Ronnie O'Sullivan booked himself a place in the final of the Welsh Open after brushing aside Shaun Murphy 6-3.

Though Murphy got off to a flying start in their semi-final match, taking advantage of a rare O'Sullivan error to rack up a 70-point clearance and win the first frame, it soon became clear that 'The Rocket' was in unstoppable form.

Breaks of 76 and then 113 from O'Sullivan in response to Murphy's 76 saw the players go into the mid-session interval at 2-2.

Such a pattern continued after the break, with O'Sullivan hitting a 101 break and taking the lead for the first time in the match only to be pegged back by Murphy's immediate response, with the 25-year old winning a scrappy sixth frame.

However the form which has seen O'Sullivan claim two titles already this season then came to the fore and he won three frames in a row, racking up a 143 break along the way, to claim victory.

The result represents Murphy's fourth semi-final defeat of the season and will come as a disappointment as he won the Malta Cup just six days previously.

O'Sullivan will face Mark Selby in the final after the Leicester man beat veteran Stephen Hendry 6-4 in the other semi-final.

Should O'Sullivan take the Welsh Open final, he will join Steve Davis and Hendry in an elite group of players who have notched up 20 world ranking tournament wins.


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