Ronnie O’Sullivan continues to showcase his skill on the snooker table. How do you feel about his performance in the Masters 2024?

Ronnie O’Sullivan called himself “awful” after defeating Barry Hawkins 6-3 and maintaining his hopes of winning a record-tying ninth Masters championship.

At Alexandra Palace, O’Sullivan overcame a 3-2 deficit to earn a spot in his 15th Masters semi-final.

Although Hawkins got off to a good start, O’Sullivan outlasted his opponent and won 6-3 to advance to play Shaun Murphy on Saturday (13.00 GMT).

“I’m fortunate to have passed,” O’Sullivan said to BBC Sport.

Schedule of Masters matches, BBC TV coverage, and history of the competition

“I basically brought Barry down to my level, and I felt horrible for him. It’s an amusing retro game.

To be honest, I didn’t feel any pressure at all. Perhaps that’s why I performed the way I did. I believe that occasionally you need that pressure to get motivated.”

After O’Sullivan broke for an 88-run lead in the first session, Hawkins—a former finalist in the Masters—answered with runs of 74, 56, and 47 to take a 3-2 lead soon after the break.

But the left-hander wasted many excellent opportunities to increase his advantage, and O’Sullivan—who hasn’t won the championship in seven years—pounced in a characteristic predatory manner to advance.

He was able to finish the match in fine form with breaks of 77 and 60, bringing him within two victories of the £250,000 first prize.

O’Sullivan continued, “That’s the most horrible standard of snooker.” “At the end, I just murmured, ‘Sorry, mate,’ to Barry.

“I simply have this thing with some players where they play even when I play poorly.

I’ve just experienced that my entire life, yet some of the other males will punish me.”

When the two faced up in the 2017 Masters final, O’Sullivan crushed Hawkins 10-1; Hawkins hadn’t defeated O’Sullivan since the Sheffield World Championship in 2016.

It didn’t seem good for him to have only three victories in 20 matches with the other player, and this was confirmed when O’Sullivan—who wasn’t even close to his best—scored yet another victory.

“I let him [Ronnie] off the hook – I had enough chances,” Hawkins replied.

“When you play Ronnie, for whatever reason, your thoughts stray. I have no grievances.”

Analysis: O’Sullivan will believe he has “betrayed” people.
Steve Davis, three-time Masters winner, appearing on BBC Two

Every now and again, it seems that Ronnie enters a state where he would much rather be far more aggressive than get bogged down in tactical play.

At the end, he performed admirably. Although it doesn’t seem like the most crucial thing, Ronnie constantly seems like she wants to amuse.

Although he will undoubtedly feel as though he let folks down, the fact that he completed the task is all that counts.

But Barry Hawkins will be walking back to his dressing room and saying: “I had so many chances – and I threw them all away.”

Murphy was too strongly inspired for Lisowski.
Murphy, the winner of the 2015 Masters, proved that experience matters as he easily defeated Lisowski to go to the semi-finals for the first time in four years.

With breaks of 75, 131, and 76, Murphy took a 3-1 lead halfway through the session.

With one more century of the evening, at 123, the former world champion was within one frame of victory, making it 5-1.

Lisowski, who advanced to his maiden Masters semifinal the previous year, came back to win the following two sets.

Murphy, though, did not waver as he secured his spot in his sixth Masters semifinal.

Murphy said to BBC Sport, “You just never feel safe against Jack because he’s a huge talent.”

“When performing in front of an audience.

Lisowski, disappointed, said: “I simply kept hanging on, even though I didn’t feel well. Shaun had a solid finish.”