O’Sullivan survives Selt scare to reach Xi’an Grand Prix semi-finals

Ronnie O’Sullivan will play Kyren Wilson in the Xi’an Grand Prix semi-finals after battling past a stubborn Matthew Selt on Friday.

The Rocket is through to the last four for the second time in as many events, having reached the same stage of last month’s Shanghai Masters.

O’Sullivan had advanced to the quarter-finals at Qujiang E-sports Centre for the loss of just three frames, and he appeared on course for another routine victory at 3-1 and 4-2 ahead.

However, Selt refused to roll over. A break of 102 in frame five was followed by contributions of 105 and 95 to take the contest the distance.

Both players had opportunities in the decider, but it was generally one-sided with runs of 36 and 35 eventually getting O’Sullivan over the line.

Next up for him is a clash with Wilson, who enjoyed a more comfortable passage into the semi-finals.

Indeed, the World champion hit breaks of 69, 50 and 115 as he took just over 90 minutes to wrap up a commanding 5-1 victory against Xu Si.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Masters champion Judd Trump made it 24 wins from his last 25 matches in China, with runs of 94, 67 and 52 completing a 5-2 win over David Gilbert.

Awaiting the Ace in the last four is Daniel Wells, who won four straight frames as he recovered from 3-1 down to stun Barry Hawkins 5-3.

Despite Wells opening with a break of 73, the Hawk responded with runs of 90 and 80 to take command of the clash, but the Welshman was not to be denied only his third appearance in a ranking event semi-final.

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Xi’an Grand Prix 2024 | Quarter-Final Results

Friday August 23

Quarter-Finals

Kyren Wilson 5-1 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 Matthew Selt
Judd Trump 5-2 David Gilbert
Barry Hawkins 3=5 Daniel Wells