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RONNIE O'Sullivan fought back twice from 0-2 and 4-5 down to snatch a dramatic 6-5 victory over Mark Williams.
Ronnie, the defending champion looked as though he had barely woken up the first two frames
as the Welshman took full advantage of the champion's sloppy display as he kicked off in style with a 107 break, which came after O'Sullivan had missed a long red. A scrappy second frame also went the way of the Welshman. Finally, though Ronnie did get the wake up call as he pounced on a safety mistake from Mark when in trying to make a thin contact with a red managed to miss it completely and pot the black that was hanging over the corner pocket. Left in mid table with an easy red to the centre Ronnie needed no second invitation as he ran through the frame with a break of 86.
It was just what the Rocket needed- and the first seeds of doubt sewn into Mark's mind as he bungled the break off shot and left O'Sullivan with a long red to the corner. O'Sullivan powered in the red and then ensured Mark stayed in his seat throughout as he compiled a break of 99- in truth it could have and should have been more. And maybe it would have been had some vociferous fans chose to bellow out their support when Ronnie was cueing up the final yellow. Still, the Rocket left the arena for the interval feeling as though he had won the mini session even though the frame score stood at 2-2.
Back refreshed there was a school of thought that Ronnie would be a hard man to stop- especially with breaks of 39 and 24 gave him the fifth frame and with it a 3-2 lead. From leading 2-0 Mark had fallen 3-2 behind. Could he respond.
The one thing Ronnie had to avoid was taking on risky low percentage shots- and he did with a red. Missing it - he also left Mark with a mid length red to the corner and he was made to pay dearly for it as the Welshman hammered in a magnificent 132 break, only to miss the the final pink, with a 145 begging. In missing the pink he also kissed goodbye to a £10,000 high break prize that was held by Neil Robertson with a 140 break against the Rocket.
It had all the hallmarks of going the distance and the Wembley crowd were certainly getting their moneys worth from two amazing players. The pendulum had swung back and forth and it was to swing back in favour of the Englishman when Williams lost position on 26. Attempting a difficult red the red stayed out and the Welshman retreated to his seat, he knew what was coming. And so it proved as O'Sullivan made him pay with a decisive 60 to move 4-3 in front.
But Mark was far from finished as he took full advantage of Ronnie knocking the brown off the table to record a break of 78. And just for good measure Williams regained the lead at 5-4 when his 96 put him within a frame of victory.
Fighting to stay in the tournament O'Sullivan dug deep. He stroked in a long red in the tenth and with patience and accuracy made a vital 67 which wrested the momentum for the deciding frame. It was two heavyweight boxers landing blows on each other and refusing to submit.
Yet someone had to as the deciding frame began. And it was Ronnie who had the first chance as Williams left the cue ball in mid table. Lining up a red the Rocket slammed it into the top corner pocket and looked set for a match winning break. But there was another twist in the offing as Ronnie in potting the blue managed to knock in two reds at the same time. Suddenly Mark had a chance to counter, and with the balls in good pottable positions the Welshman was now favourite to progress. Except the Gods were about to play their final trick of the match as Williams's red to the centre failed to reach it's target and was left sitting pretty in the jaws. The look on Mark's face told the story and all of a sudden O'Sullivan had a chance he thought he would not get. Dropping the red in the Rocket inched his way towards the finishing line, as he approached the colours he dispatched the yellow, still he needed the up to the brown. But he must have given his supporters heart failure as the green wriggled it's way into the pocket, when it looked as though it would stay out. A look of relief showed on Ronnie's face- he made doubly sure of the brown, and with a clenched fist emphasised what winning the match meant to the Rocket.
The blue would rubber stamp the victory, but it was long and straight. It stayed out of the pocket and Williams still had a chance of pulling off a remarkable victory- albeit he needed two snookers. In vain he hunted for them before leaving Ronnie an easy blue. Steadying himself the four times champion dropped it in, and then sunk the pink to claim a 6-5 victory. Turning to accept a warm handshake from Mark, the Rocket and the Welshman were given a standing ovation from the Wembley crowd who had sat transfixed for three hours in an amazing match that had reached it's dramatic conclusion.
Suzy Jardine
Ronnie, the defending champion looked as though he had barely woken up the first two frames
as the Welshman took full advantage of the champion's sloppy display as he kicked off in style with a 107 break, which came after O'Sullivan had missed a long red. A scrappy second frame also went the way of the Welshman. Finally, though Ronnie did get the wake up call as he pounced on a safety mistake from Mark when in trying to make a thin contact with a red managed to miss it completely and pot the black that was hanging over the corner pocket. Left in mid table with an easy red to the centre Ronnie needed no second invitation as he ran through the frame with a break of 86.
It was just what the Rocket needed- and the first seeds of doubt sewn into Mark's mind as he bungled the break off shot and left O'Sullivan with a long red to the corner. O'Sullivan powered in the red and then ensured Mark stayed in his seat throughout as he compiled a break of 99- in truth it could have and should have been more. And maybe it would have been had some vociferous fans chose to bellow out their support when Ronnie was cueing up the final yellow. Still, the Rocket left the arena for the interval feeling as though he had won the mini session even though the frame score stood at 2-2.
Back refreshed there was a school of thought that Ronnie would be a hard man to stop- especially with breaks of 39 and 24 gave him the fifth frame and with it a 3-2 lead. From leading 2-0 Mark had fallen 3-2 behind. Could he respond.
The one thing Ronnie had to avoid was taking on risky low percentage shots- and he did with a red. Missing it - he also left Mark with a mid length red to the corner and he was made to pay dearly for it as the Welshman hammered in a magnificent 132 break, only to miss the the final pink, with a 145 begging. In missing the pink he also kissed goodbye to a £10,000 high break prize that was held by Neil Robertson with a 140 break against the Rocket.
It had all the hallmarks of going the distance and the Wembley crowd were certainly getting their moneys worth from two amazing players. The pendulum had swung back and forth and it was to swing back in favour of the Englishman when Williams lost position on 26. Attempting a difficult red the red stayed out and the Welshman retreated to his seat, he knew what was coming. And so it proved as O'Sullivan made him pay with a decisive 60 to move 4-3 in front.
But Mark was far from finished as he took full advantage of Ronnie knocking the brown off the table to record a break of 78. And just for good measure Williams regained the lead at 5-4 when his 96 put him within a frame of victory.
Fighting to stay in the tournament O'Sullivan dug deep. He stroked in a long red in the tenth and with patience and accuracy made a vital 67 which wrested the momentum for the deciding frame. It was two heavyweight boxers landing blows on each other and refusing to submit.
Yet someone had to as the deciding frame began. And it was Ronnie who had the first chance as Williams left the cue ball in mid table. Lining up a red the Rocket slammed it into the top corner pocket and looked set for a match winning break. But there was another twist in the offing as Ronnie in potting the blue managed to knock in two reds at the same time. Suddenly Mark had a chance to counter, and with the balls in good pottable positions the Welshman was now favourite to progress. Except the Gods were about to play their final trick of the match as Williams's red to the centre failed to reach it's target and was left sitting pretty in the jaws. The look on Mark's face told the story and all of a sudden O'Sullivan had a chance he thought he would not get. Dropping the red in the Rocket inched his way towards the finishing line, as he approached the colours he dispatched the yellow, still he needed the up to the brown. But he must have given his supporters heart failure as the green wriggled it's way into the pocket, when it looked as though it would stay out. A look of relief showed on Ronnie's face- he made doubly sure of the brown, and with a clenched fist emphasised what winning the match meant to the Rocket.
The blue would rubber stamp the victory, but it was long and straight. It stayed out of the pocket and Williams still had a chance of pulling off a remarkable victory- albeit he needed two snookers. In vain he hunted for them before leaving Ronnie an easy blue. Steadying himself the four times champion dropped it in, and then sunk the pink to claim a 6-5 victory. Turning to accept a warm handshake from Mark, the Rocket and the Welshman were given a standing ovation from the Wembley crowd who had sat transfixed for three hours in an amazing match that had reached it's dramatic conclusion.
Suzy Jardine
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