Next for Judd is a match with another left-hander in Barry Hawkins. Hawkins had a much more simple evening against Mark Allen. Despite a century in frame one, Allen failed to catch fire thereafter and Hawkins wasn't put under much pressure with his mistakes not being punished. In the end Hawkins was easily over the line in only his first Masters quarter-final, a 6-2 winner.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is also into the Masters semi-finals, after getting one back in his classic rivalry with Mark Selby. Ronnie's long potting was as good as it has been in a long time, as Selby struggled to impose himself on the match early on, despite a fabulous clearance in the second frame. Selby found himself 5-2 down before he started really playing and having chances amongst the balls. In frame eight he made a fabulous break to pull a frame back, and he started off in frame nine with a run of 70. It wasn't enough as he lost position, but then Ronnie potted another superb long ball, clearing the pink in the process. The clearance from there was one of the best you'll see and he clinched the match 6-3.
World champion Stuart Bingham was the final man into the last four as he defeated John Higgins. Stuart still wasn't quite to the same standard that saw him win the World title last May, but there are certainly signs of progress in this match as he capitalised on the errors of Higgins. John was certainly nowhere near the standard he set against Liang Wenbo, and despite being 2-2 at the mid-session he lost all of the next three before making a century to stay in it. A wonderful trick shot gave Bingham the chance to make a contribution that gave him the driving seat in the ninth, before sealing a comfortable in that frame.
Quarter-Final Results:
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 6-5 Neil Robertson
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-3 Mark Selby
Stuart Bingham 6-3 John Higgins
Semi-Finals Preview: (Picks in Bold)
Judd Trump Vs Barry Hawkins - The first semi-final sees a repeat of the first round from 2013 when Judd came from 5-3 down to beat Barry 6-5. This week Barry has played very well and has dropped the least frames out of the four semi-finalists, and of course this is the first time he has been past the first round. He has struck the ball nicely, though has been helped a little by his opponents, particularly in the quarters against Mark Allen. A lot is being made about how Judd Trump really needs to keep pushing on and winning these big titles now, and his performance against Neil Robertson I believe is a product of him working a lot harder over Christmas, which is another thing he is pointing to. It's almost as if he knows he is ready to kick now, having stopped partying as much (having been out partying once since his Birthday in August, as opposed to every other weekend that he admitted to in his post-match interview). He's working harder, and has looked a much better all-round player in the last year. The key to this match is going to be bottle under pressure. Hawkins has not been pressured yet in this event, while Trump has already come through two stern tests and with neither player having ever been to a Masters final there will certainly be some nerves flying around tomorrow afternoon.Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Stuart Bingham - Meanwhile, on Saturday evening we will have the continuation of a great head to head in recent years between Stuart Bingham and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Stuart of course overcame the Rocket in the quarter-finals of this years World Championship, after giving him a run for his money in the 2014 UK semi-finals, losing out in a decider, after beating him in the 2013 UK quarters. This is their first meeting at the Masters, and the first Masters in which Stuart has made it past the first round. As I mentioned earlier, this has not quite been the same Stuart Bingham that won the World Championships but the signs are there that his form is returning. I said whilst tipping him to win the bottom quarter in my tournament preview that the Christmas break may help Stuart to settle, reflect and move on now with the rest of the season. In the second half of the match with Higgins he took his chances well and wasn't far away from a maximum against Ding in round one, where Ding was probably grinding the world champion down as much as anything else. Ronnie O'Sullivan was in a similar situation in round one, finding himself 4-2 down and without a 50 break, before finding some impeccable scoring to claw out a 6-5 victory over Mark Williams. Against another Mark in the quarter-finals, his long potting was superb and at times there was little Selby could do to push the Rocket, although he did have chances. That will be the key in this match, if Bingham gets his chances he will have to put them away like he did against O'Sullivan in the World Championship. Getting his first Masters win and being the underdog really for the first time since the Crucible last May helped him in my opinion against Higgins to relax a little more, and there won't be many amongst the masses that will give him much chance Ronnie despite his clear credentials. If Bingham gets off to a good start and doesn't let Ronnie move away into the distance then he has a great chance.
That's what we have left now after some really magnificent quarter-final performances and it is a very tough call to pick an overall winner from here, even if there are only four guys left. Both semi-finals are still over the best-of-11 frames, with the afternoon match being Trump Vs Hawkins, while the legion of Ronnie O'Sullivan fans should tune it in the evening session at 7pm for his semi-final.
If the semi's get anywhere close to the quarters there will be a couple of cracking games and it will set up an even better final on Sunday. Of course I will be back to look over the results tomorrow and preview that final before they get going.
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