O’Sullivan Leads Dott 5-3
Tournament favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan has taken a two frame lead over Scotland’s Graeme Dott in the first session of their World Championship semi final at the Crucible.
Dott started superbly, winning the first frame with a 121 break but O’Sullivan took two of the next three for a 2-2 scoreline at the interval.
O’Sullivan was on top when the players returned, taking three frames in a row without quite finding top gear.
And a gritty final-frame break of 70 kept Dott in the hunt.
O’Sullivan has been struggling to find a reliable tip for his cue throughout the tournament, and was reportedly using his 11th new tip since arriving in Sheffield.
Dott, meanwhile, had clearly paid no attention to the pre-match odds which made O’Sullivan a firm favourite as he got off to the perfect start.
Taking immediate advantage of a slightly loose safety shot by his opponent, Dott knocked in a superb long red - the first shot of an excellent 121 break.
O’Sullivan took a lengthy and substandard second frame, but the world number one was not firing on all cylinders and made his annoyance clear - banging his cue hard against his hand - when he fluffed an easy red in frame three.
Dott capitalised with a 68 break to retake the lead, before O’Sullivan claimed the last frame to level at the interval.
After the break, O’Sullivan dominated but neither player was at his best.
He won the fifth to take the lead for the first time, and then extended his lead by taking the next as Dott’s safety play began to let him down.
A frustrated Dott surprisingly conceded the sixth and seventh when only two snookers were required and he was staring at a four-frame deficit when O’Sullivan got in among the balls in the last frame.
But the Pocket Dynamo dug deep when presented with a chance, making a crucial 70 to prevent O’Sullivan moving too far ahead.
In the other semi final Marco Fu and Peter Ebdon are locked in stalemate in what so far has been a truly awful match.
They finally ended a mistake-ridden opening session level at 4 frames each.
Neither player found top form, with the match frequently bogged down in lengthy safety exchanges and missed pots.
A re-rack of the first frame after 15 minutes’ play set the tone, but Fu did make an 81 to take an early lead.
They traded the next three for a 2-2 score at the interval, but the standard deteriorated further and four scrappy frames later the scores were level.
Fu, playing in his first World championship semi-final, made a bright start with breaks of 41 and 81 in the second running of the opener, but nerves soon seemed to take hold.
The Hong Kong-based player could have gone further ahead after he knocked in a break of 54 in the next, but a missed red let Ebdon in and the 2002 champion made 56 to level.
A scrappy third frame went Fu’s way, but Ebdon went into the mid-session interval on level pegging after breaks of 42 and 50.
Ebdon took the fifth, before a lengthy sixth frame - at 52 minutes, the second longest of this year’s tournament - was finally sealed by Fu.
It was tit-for-tat in the seventh, with Ebdon rewarded for his persistence and the final frame was a horror show for both players.
For part of the frame Fu seemed unable to pot a ball with four simple pots missed, but Ebdon could not take advantage.
Fu eventually regained his composure to bring to a close a session of snooker which the fans and players will be glad to forget.
One fan was heard to shout “Come on lads, it’s like watching paint dry” in the final frame, and the players could have few complaints with that verdict.
