In the second semi-final of the World Snooker European Masters that ended in the early morning of February 27, 2022, Beijing time, the world's second-ranked "Rocket" O'Sullivan successfully advanced to the final of this tournament with a superb performance of 127 points, 109 points, 50 points, 81 points, 72 points and 60 points to eliminate Chinese star Liang Wenbo 6-2. In another semi-final that ended earlier, Chinese teenager Fan Zhengyi successfully advanced to the final with a good performance of 131, 58, 77 and 84 points to beat former world champion Graeme Dort 6-4. Next, O'Sullivan will compete with Fan Zhengyi, who has reached the final for the first time, for the final trophy. And the final ownership of the championship will also bring a new record to Snooker.
O'Sullivan fired wide to defeat Liang Wenbo 6-2
In the match between O'Sullivan and Liang Wenbo, O'Sullivan's form was too good, which made Liang Wenbo too limited. In the first set, O'Sullivan scored a 50-point error, and Liang Wenbo scored a 74-point 74-50 Jedi reversal to take a 1-0 lead. In the second set, O'Sullivan scored 81 points at 81:47 to draw 1-1 with Liang Wenbo. In the third set, O'Sullivan scored 72 points to win the game 72-27 to give Liang Wenbo a 2-1 lead. In the fourth set, O'Sullivan scored 60 points and 85-1 to take a 3-1 lead. In the fifth set, O'Sullivan scored 127 points to take a 4-1 lead with a 135-0 clean sheet. In the sixth set, O'Sullivan scored 109 points in one shot to establish a 5-1 lead over Liang Wenbo. In the seventh set, Liang Wenbo scored 56 points and 67:64 to win the set to trail O'Sullivan 2-5. In the eighth set, O'Sullivan won the set 71:51 to eliminate Liang Wenbo 6-2 to advance to the final, and he will compete for Fan Zhengyi.
Fan Zhengyi was in good shape to eliminate Dortmund 6-4 to advance
In the match between Fan Zhengyi and Dort, Dort's state was too low, which made him suffer in the confrontation with Fan Zhengyi. In the first set, Fan Zhengyi took the set 90:14 to take a 1-0 lead. He then took a 2-0 lead with a one-shot 131-point win over another set. In the third set, Dortmund scored 66 points 72:30 to win the set to trail Fan Zhengyi 1-2. In the fourth set, Fan Zhengyi won the set 62:50 to lead Dortmund 3-1. In the fifth set, Fan Zhengyi scored 58 points to win the set 66:47 to take a 4-1 lead. In the sixth set, Dort won the set 64:24 to trail Fan Zhengyi 2-4. In the seventh set, Dort scored 62 points to win the game 72-8, thus trailing Dortmund 3-4. In the eighth inning, Fan Zhengyi scored 81 points to win the set 81-4 to lead Dotner 5-3. In the ninth inning, Dort scored 52 points to win the set 74-58 and trail Fan Zhengyi 4-5. In the tenth set, Fan Zhengyi scored 84 points to win the set 84:32 to determine that he would eliminate Dortmund 6-4 to successfully enter the final.
Both Dort and Liang Wenbo lost in state suppression
Although the course of the two games is not the same, the determining factor in the direction of the game is the state. In the match between Dort and Fan Zhengyi, Dort's state was very sluggish, which made Fan Zhengyi, who was obviously more accurate in a single ball, find a breakthrough in the game. Although the experienced Dot tried to limit Fan Zhengyi by controlling the game, the difference in accuracy made it difficult for him to achieve his goal of reversing the game. And his frequent mistakes also let Fan Zhengyi see the possibility of the final, so Dort just lost in the form and accuracy, and he really did not lose in other aspects. Compared with the match between Dort and Fan Zhengyi, the state confrontation between O'Sullivan and Liang Wenbo is more obvious. Although Liang Wenbo's overall performance is not bad, he still has some spare energy in the face of O'Sullivan, who is now full of firepower. Under the absolute suppression of the state, Liang Wenbo can only rely on O'Sullivan's occasional mistakes to get a few mobile phone meetings. For Liang Wenbo, he has done a good job, but O'Sullivan's excellence has overshadowed his play.