O’Sullivan has a hand in a record-equaling seventh world crown after establishing a 12-5 lead overnight, but the day will be remembered for the 46-year-old’s furious response to a caution for allegedly gesturing obscene in the middle of the frame. Eight.
Marteel gave O’Sullivan what the World Snooker Tour later confirmed was a “formal warning” for a “gesture” he made after failing to get out of a pool hall, prompting a clearly irritated O’Sullivan to challenge the officer to check the camera and insisted. he “saw nothing”.
O’Sullivan vehemently denied any offense in a rare interview with Eurosport in his dressing room immediately after the afternoon session, saying: “I think he (Marteel) seems to be asking for trouble. I just have that vibe of the guy.
“They have hundreds of cameras and they can go and check all of them. I’m not going to have any of that because I think he’s just trying to create something. He has to deal with it, not me.”
O’Sullivan already faces an investigation by the WPBSA disciplinary committee for allegedly making a lewd gesture after missing a black in the 13th frame of his 10-5 first-round win over Dave Gilbert.
The six-time world champion had previously complained to Marteel about a security guard moving into his line of sight during the third frame, then the pair became involved in a lengthy exchange over target placement following a glitch in the fourth frame. .
At the end of the session, O’Sullivan forgot to share the customary fist bump with Marteel, who will officiate in his second world final, although the two did shake hands before the start of the afternoon session.
The incident marred recognition of a ruthless performance from O’Sullivan, who punished a series of misses by his opponent by winning seven of the night’s nine frames to make Monday’s conclusion a formality.
Having pulled off an epic semi-final against Mark Williams on Saturday, Trump looked ready to keep his momentum going as he grabbed the first set with a break of 72, but O’Sullivan responded with a five-frame flurry.
Two centuries, taking his Crucible career total above the 200 mark, helped O’Sullivan on his way, but there was a sign of the fractious atmosphere to come when O’Sullivan insisted that white had been mistakenly replaced after a failure at frame four.
Despite Marteel’s insistence that the cue ball was in the right place, O’Sullivan refused to play the shot, twice drawing Trump into the argument and at one point jokingly insisting that Marteel should play the shot. shot himself before play belatedly resumed.
O’Sullivan got the snooker he needed and brilliantly recovered the frame when he slammed a riveted black into the middle of three cushion, as Trump faced the prospect of an unrecoverable deficit in the first session.
But Trump, the 2019 champion, responded with a break of 97 in the seventh frame, before ignoring the associated fury in the eighth by coolly wiping the colors to cut the deficit to just 5-3 by the end of the session.
However, O’Sullivan emerged for the afternoon session and set out to claim another five-frame streak, repeatedly exploiting his opponent’s mistakes as Trump’s confidence seemed to fade almost visibly.
A 66 to go 6-4, a third century of the match to go three in front, then three frames in a row in which O’Sullivan pounced on his opponent’s mistakes and swept the world number one to a six-frame lead. .
Although Trump pulled himself together and stopped the rot with a break of 80 in the next one, O’Sullivan topped the final two frames of the night with breaks of 60 and 88.
Trump must now win at least two of Monday afternoon’s eight frames to avoid the indignity of becoming the first player to lose a final with a session to spare since Jimmy White, who was beaten 18-5 by Stephen Hendry in 1993. .
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-01 22:35:39
