Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Mark Selby to make the Masters semi-finals
Last Updated: 14/01/16 11:20pm
Five-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan produced a superb clearance to beat Mark Selby 6-3 at the UK Masters in London on Thursday and advance to the semi-finals.
A 6-5 victor over Mark Williams in round one, O'Sullivan was never behind against Selby as he continued his return to major tournament action following a nine-month hiatus.
Selby refused to be discouraged and threatened to make it 5-4 with a break of 70 in the ninth frame, but O'Sullivan retaliated with a break of 73, clearing the table to book his place in the last four.
"It was a good first red. Under pressure it was good, but I was never going to refuse a shot," O'Sullivan told the BBC of his match-winning clearance.
"I don't feel great, but I'm trying to kid myself that I'm confident. You're not going to win this tournament by playing negative, playing bad. I need to try to find something."
O'Sullivan will face either John Higgins or world champion Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals.
In the day's other last eight clash, England's Barry Hawkins crushed Northern Ireland's Mark Allen 6-2.
Allen, who knocked out defending champion Shaun Murphy in the first round, began brilliantly with a century in the opening frame.
But Hawkins, 36, took control with a run of four frames in a row to set up a semi-final against either Judd Trump or Australia's Neil Robertson.
