Ronnie O’Sullivan showcased his class after surviving an inspired Matthew Selt fightback to edge into the Xi’an Grand Prix semi-finals on Friday morning. The seven-time world champion booked a best-of-11 frame meeting with Kyren Wilson on Saturday but admitted he was fortunate to progress.
O’Sullivan produced a couple of 50-plus breaks to cruise into a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval and later went 4-2 ahead, leaving him one frame from victory.
But Selt came up with two centuries – 102 and 105 – and a 95 to level the score before O’Sullivan missed a black, having opened with a 36 in the deciding frame.
He wasn’t punished, though, as a loose safety shot off a red proved costly for Selt, opening the door for the 41-time ranking event winner to score 71 and secure his spot in the final four.
Selt has never beaten O’Sullivan, previously losing their encounters in the 2014 UK Championship and 2016 Scottish Open.
But the world No. 5 showed his respect after their Xi’an Grand Prix clash, admitting that he was fortunate to remain in the competition.
“I thought the way Matt played, when I missed that black and he was at the table, that he would clear up,” O’Sullivan explained after beating the former Indian Open champion.
“He was playing well. He allowed me to get back in the game, and gave me a chance. At 4-4 anything could happen, but Matt deserved to win today, he was the best player by a long way.”
O’Sullivan will face Wilson for a spot in the final after the world champion despatched Xu Si 5-1 in the other quarter-final match on Friday morning.
The reigning world champion staged a stunning comeback triumph over Mark Williams in the last 16, clinching it 5-4 from 4-2 down.
And he had an easier day of things against Xu, progressing with breaks of 69, 50 and 115.
Later on Friday, Judd Trump defeated David Gilbert 5-2 to set up a semi-final meeting with Daniel Wells, who bettered Barry Hawkins 5-3.
O’Sullivan, Wilson, Trump and Wells all pocketed just over £34,000 for reaching the semi-finals. The winner of the Xi’an Grand Prix will take home £177,000, while the runner-up will be due £76,000.
Before squeezing past Selt, O’Sullivan had enjoyed a comfortable tournament.
He dropped just three frames in his opening four matches against Wang Yuchen, Bulcsu Revesz, Yuan Sijun and Hossein Yafaei.
