Ronnie O’Sullivan was in excellent form as he cruised to a 6-1 win over Mark Williams in the semi-final of the Welsh Open.
The current world champion and four-time Welsh Open winner booked his spot in the final against the home favourite with a succession of heavy breaks.
O'Sullivan last played in the last 32 round with a 4-0 win over Martin Gould, before being set a tough match against England's Ali Carter. However, Carter was taken ill with a non-Covid related problem and had to withdraw from the tournament, allowing O'Sullivan a walkover into the semis.
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However it was Williams who took the first frame helped by a break of 73.
Williams had a tougher route to the semi-finals when he squeezed by Tom Ford 5-4 in the quarter-finals, with the 45-year-old 2018 world champion enjoying a career resurgence. Willams had won the Welsh Open twice and was looking for a career hat-trick, but he has not won the title in Newport for over two decades.
After that early disappointment, O'Sullivan’s only century - and the only century break from either player - levelled the scores at 1-1.

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Three more 50-plus contributions, of 77, 54 and then 69 in the final frame, gave O’Sullivan five more straight frames as he set up a final with Jordan Brown, who defeated Stephen Maguire in the day’s earlier match. The final is Brown's first in a ranking tournament with the Northern Irishman ranked 81st in the world, making O'Sullivan the heavy favourite going into Sunday's best-of-17 match-up.

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