German Masters 2012 (Day 3) - O'Sullivan: one day, two victories

O'Sullivan is flying into the semis

After beating Joe Perry 5-1 in the Last 16 earlier in the day, Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a free ticket to the semi-finals of the German Masters after winning 5-3 over Matthew Stevens.

Also in the semis, Stephen Maguire won a very tricky decider against Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy saw off Mark Selby 5-3, while "Bulldog" Stephen Lee ended Mark Williams' hopes of defending his German crown also by 5-3.

Ronnie O'Sullivan seems to be heading towards victory with a clear mind about what he wants, enjoying the time spent on the green baize and potting just like a king. So after earning a quarter-finals spot by beating Joe Perry 5-1, he took on the Welshman Matthew Stevens.

The first session saw Stevens taking a considerable lead of 3-1 after hitting in breaks of 37, 49, 31 and 88, while "The Rocket" seemed lost in space. However, after the 15-minute break O'Sullivan found his way home and hit in runs of 62, 30, 34, 56 and 54 to perform a great comeback but also to win the battle of cues by 5-3. A genuine spectacle of snooker.

Maguire: The winner takes it all ...

One very tight and tough match was going on at the televised table, where Judd Trump and Stephen Maguire were focused on winning.

With a first session ended on a 3-1 scoreline in favour of young Trump and Maguire clearly annoyed with himself, it didn't seem that the Scotsman will manage to make some noise after the mini-break. But that's exactly what he did.

Winning the 5^th frame with a top break of 82 Maguire felt a bit more relaxed, but Trump took the next one to set himself with one foot and four toes in the semis. “That can’t happen”, said Maguire so he attacked. 

Breaks of 100 and 38 were bringing the equality on the scoreboard but also a decider. The one to end the night.
Trump was first in with a break of 52, but committed a foul of 4 points, thus Maguire took his turn on the table. Still, he didn't make the most of this chance so Trump came back. Drama hit its apogee when Trump missed and left Maguire with an easy start.

Trump: ... the loser has to fall.

The Scotsman needed all the remaining balls so it was a hard task and he had to keep it calm. As the last black was sent to the left pocket, Maguire lift his fist to express the joy of surviving this hard test of endurance.

Also with a place secured in the semis we have Stephen Lee, who brought down to his knees the defending champion Mark Williams 5-3, but also one very tough 'Magician' Shaun Murphy who beat Mark Selby using the same scoreline.

Here is tomorrow's match schedule:

1pm
7.30pm
Shaun Murphy v. Stephen Maguire
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage: