finals of the prestigious invitational for the seventh time in nine appearances.

O’Sullivan began the day by defeating Gibraltar Open winner Robert Milkins 4-2 with high breaks of 82, 60, 63 and 131.

He then punished an out of sorts Zhao with another emphatic scoring display, which included two centuries.

“He [Zhao] is an amazing player and brilliant talent,” O’Sullivan told ITV Sport. “I’m sure he’s going to have an amazing future. Hopefully he does because I have a soft spot for him. Technically, it’s all there.”

“I haven’t really played really since Sheffield and getting bits and pieces in. I haven’t really got going yet, so we’ll just see.

“I look forward to playing the game on Saturday night.”

The world number one established a 2-0 lead following a number of missed chances from Zhao, before firing in a majestic 135 total clearance in frame three.

He then added a break of 59 to make it four frames without reply, but Zhao got off the mark after the interval thanks to a fine clearance of 92.

O’Sullivan, though, hit back immediately with a break of 94, missing the pink for a ton, but closed out the match in trademark fashion with a vintage break of 108.

He will now face Fan Zhengyi on Saturday evening in a repeat of February’s European Masters final.

UK Champion Zhao had earlier battled his way to a 4-2 victory over Women’s World Champion Mink Nutcharut, narrowly averting the need for a deciding frame.

WATCH THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS STREAMED LIVE HERE

18+ | T&Cs Apply | Geo Restrictions may apply | Be Gamble Aware

Champion of Champions 2022 Day Four Results

Thursday November 3

Group Two

Semi-Finals
Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 Robert Milkins
Zhao Xintong 4-2 Mink Nutcharut

Final
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-1 Zhao Xintong