Ronnie O’Sullivan pockets four frames in 40 minutes to reach World Grand Prix final

ByEurosport

Updated 23/02/2018 at 23:37 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan recovered from trailing 4-2 to complete a 6-4 win over Stephen Maguire in the World Grand Prix semi-finals at Preston Guild Hall.

Ronnie O'Sullivan in Glasgow.

Image credit: Eurosport

Maguire looked the likelier winner as he opened up a 4-2 lead while keeping five-times world champion O'Sullivan largely off the table with breaks of 103 and 53 the highlight of his early dominance.

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O'Sullivan contributed 50 to trail 3-2, but Maguire maintained the momentum by pinching the sixth frame for a 4-2 lead.

The match swung away from the former UK champion Maguire in the seventh frame as he broke down holding a 26-0 lead.

O'Sullivan pounced with runs of 72, 83 and 128 giving him a 5-4 advantage.

To add insult to injury, O'Sullivan fluked a red in the penultimate frame before clearing up to claim the final four frames in only 40 minutes.

O'Sullivan will face world champion Mark Selby or Ding Junhui in Sunday's best-of-19 frames final.

Ding completed a 5-3 win over Anthony McGill in the last eight earlier on Friday that included breaks of 96 and 134 with Selby coming through 5-2 against Michael White without ever being at his peak.

The second semi-final takes place on Saturday night.

LATEST SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Second round (best of seven frames)

Michael White 4-0 Joe Perry
Neil Robertson 0-4 Mark Selby
Ding Junhui 4-1 Mark Joyce
Anthony McGill 4-1 Stuart Bingham

Quarter-final draw (best of nine frames)

Thursday 7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-0 Xiao Guodong
Shaun Murphy 2-5 Stephen Maguire

Friday 1pm
Michael White 2-5 Mark Selby
Ding Junhui 5-3 Anthony McGill

Semi-final draw (best of 11 frames)

Friday 7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4 Stephen Maguire
Saturday 7pm
Mark Selby v Ding Junhui

Final (best of 19 frames)

Sunday
1pm and 7pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby/Ding Junhui

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