- O’Sullivan wins Masters quarterfinal
- Craves “massive, dirty curry”
- Hawkins unable to capitalize
Ronnie O’Sullivan looked forward to a “massive, dirty curry” following a 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Barry Hawkins at the Masters that lacked excitement.
While wearing a thick parka and appearing under the weather in his post-match television interview, the seven-times champion murmured, “I’m in the mood for a massive, filthy curry. “I dislike nothing in particular.”
O’Sullivan began a match rife with faults from both competitors with an opening break of 88. However, it took until the penultimate frame for him to connect two more fifties, a 60, which brought him within one frame of securing the victory.
Hawkins will rarely have a greater opportunity to improve his dismal record against O’Sullivan, against whom he has lost 17 of their previous 20 meetings (including a 10-1 rout in the 2016 Masters final), despite his early good fortune.
Hawkins, who defeated Neil Robertson in the round of 16, was remarkable in defeating him. Despite trailing 4-0 at the break, he finished the match unaffected by the world No. 1’s sequence of uncharacteristic opportunities.
Missed Opportunities in Snooker Duel
Hawkins tied the score with a missed pink in the second minute, and despite not being penalised for a reckless yellow in the fourth, he managed to salvage a 2-2 tie at the intermission.
“Your path to wealth begins here – don’t wait, get your free Webull shares.”
O’Sullivan’s missed blue, along with several others, presented Hawkins with an opportunity to gain the upper hand for the first time at 3-2. However, the world No. 15 was unable to capitalise on a succession of chances to establish a two-frame advantage.
Sighs of exasperation greeted O’Sullivan’s miscue, in which he entirely missed the pink, but Hawkins failed to reach the same ball for an extended period of time with the spider, allowing the favourite to re-enter the game.
Both players resorted to even worse play thereafter, with O’Sullivan emerging victorious in the seventh frame following a series of errors, and securing a last-four matchup with either Shaun Murphy or Jack Lisowski.
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