Ronnie O’Sullivan insisted “I’m no superstar” after cruising into the Crucible semi-finals for a record 13th time by wrapping up a 13-5 win over Stephen Maguire.
The 46-year-old reeled off breaks of 71 and 126 in the first two frames of the morning session to surpass the record he had shared with Stephen Hendry for reaching the last four.
But, despite closing on emulating Hendry’s record of seven world titles, O’Sullivan is adamant that the Scot’s dominance of the sport in the 1990s still makes him the greatest.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has reached a record-breaking 13th Crucible semi final – overcoming Stephen Maguire 13-5!
He beats the previous record set by Stephen Hendry.
His opponent? John Higgins or Jack Lisowski #ilovesnooker @Betfred pic.twitter.com/lp8lRN96GQ
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) April 27, 2022
“Stephen is an all-time legend for me, the greatest player,” O’Sullivan told the BBC.
“He was the Tiger Woods of snooker. Me, John (Higgins) and Mark (Williams) have all done well, but when he was flying he was a superstar.
“When there’s three of us, we’re not superstars. But when there’s one man dominating the sport like he did, like Tiger Woods, it’s a different level.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan made quick work of Stephen Maguire on Wednesday (Martin Rickett/PA)
O’Sullivan had carved a commanding lead despite never quite hitting top form against Scottish qualifier Maguire on Tuesday, but showed glimpses of his best upon the resumption after a missed black from his opponent sealed his fate.
It was another commanding win from O’Sullivan, who started the tournament by losing the first three frames of his first round match to David Gilbert before storming back to beat the former semi-finalist and blow away Mark Allen in round two.
O’Sullivan, who will play either Higgins or Jack Lisowski in the last four, described his performance as “workmanlike”, but said he was looking forward to returning to the Crucible’s one-table set-up on Thursday.
Ronnie O’Sullivan wrapped up the two frames he needed in Sheffield (Martin Rickett/PA)
“It’s workmanlike more than flowing, but I’ve had to learn to steady the ship and I think that’s the key to being consistent – being able to minimise the bad spells,” said O’Sullivan.
“I am looking forward to it. When it comes to the one-table set-up you can relax a bit more, and I’m excited still to be in the tournament and to get there.”
Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham will resume their quarter-final level at 8-8 on Wednesday evening after a topsy-turvy second session.
Judd Trump pulled level at 8-8 against Stuart Bingham (Tim Goode/PA)
Resuming 5-3 behind, Bingham reeled off the first five frames of the day to lead 8-5 and leave a distinctly out-of-sorts Trump facing the prospect of a significant deficit.
But a missed black off the spot in the next by Bingham proved pivotal, as Trump dredged up a break of 41 to take the frame, then won the next with a break of 89.
With the momentum swinging back in Trump’s favour, Bingham, who had himself struggled to sustain any kind of consistency, was punished for missing a red in the final frame of the session, enabling Trump to pull level.
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