Ronnie O’Sullivan recovers to see off wasteful Wilson at World Grand Prix

Jonathan Davies in World Grand Prix 17 December 2020

Left arrow

World Grand Prix Snooker 2020 Draw, Live Scores and Schedule of Play

Right arrow

Tenacious Trump reaches World Grand Prix final after Ronnie rout

O’Sullivan won four straight frames to reach the semi-finals (credit:World Snooker)

Ronnie O’Sullivan recovered from 3-1 down to beat Kyren Wilson 5-3 and book a semi-final showdown with Judd Trump at the World Grand Prix in Milton Keynes.

Far from his fluent best at the Marshall Arena, the Rocket slipped two frames behind against the Warrior in what was a repeat of the World Championship final in August.

However, the six-time Crucible king responded after the interval; punishing his opponent’s mistakes as he rattled off four consecutive frames with breaks of 84 and 86 on the way to reaching a third semi-final in the space of a month.

Including an 18-8 success in that Crucible final, O’Sullivan had won five of his seven meetings with Wilson.

But it was the world number five who made the better start; opening with 97 before taking a scrappy second frame on the colours.

The Rocket responded with 66, but Wilson pulled two frames clear once more thanks to a run of 75.

O’Sullivan reduced the arrears with a contribution of 84, before levelling the contest on the black after Wilson had gone in-off following a poor positional shot on the pink when looking good for 4-2.

The four-time ranking event winner seemed to dwell on that error and his opponent capitalised with a run of 86 to lead for the first time, before dominating the next frame to seal the win.

O’Sullivan’s reward is another showdown with Trump after the world number one hit two centuries on the way to a 5-2 victory over Martin Gould.

The Ace came flying out of the blocks with a contribution of 101 on his way to a 2-0 lead, before a stunning 142 total clearance – the joint-highest break of the tournament – increased his advantage.

Former German Masters champion Gould hit back with 117, but Trump responded by taking the next frame on the black to move one away from victory.

Despite Gould responding with 83, a run of 55 was enough to see the world number one into his seventh semi-final from eight events this season.

Earlier in the day, Jack Lisowski recorded back-to-back centuries as he whitewashed Robert Milkins 4-0, while breaks of 134, 86 and 91 helped Scottish Open champion Mark Selby to a 4-2 success over Anthony McGill.

Although, there was no such joy for Ding Junhui as he went down 4-1 against Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, who had runs of 86, 134 and 51 along the way.

Four-time World champion John Higgins was also denied a place in the quarter-finals. He was edged out in a decider by high-scoring Zhao Xintong; the Chinese ace hitting breaks of 111 and 137.

WATCH WORLD GRAND PRIX SNOOKER STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)