Ronnie O’Sullivan’s love affair with the Champion of Champions event continued as he breezed his way into the last four with aplomb – in an environment he described as a “numpty-free zone”.
After making a mockery of his “tricky draw” at the Ricoh Arena with routine victories against Neil Robertson and defending champion John Higgins for the concession of just a single frame, he put his excellent form down to playing an event where the lower-ranked “numpties” are not invited.
The Champion of Champions certainly seems to bring the best out of O’Sullivan. He is playing in this event for a fourth time this year following impressive previous visits where he has lifted the title twice and finished runner-up on the other occasion.
His double win this time means he’s now played 14 matches here in total and won 13 of them – making him the undisputed king of this format.
It’s an event which suits him down to an absolute tee. This week he turns up on Thursday and could collect the trophy and a £100,000 top prize by Sunday including a rest day on Saturday. How’s that for a week’s work?
Just like The Masters – an event O’Sullivan is the seven-time record winner of – it is a one table setup throughout and only features the very best players in the world. This is the kind of tournament which really gets Ronnie’s juices flowing. He can take centre stage from ball one and play his snooker in front of a packed crowd.
Ronnie’s performance here so far has been punctuated by three fine centuries and despite a few mistakes, he laid on another masterclass of cue ball control. In his 6-0 hammering of Higgins, he got better and better as the match went on and should only grow stronger as we move into the semi-finals.
Waiting for him in the last four is Anthony Hamilton; the lowest ranked player to compete in this week’s tournament. Based on this showing, O’Sullivan’s odds will be slashed and anything but a simple passage to the final would be a surprise.
You won’t want to miss the conclusion of this tournament. Ronnie looks ominously in the mood to put on a show and has so far showed a real focus to get the job done.
đ dispatches John Higgins in emphatic style. A whitewash of 6-0 to book his place in the semi finals of the @188BET @ChampOfChamps against Anthony Hamilton.
