Mark Williams Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan:
Ronnie O’Sullivan played a brilliant red from range to get
the scoring in this quarter-final going, but there weren’t many available reds
and he only made 14. The next opportunity fell to Mark Williams, and this one
was much nicer with a large number of the reds available, but a couple of shots
where he couldn’t hold position cost him as he missed a red from middle
distance on just 10. The players then handed chances back and forth in what was
turning into a very poor quality opening frame, until O’Sullivan was back in
again with four reds remaining and a nine point lead. Ronnie built his lead up
to 26 on the last red before laying a snooker behind the black. Pretty soon
he’d potted the last red and was able to clear to the yellow to make it 1-0.
Mark Williams had the first scoring effort of frame two but was only able to
accumulate 16 before missing one to the centre, leaving the chance for O’Sullivan
and from it he produced 65 to build a 49 point lead with 59 available when the
break ended with a safety shot. Williams earned himself another opportunity to
claw his way back into the frame with a nice cut from range, but when he missed
one near the cushion, Ronnie was able to play the balls he needed to double his
lead. Frame three got off to a poor quality start with both players having a
couple of scoring visits but not being able to make more than just a few, but
it was eventually Williams that started to build a lead and he was 51 ahead
with 59 on when he missed frame ball red into the middle. That gave O’Sullivan
a lifeline as he chipped away at that deficit by potting the first of the four
remaining reds with a black, before then having a piece of good fortune as he
left a red over the corner and Mark failed twice (having hit the green on the
first attempt and being put back) to hit the red, leaving a great chance for
his opponent to clear. A superb shot from pink to black was needed, but Ronnie did
clear and was already halfway to victory in this best-of-11 at 3-0. After a
re-rack in frame four O’Sullivan had the first chance to put some points on the
board once again, only making 19 this time before missing an incredibly thin
black, which gave the chance to Mark, but again he couldn’t find any rhythm
only managing 14. Again both players struggled to string a substantial break
together and with four reds remaining O’Sullivan had an 11 point lead in what
was another scrappy frame. A nice long red gave Williams a good chance of
getting his first frame on the board, and he did just that clearing to the blue
to trail Ronnie 1-3 at the mid-session interval.
Straight after the break, Ronnie missed a red from range
leaving an early opportunity for Mark to gather some points. Once the break was
up to 29 Williams had the reds open and was in prime position to build at the
very least a commanding lead in the frame. He hurried to the winning line in
the frame and a quick fire century break of 120 closed the gap to a single
frame at 2-3. The first decent chance of frame six also went to Mark Williams
after Ronnie missed a simple enough green and a run of 59 gave Williams a very
useful 52 point advantage with just 67 remaining and plenty of reds safe.
Ronnie made the mistake pretty much immediately and an additional 11 was all
Mark needed to level the match at 3-3. Again in the seventh frame Williams had
the first break building opportunity, although he was unlucky when opening the
pack not to get on a red and had to play safe on only 19. A clever double gave
Ronnie an opening, though an uncharacteristic miss on the blue highlighted that
he was struggling and brought the break to a premature end on 27. From here the
Welshman had a golden chance to win his fourth frame on the bounce and a break
of 37 including a good double on the final red secured that and completed
Mark’s turnaround for him to lead for the first time at 4-3. A safety error
early in frame eight provided Williams with the first scoring chance yet again
in a frame and he soon made it into a full chance as a break of 77 was more
than enough for him to make it five frames in a row and go one away from the
semi-finals at 5-3.
Needing to win all of the remaining three frames, O’Sullivan
knew he needed to step up, and he knew he couldn’t let Williams have too many
more chances which was what he did at the start of frame nine. Williams made it
to 30 before falling unlucky with his split of the pack, followed by a tricky
miss into the middle. Ronnie then knocked in a good red to the top corner and
with the reds handy these are usually the chances he thrives upon. A very quick
fire 72 was what it took for O’Sullivan to close the gap to one at 4-5. A
missed long red from Williams left O’Sullivan in early on in frame ten, but he
had some bad luck with his split this time and missed a very thin cut to the
left corner. Mark though missed the same red and left it over the pocket for
Ronnie putting him back in straight away. This time around Ronnie nearly
secured the frame, but he missed frame ball after a break of 44, though Mark
missed a similar shot to the middle and O’Sullivan was back in sealing the
frame to take us into a decider at 5-5. The first ball of the decider was
potted by Ronnie but he missed the black off of it’s spot straight away,
leaving a Mark a decent opening to build a handy lead in this decider. Mark
went into the pack on 50 but there was the break ended and he knew it
immediately slapping the table as he failed to get on a red. A 49 point lead is
always nice, but can evaporate quickly with O’Sullivan who made the cross
double but finished awkward on a black that was incredibly thin, yet he over
cooked it. A brilliant double then followed for Williams, knowing he would be
on the black over the right corner and additional 22 from Mark was more than
enough for him to see off Ronnie O’Sullivan with a fine 6-5 victory ending what
was a huge drought between wins for Mark Williams, but he came out on top in
this classic to make the International Championship semi-finals.
What a fantastic match that was with Ronnie O'Sullivan looking in control at one stage, before Mark Williams took control, only for Ronnie to hit back again before Williams finished off the match. It's really taken some great matches to top this so be sure to come back tomorrow and find out which match made it into 6th.
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