The Rocket Reacts to Imminent Knockout | Ronnie O'Sullivan ...

I guess the key, Neil, is where the Hawkins can continue to play so well as we approach the winning line. Well, yeah, I mean, that's the thing, isn't it? Not only for him, but for anybody in this position. As he just brushes into the pink on the way through. Oh, and this, Ronnie O'Sullivan's six. This is where there are no more intervals in play. You either win or you lose at the end of this little section now. So it kind of changes the dynamic of what we've seen to something a little different. That was quite a way out, and I think he'd have preferred to be able to punch it in. Well, he's lost his way a little bit towards the end of those four frames, but with a chance to regroup with something here first, potentially significantly. Well, he was sitting very quietly backstage on the screens, the analysis. You could hear what Ken and Alan were saying and watching the shots that were selected. He wasn't practicing, but he had an eye on what was going on, put it that way, which is taken in the wise words, who knows? But he was very relaxed. There's another thing that's changed in the last year, intervals, because a companion with him you could chat to, but that's all stopped for everyone. Sixteen. The way he's going to have to play this pink is sure to leave, well, basically everything. If he doesn't go in, all you want to do is give this shot every chance of going in. Put the rest out of the player's mind. And he played it with quite a bit of authority, didn't he? Twenty-two. Punched it in nicely. Quite a long bridge on the shot. He's always been hard to read. Twenty-three. Sometimes you think he's lost interest, and suddenly all the old form returns. Doesn't look like he's lost interest in this match. He's been very businesslike. Twenty-eight. Still, of course, looking for his first title since becoming world champion for a sixth time last August. Lost in four finals this season, which is unusual for him. Thirty-five. That's the other side of it. Even when he's trying really hard, he can still get beat, as anyone can. Thirty-six. Get people saying to you sometimes, you know, that he's Ronnie O'Sullivan, the player he was, and I always say, well, based on what we've seen this season, you could argue not, but he is the world champion, and the world championship wasn't even a year ago. Forty-three. And he's been very consistent. Four ranking finals already this season. Forty-nine. This is two from the class of 92. John Higgins and Mark Williams have won ranking titles in the last few weeks. This is it when people say, for example, about Barry Hawkins, he should have won more. Well, yeah, that's all very well saying that, but look at the people you've got to beat. Fifty-eight. Well, he's almost there. Sixty-three. This red is enough, because the remaining will go to eight points, of course, when the red's potted. Sixty-four. First objective was to get a frame on the board. It took one chance for that to happen. Oh, he hit that one well. I mean, I know the frame's won, but it was struck beautifully. Seventy. Seventy-eight. Would the cube will dare go in the middle? It has, so then we have a stake. Seventy-eight. Barry Hawkins. Seventy-eight, though, has won in the frame. That's the main thing. This could be a really exciting finish tonight. Hawkins leads seven-six. I think he was worried about the in-off immediately. He very solidly knocked the red in, but he's on absolutely nothing. Barry Hawkins, what? He's in trouble here, O'Sullivan. I mean, there is a red that he could hit to go up the left side, but there are so many reds in the way. Oh, that's a wonderful safety shot. That really is. There was not a lot of room there. That was almost a shot a brilliant player would be pleased to swing that cue ball into an area like that. It's a great shot. Well, look, win or lose today, I think that is one thing that O'Sullivan has definitely added to his game. He knows he's getting a little older, and he will have to graft a little bit more than perhaps when he was the most gifted player we've ever seen, I think. But Barry is matching him, and now the attentions have turned to the left side of Bulk as we look. Fascinating exchange, this. Well, look at this cue ball. Just look at this cue ball. OK, there's a red gone near a pocket, but that is another exceptional shot. And if Barry decides to play this long red, well, there's no shot to nothing now with the red over the hole. This has to go in. Now, can he get any form of cover? There's plenty of obstacles potentially in the way here, so it was quite a good side of the table to play down. Cushion first, perhaps. They're never easy shots. Earlier in the season, he dropped out of the top 16, but got to the semis of the German Masters. Of course, the players' championship as well, but he lost to O'Sullivan. Well, that's not quite how he wanted it. It's not much fun. Well, the omens are good. 15 out of 16, potting with the rest. But, of course, we're late on in the match now. The pressure is on. He recovered it pretty well. He doesn't worry that the black's a little tied up. Just keep going. He put O'Sullivan partly snookered with the cushion first attempt, which led to this. That won't make any difference. O'Sullivan's just walking out. He's not got his cue in his hand. There's a clue that he's conceded the point. So, Barry Hawkins, a steely effort there if he's running O'Sullivan 8-6. That's a terrific shot. Now, the fact that he's looking at a bold colour becomes a more difficult shot as he, in that camera angle, completely underlines the fact the positional side of it can go wrong. I don't know if he can get to the bottom red in the bunch, the one directly above the black. He sort of screwed out of the reds a little bit more than he would have wanted. But he still has one from the middle. He's in a very good groove at the moment. Certainly shots you don't really ever think he's going to miss when he's like this. Another very well-controlled shot. Stun run through around two cushions. He might just say that's enough there. Yep, he's conceded. Terrific break again, wasn't it? A winning break from Barry Hawkins. 73 has put him on the brink. He leads the world champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan, 9-6. As you can see, over half an hour in the match since O'Sullivan potted a ball. Well, I don't really think he made a mistake. Barry potted a tremendous long red. He's playing now the same as he was at the start of the match. Of course, you can't rule out things becoming interesting if O'Sullivan wins the next frame. It just might stop Barry Hawkins from feeling as positively as he does now, as upbeat. But for now, he's all over O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan needs four in a row. Of course, from 3-0 down, he reeled off four to take a 4-3 lead. Interestingly, in the eighth frame, he looked annoyed that he squandered a chance. Maybe he felt that 5-3 up would have seized the initiative in the match. It's an unpromising position. Well, he's firing on all cylinders, isn't he, with his all-round game. It's another excellent shot. Perfectly as played. O'Sullivan right behind Barry, looking to see if the red pots. He knows it pots, but whether he can conceivably get on the colour. Wong. Barry Hawkins, Wong. Well, he's, first of all, more worried about getting past that left-hand red that he was closest to, but he didn't pass the bottom one, as you saw. And he has been frozen out for a while, and every shot is more difficult. Barry's safety's good, and he's scoring. Everything's working. And the pressure is mounting on O'Sullivan. Wong. And more importantly, maybe, he's kept O'Sullivan out. His safety's been really good as well. He's made the breaks. He's done everything in terms of the performance. Six. Now, this time, the balls aren't favourable for scoring where they are. Eight. Nine. Played that well. Just an angle now to come back towards the reds. Forty. Fifteen. Well, the pink's now in play. Well, Barry has got himself into this position now, hasn't he? And how well has he played to do it? It's just now a question of keeping that man in his chair for the remainder. At the moment, he looks a little agitated, or as anyone would. Maybe he resigned. I don't know. Resigned to his fate, but he still has to finish the job. Twenty-one. Can he avoid the red above it? I think he can. Get out into a space written down on a colour. Twenty-seven. No problem. Thirty-two. He's got to play this one, surely. So he might just be a little bit scarred by what happened. But it clearly goes. Thirty-three. Well, he's edging close to the pink, putting forty in front. There's reds to go out here. It's a great chance now to get this match won. Well, there is now a glimmer for O'Sullivan, who has not potted a ball for forty-three minutes of playing time, but all of a sudden Barry has given himself more to do now for his next shot. Forty. Gradually easing out of position more and more by the shot. That was very cool. Played slowly like that to hold. He could hit those to the top jaw, trying to stop the cue ball travelling down the table very far. That was a beautiful shot. He's retrieved the situation well there. But eventually he misses that one. Barry Hawkins. So this isn't done yet. Forty-seven in the frame, still six reds on. O'Sullivan was already at the table, wasn't he? Yeah, I think Barry lingered a bit too long there. He missed the shot and he looked in bewilderment, but Ronnie was waiting behind him to play the shot himself. I think it kicked, looking at it again. One. So, maybe the last throw of the dice for O'Sullivan to get a frame on the board and make this task more difficult. Just got to the point when he rolled that pink in that he wasn't going to miss anything. Eight. Things get difficult now, don't they, with the black safe and the reds all near cushions. Forty. Fifteen. Now he's got the angle here. If he wants to develop the red and the black, it's on from where he is. Well, he's played it nicely, given himself a chance to be on the red. And it's a slightly more promising set-up now than it was a few shots ago. Twenty-two. He's a bit straighter than he would like. A little grimace from O'Sullivan there, knowing that... Twenty-eight. He hasn't really got the angle. He might have forced this. Of course, that's when you can miss them. Twenty-nine. Looking for the gap of two cushions between the green and brown. Oh, that's a delight, that shot. And he plays these left-handed. He couldn't have played it better. Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Well, he's dealt with these reds brilliantly. The colour's just about on their spots. Well, this is a sensational break. It was horrible, the table. The black was safe, all the reds were on cushions. But the way, as you say, that he's got about this positional play onto that last red. Forty-six. A delight to watch. Not for him. He's going well in what was a difficult start when he came to the table. Pink and black tied up the pink. Eventually got three. O'Sullivan has stepped in. Fifty-three. He's not won six World Titles for no reason, has he? And all these other things he's done at the game. People think that, you know, he's a great front-liner and he can do all these things when the going's good. But it's been decidedly sticky for the last forty-five minutes. He hasn't pulled a ball for... Now this wins the frame. Superb. Fifty-four. Just a fantastic clearance from Ronnie O'Sullivan. This is the match of the tournament and it's not over yet. Hawkins had his chance to win ten-six. O'Sullivan, though, has won the frame. He trails nine-seven. Then catches the blue off the break-off. Yes, but it's actually not bad for once. I'm saying that thinking that Barry's shot is not an easy one. Well, that's a good putt. That really is. But there must be something in the back of Barry Hawkins' mind thinking that really none of that should have ever happened. But the black has stayed out. Barry Hawkins. One. Eight. Nine. Yes, he was just straight enough to get on to that bottom red there. But he now is low on the red, so he's got to make contact with the red above it. He'll be a little annoyed there. I think his mind was a lot on the position and maybe didn't think enough about the putt in the end. He looks uncomfortable now all of a sudden, doesn't he? I mean, even after he missed that, he was looking at the end of his cue and didn't hit the jaw. A lot of this game is in the mind, isn't it? Let's be honest. It's not only about knocking balls in. It's well played. Seven. He wishes this was dead straight because he wants to avoid the bunch and plant the black to the opposite corner. Eight. If he played that cannon, that is some shot because he had very small margins forever there. I was behind the shot, but it wasn't dead straight. Here's the shot now. It's not dead straight. Now, if he's played that little cannon... Fifty. I mean, I know he's a great player, but that was quite a special shot which could slip by unnoticed at times. Sixteen. Eighteen. What's he found here? There looks to be a three-ball plant in there somewhere. Those three reds. It's not a dead plant. It may be maneuverable into a plant, but if he's got the angle, he might decide to go into the bunch anyway here with the one cushion. Looking good. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Well, he's gone from not potting a ball for 43 minutes in the match to starting to look favourite. Black's not in yet, but he's got the reds nicely spread. Yeah, well, not potting a ball, Dave, for the simple reason that Barry was potting a ball, wasn't it? It wasn't like he was doing a great deal wrong. Twenty-nine. A couple of safety exchanges that he ended up losing out on. Absolutely. He didn't see anything easy, did he? The only balls he was seeing were... Thirty. ...from distance, not easy. Hawkins had kept him out, but now Hawkins has let him back in, and he knows that. Well, he's not there yet, but he's... Thirty-three. ...on the brink of pulling another frame back, which makes this match very interesting. Thirty-four. Well, hell for the bottom red. Forty-one. Forty-two. At the moment, Barry could conceivably tie, but I think he's on that bottom red from where he is. Yes, he is. Forty-four. Forty-five. At the moment, Sean O'Sullivan has come to life at just the right time. He sat in his chair in that last frame, and now he's right back in with a chance of winning this match. Well, it's a strange old game, isn't it? How much would he have jumped at the chance to be 9-8 up in this match, first to ten at the start, but not so when you're 9-6 up and you look like you're going to win 10-6. But the numbers are still the same, aren't they? Sixty-one. Yeah, it's just everything that's happened, as you say, and regardless of the red in the last frame, which looked like a bad contact, he missed a couple in this one, a black and a red. Eventually, O'Sullivan has made another terrific break. Sixty-eight. Sixty-nine. A mesmerising session of snooker from both of them. What about that for a shot? Seventy-eight. Not sure exactly what that was that fell on the table, but he's put it in his pocket. Ninety. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 90. Ninety from Ronnie O'Sullivan. This match now, this semi-final, officially a thriller. Barry Hawkins leads Ronnie O'Sullivan, 9-8. Wow. At first glance, it looks like he might have got away with all kinds there. He called it so thin. It's one of those, it's only a shot to nothing if you kind of get near the potting angle. I mean, the red's on that's near the pocket, but clearly it's hard enough to get to. Getting on a colour, I think, well, it is an impossibility. And the red is available, but it'll take a good shot to cue it in and push the cue ball up and down the table. One. Well, that is a kiss from the gods. OK, it was well cued, but... ..that is a very fortuitous result. Six. Seven. It's only, what, 20 minutes since it looked basically over. Barry was closing in on victory, but right now... Twelve. ..he's in big trouble, even though he's still in front. So, Sullivan... Thirteen. ..A, playing the better snooker right now, but also getting the odd little nudge and little bit of fortune that you also need. Eighteen. Nineteen. He didn't hold back on the shot. Twenty-four. Hard to line these up when you're that close to the ball you're hitting. Twenty-five. He was going to have that sort of side on it, which took it on to the brown. It's an adventurous break. The balls are going in all directions, but there's an element of control and understanding about what he's doing. Keep this break alive. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Not to the decider yet, but... Thirty-eight. You know, it could have been out. But the clearance of O'Sullivan was one of his better ones... Forty-five. ..of many over the years. 40-odd minutes without a ball being potted. That was special. Forty-six. He hasn't blunted since, and he's experienced enough to read the signs. Fifty-three. Oh, be furious. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 53. A little deceleration there, and you overcut them. So, Barry Hawkins has got another chance. Back at the table, at least. It could have been nine each. Six. Seven. Well, this is the big shot. Kept the bunch of reds open. That's good. That's very good. 14. 15. Again, he could not have played that better. 20. It's very important, if he plays on the blue, that he gets where he did on that last blue. That would help matters. 21. More than happy to finish there. So, once again, O'Sullivan in that position of not knowing whether he'll get another shot in this match. The fact that the cue ball's run a little further means he has to make contact with the other reds, so it wouldn't be a difficult cannon, but it's one that, it's not inconceivable it could go wrong. 27. Wasn't meant to kiss the reds that thick. And it has gone wrong. There's no getting away from it. Harry Hawkins, 27. That's a good shot. It's a different kind of tension these days, with no audience, but no less, sort of, just the whole intensity of the match. One. Tremendous player, Snooker, here, and he could make it a good one. Ronnie O'Sullivan, one. Foul. The miss. Ronnie O'Sullivan, four. Free ball. Blue ball. I'm not sure. Obviously, putting the blue safe is a good thing. Snooker now is easy, and he could take a risk and get the black in play here. I'm sure everyone at home, whether you're an experienced snooker player or not, but Ronnie could have easily put him in behind that yellow. But at this level, you have to get the shots right. Well, he can get onto the brown from this red, which will enable him to win the frame. Obviously, blue, pink and black, he'll do well to get on those. I only think lower value than the brown is not going to be of any use to him. A lot of interesting decision-making in the last few minutes here. Both players have had to deliberate over. Harley's in the frame now, again. But, of course, it's all very tense. Seven. Wanted to get back a bit further there for the green. He wanted to be straighter than this, I'm sure. Harry Hawkins, seven. This is frame ball, but it's quite thin. A thin sliver of this green ball to pot it. Three. What an extraordinary match it's turned into, and it looks like we'll need one more frame to decide it. And the brown is in. So, O'Sullivan has won the last three. Ronnie O'Sullivan, seven. I'm the fret. A little nod of the head from Barry Hawkins, who led 9-6. Ronnie O'Sullivan has hit back. It's all on the last frame. The level at nine each. He has had one or two matches, Barry Hawkins, no getting away from it in his career, which have slipped out of his hands when he's had them won. This one would be, if it happened, maybe the biggest of them all. Five. Oh, dear. Ronnie O'Sullivan, four. That is a terrible outcome to that shot. That is a dreadful start to the frame. The black's available, the red above it. Ronnie will be eyeing up getting on that. What a chance. Well, the old cliché is all you need in a decider is a chance, but sometimes you need more than one chance, and Hawkins may not get another one now. Six. Seven. Yes, had to play that very slowly to avoid the two reds. Fourteen. And land behind one. Fifteen. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Well, he's likely to develop reds here and finish on the black into the left corner or screw off the bunch. Thirty-one. Not bad. He will have strayed slightly. If it goes in, Barry Hawkins might have played his last. Thirty-eight. It's just so difficult to sit in your chair and not think back half an hour or so when he was really very close to winning this match comfortably in the end. Thirty-one. A bit annoyed that he's very straight on this. So the next shot is mid-range. Forty-four. Wow, wow, wow. Ronnie O'Sullivan. Forty-four. He is furious. He changed his mind. He was going to play the middle red to run through on the black. Well, he had the match won there, and he knows it. One. Well, that little flick has made this a lot more difficult. He's going into the reds as well. I mean, OK, he's back at the table, but this is not much fun, this shot. Played it very well. Controlled it nicely. How's he feeling inside? That's what we can't tell just watching him. Nine. Well, he has pushed another red safe, which, of course, he will need. He's a number of points behind still, so that's something for later on to consider. Sixteen. Seventy. Yeah. Ronnie O'Sullivan is no longer chasing the game. He's trying to win the match, everything on the line in the decider, as it was two years ago when he beat Trump on the last black. Twenty-five. Two things Barry did. He checked the scores, and then he looked at the angle, which might take him into one of those two reds sooner rather than later, perhaps. He played the cannon, but the worst outcome of all, missing it. It was a brave shot to take on. Many a player would have taken the balls that were there and worried about that later, given that, of course, he's still behind. Thirty-three. This black is more difficult maybe than the first one in that the cue ball is definitely going all around the table. Overcut it by an absolute mile. Now he needs to hit a colour. Barry Holkins, thirty-three. Well, that got very edgy. Yeah, it started when he didn't get that red. Three, as intended. Potted the good red nonetheless, but then has missed that tricky black. So, O'Sullivan back at the table, fifteen in front. Nothing easy right now. The table, given he's got a fifteen-point lead, is in O'Sullivan's favour, but it's not usually how he wins frames or matches. The quality we've seen before is always brought down to things getting very nervy in a decider. As great as these two players are, and as well as they've played, it wouldn't really be snooker if he didn't get nervous. Might be putting the cue ball up towards the top right pocket here. Well now, if Ronnie was to play this red into the yellow pocket, he leaves the other two on, but it may win him the match. He's got one red as insurance. If he does miss it, he's got an easy safety shot off the safe red, but of course he doesn't want to move it. Very big shot, this. He struck it too wide, and the cue ball fizzed back towards the middle pocket. Important though, he can still see the pink, because the three reds with pinks, he wouldn't need the last red, because the black's on the cushion. But if he takes pinks, he's just trying to work that out now. Hawkins would need a snooker. And it makes the world of difference that he doesn't need the other red. And it's not the easiest shot to get on that top right red. Just off straight, just screwing behind it, I think. Oh, what a shot. What a shot. That is, you couldn't put it any better with your hand to get from red to pink. Well, another red and a pink, he'll lead by 36, with 35 on. 15. And bar his snookers, he's in the final. 21. It was close, wasn't it? I think he thought that might have gone in, hasn't, so it's one snooker needed. Hmm. Sullivan's fight back from 9-6 down is what champions are made of. Wow. Oh, he got some on that. Almost overdid it. Yeah, he knew the in-off was not quite on that time. The table is getting more and more appealing for getting the snookers, especially where the yellow and brown aren't. Interesting way of doing it. Clearly now he's got almost a Carl Stein snooker here, behind the brown on the yellow. One thing he wants here is the yellow to be somewhere in the middle of the table, not near a cushion, which doubles the target size for Sullivan to hit. And that's surely one of the worst shots he's ever played. Should have been much more difficult than this. Clock's going forward, aren't they, overnight? He wants to turn them back, I think. Barry Hawkins. Target is quite big. Got to watch the in-off in the top left here. He's just avoided it, only just. He hasn't got a clear shot at all of this. It's not so easy to get the snooker back. It's not going to trouble him. Don't want the cue ball to be going off at an angle. That's probably the best he could have done. Don't think he wanted to get that brown in play, really. Well, that's surely it now. The truth is, it's very hard to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan, regardless of the position of the match. And it's an aura that's born out of greatness. This is a great escape, because Barry Hawkins has played superbly in this match. Five. Three centuries from the hawk. Some excellent safety as well. It's going well at 9-6. Ronnie O'Sullivan. But it's Ronnie O'Sullivan who will face Neil Robertson in the Tour Championship final. The match of the week. A real thriller here in Newport today. And it's Ronnie O'Sullivan who beats Barry Hawkins 10-9 to reach the final.