Masters snooker 2024: Ronnie O’Sullivan seals place in semi-finals after rollercoaster win over Barry Hawkins

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s bid to win an eighth Masters title remains on course after he edged a rollercoaster encounter with Barry Hawkins 6-3.

The world No. 1 was far from his brilliant best but still outperformed his wasteful opponent to seal his place in a 15th Masters semi-final, where he will meet either Shaun Murphy or Jack Lisowski.

O’Sullivan looked to set the tempo with a rapid break of 88, completed within 10 minutes, ensuring he took the opening frame in some style.

After a safety battle, O’Sullivan took a risk on a long red and confidently dispatched it to create another opportunity for a significant break. However, with the reds invitingly spread, an unexpected miss on the pink allowed Hawkins back in and he punished the error to level the scores at 1-1.

The Rocket, though, quickly got back into the rhythm and a break of 47 was enough to clinch the third frame, with Hawkins left to reflect on a poor early shot.

It had been a sub-par start for Hawkins, who would have felt his safety play was letting him down, but somehow he found himself level at 2-2 after producing a knock of 74 to tie the match once more.

Uncharacteristic mistakes began to creep into O’Sullivan’s game after the mid-session interval and he could only watch from his chair as Hawkins pounced with a break of 56.

A couple of fine pots indicated that O’Sullivan was finding his groove but his break of 35 ended prematurely when he jawed a pink – a shot Neal Foulds on Eurosport commentary described as a “bad miss”.

A scrappy, error-strewn frame was summed up when O’Sullivan miscued on the pink – but he was thankful it didn’t cost him as Hawkins left him with another chance to put it beyond his reach, and the seven-time world champion duly delivered.

Hawkins had lost 17 of the 19 matches he had played against O’Sullivan, and it appeared a mental barrier was affecting his performance as a poor shot choice on the red proved costly, allowing The Rocket to get his nose in front once more.

O’Sullivan closed in on victory by making it three consecutive frames without reply, going 5-3 up courtesy of a 60 break as Hawkins’ profligacy continued to hamper him.

It was a familiar story in what proved to be the ninth and final frame, with Hawkins squandering yet another opportunity, and although O’Sullivan had plenty left to do, he wrapped up the match with a sensational break.