Players Championship 2021- Ronnie O'Sullivan thrashes Jack Lisowski to reach semi-finals
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Published 25/02/2021 at 21:30 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan put in a near-flawless performance to defeat Jack Lisowski 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Players Championship in Milton Keynes. The six-time world champion missed just two pots and racked up two centuries to seal the win, which sets up a last-four tie against Barry Hawkins.
Ronnie O'Sullivan in action against Jack Lisowski in the 2021 Players Championship
Image credit: Eurosport
Ronnie O'Sullivan has booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Players Championship with a near-flawless performance against Jack Lisowski, running in breaks of 63, 79, 124, 93, 125 and 59 in an exhibition of break-building.
The Rocket won the clash 6-1 to set up a last-four tie against Barry Hawkins and looks to be in supreme form, despite his shock loss to Jordan Brown in the Welsh Open final last week.
The first frame was decided by a lengthy safety battle which O'Sullivan won before he made a break of 63 to move ahead.
His lead was soon doubled, despite an early miss on a red to the centre pocket. Lisowski could only make nine and the six-time world champion made no mistake when presented with another opportunity.
Lisowski missed a long red early in the third and O'Sullivan didn't look back from there, making a total clearance of 124 to hammer home his advantage.
And, prior to the interval, he won his fourth straight frame, making 31 and 93.
The break did nothing to quell his appetite, notching his second century of the night, 125, to move within a single frame of the win.
Lisowski finally got on the board courtesy of two breaks in excess of 50 - 57 and 68 - but it mattered little as O'Sullivan won the seventh on the back of a 59 to seal a fantastic win. In total, he missed just two pots all night,
"It was alright!" O'Sullivan said after the match.
I played good, played decent, felt good, cued alright and I felt like I was getting a pop out of the white tonight. I can play alright sometimes!
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"It's nice when you play well, everything feels really easy. You have to take the rough with the smooth and if you can make the rough not so rough, that's the aim.
"When you're playing as many matches as I have been, the law of averages says you're going to put in a performance like that.
"I could go and not make 30 and you'd be like 'oh what's happened overnight?', but now and again you'll see pretty good performances."
Kyren Wilson, who beat Neil Robertson 6-2 earlier on Thursday, will face either John Higgins or Mark Selby in the other of the semi-finals.
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