Masters Snooker 2016 Results: Semi-Final Scores and Updated Draw, Schedule
Ronnie O'Sullivan continued his run at the 2016 Masters Snooker on Saturday, beating World Champion Stuart Bingham 6-3. Earlier in the day, Barry Hawkins got past Judd Trump 6-4.
O'Sullivan was far from his best but caught a few lucky breaks, while Bingham made far too many mistakes and never looked likely to beat the Rocket.
The Hawk put up a clinical display against Trump during the afternoon session, making several centuries and winning the tactical battle. Trump's long potting was as good as ever, but a number of mental errors doomed his chances late in the match.
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Here's a look at the semi-final results and the schedule for Sunday:
| Barry Hawinks | 6-4 | Judd Trump |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6-3 | Stuart Bingham |
| Barry Hawinks | 1 p.m. GMT/8 a.m. ET | Ronnie O'Sullivan |
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-3 Stuart Bingham
Similar to the afternoon session, the match between O'Sullivan and Bingham was remarkably low-scoring, particularly in the first couple of frames. Both made plenty of mistakes and seemed to struggle finding the centre of the pocket.
Bingham took the opening frame with a high break of 63, four more than O'Sullivan, before the Rocket tied things up in another back-and-forth battle. The crucial shot was a superb plant, which Bingham left when he tried to play a safety.
World Snooker shared footage of the remarkable shot:
The third frame played out in a similar manner, as Bingham once again missed a handful of key shots and put too much power on his safeties. Spectators had to wait until the fourth frame to see a glimpse of O'Sullivan's ability to build breaks, as he made a 70 to secure a 3-1 lead heading into the break.
If the Rocket didn't look like his usual, superb self before the break, that was about to change. He landed his first century of the evening in the fifth frame, thanks largely to this piece of vision:
The shot set the tone for a magnificent break of 121, and O'Sullivan carried the momentum into the sixth frame, making a comeback for the ages. With 51 left on the table and down by 53 points, he got the snooker he needed and potted a black to the side pocket that had Alexandra Palace on its feet.
The frame came down to the final shot, where the Rocket needed the rest to pot black from a tight angle, but the ball dropped, to the amazement of BBC Snooker:
Bingham finally stopped O'Sullivan's run in the following frame, building a nice break and even getting a look at a 147. A poor miss on black saw the chance go begging, but the frame did provide the World Champion with some much-needed momentum.
The table was laid out perfect for O'Sullivan in the next frame, but a miss on pink after just nine points opened the door for Bingham. Both played careless safeties, and the sloppy play continued, as Bingham got a big kick on a routine pot and played his safety with far too much space.
But it was O'Sullivan whose focus seemed to waver the most. He hit black with a poor attempt to get out of a safety, and missed the pack completely a few shots later.
Bingham eventually won the frame, and Pro Snooker Blog wondered whether the comeback was on:
The Rocket took out his frustrations with a superb split in the next frame, but he missed the black from the rest by inches and was forced to return to his chair as Bingham went to work once again. He took a 44-point lead before a failed plant, but was smart enough to play the safety as well.
O'Sullivan started his comeback and made the difference with a brilliant long-distance pot, before clearing the colours and booking his spot in the final.
Judd Trump 4-6 Barry Hawkins
Hawkins looked sloppy in his win over John Higgins, missing a number of easy shots. He was a totally different player on Saturday, however, starting his match against Trump on fire.
His long potting was fantastic in the first two frames, allowing him to build two steady breaks and open the match with two centuries. BBC Snooker was impressed:
The early deficit wasn't at all Trump's fault―Hawkins was excellent from distance and never gave the youngster a chance at the table. Trump finally got on the board by winning a scrappy third frame, playing a handful of smart safeties.
He got his first chance to really build a break of his own in the fourth, making 58 and finishing with 79 to tie things up. As always, he entertained the crowd along the way, via World Snooker:
Hawkins easily took the fifth frame with another high break of 74, before Trump went on a run. The Ace in the Pack, who is known as one of the best break-builders in the world, grabbed another century to tie things up before landing a superb plant that opened the table for another great frame, handing him his first lead.
Trump was just having fun at this point:
The 26-year-old seemed to be racing to the finish line, but a crucial miss on a straight red handed Hawkins a lifeline, and the Hawk tied things up in the eighth frame. He then built a stunning break in the ninth, opening up the table a bit more with every single shot to score another century and reclaim the lead.
In the ninth frame, Trump left Hawkins with a chance after playing a safety too full, but the Hawk missed, and suddenly, the table opened up for Trump. He made 34 before missing a tricky shot to the middle pocket, where he could have opted for the safety in a must-win frame.
Hawkins built another fine break to move within a single point before missing snooker on the brown, setting up a tactical battle. The World No. 8 eventually emerged victorious, grabbing the win on the pink.
Trump took to Twitter to congratulate Hawkins:
He looks in fine form entering the final, where he'll meet O'Sullivan, who has shown flashes of his genius during the tournament but remains rusty, a logical consequence of his lack of competitive matches.
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