The 2022 Snooker Tour Championship was contested for the first semi-final in the early morning of April 2, Beijing time in Wales, England, and defending champion Neil Robertson withstood the ferocious firepower of the "Rockets" Ronnie O'Sullivan's five-shot break, and finally narrowly advanced to the 10-9 victory to get Sunday's final ticket.
Robertson's match against O'Sullivan was the final line-up for last year's Tour Championship, when Robertson won 10-4. The two sides are much closer in the early hours of this morning, and they have also played tit-for-tat in their first encounters of the season – the Masters and the Players Championship were won by Robertson, while O'Sullivan beat Robertson in the world Grand Prix final before new year to win the cup.
With the win of the match, regardless of the outcome of Sunday's final, Robertson will finish at his best in the "Cazoo Series" that spans three events – the World Grand Prix, the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. Robertson's opponent in the final will be between John Higgins and Luca Bressell.
Despite failing to win, the Rockets still made history in this semi-final, and with a quarter-final record (10-9 win over Mark Williams), O'Sullivan became the first player in history to shoot a 5-stroke breaker in two consecutive games.
The two sides drew 4-4 in a fiery afternoon, with O'Sullivan leading again in the late second stage, but Robertson took the lead 6-5 for the first time in the game after winning two straight sets, and the Australian then shot a single 66 to extend the advantage to 7-5 before half-time.
The match continued 15 minutes later, with O'Sullivan trailing 6-7, followed by another round of firepower. Robertson scored 117 points, 8-6, and O'Sullivan scored 100 points to make it 7-8. In the 16th inning, O'Sullivan scored a 70-pointer, Robertson hit the last red ball but missed a good opportunity to do snooker, O'Sullivan chased 8-8.
The next game became a "two win in three sets", with O'Sullivan blasting out the fifth game to break the 112th score to get the match point first, but Robertson did not miss the opportunity to drag the game into the decider this time, and played a single 80 points in the 19th set to seal the victory.
"It's a big win. I think it was a very good game and it's hard for you to see a quality performance like today's first stage. Robertson, 40, said.
"He (O'Sullivan) made some incredible single shots tonight, in near-impossible circumstances. Most players can only pursue a 30-point score when they see such a ball shape, but he can break through the hundred. You can only enjoy yourself in your seat, but at the same time you can't accept that you are going to lose. ”
"Against the great players of Snooker, you're always going to enjoy it because you don't know how many more times this experience will be. Whenever I play against John Higgins, Ronnie or Mark Williams, I cherish those moments. These were the idols I grew up with, and I didn't even think I'd meet them, let alone play against them. ”