Ronnie O’Sullivan storms into UK Championship final as rift with Barry Hearn deepens

O'Sullivan pulled off a convincing 6-1 victory over the world No36, Tom Ford

Lawrence Ostlere
Saturday 08 December 2018 13:17 EST
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Ronnie O’Sullivan stormed into the UK Championship final with a convincing 6-1 victory over the world No36, Tom Ford.

Ford, a surprise semi-finalist at the York Barbican playing the biggest match of his career, won the opening frame but O’Sullivan responded with a century in the following frame and never let up.

The result sees O’Sullivan reach his eighth UK Championship final, having won six of his previous seven, where he will play either Masters champion Mark Allen or 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham.

Ford said: “It is a bit bit frustrating because I felt good out there. I enjoyed playing a match that I lost because of the experience and the crowd. I felt quite relaxed.

“If someone told me I would have been in the UK semis, I would have taken it all day long.”

On Friday O’Sullivan responded to the latest warning from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn in their public spat.

Hearn told O’Sullivan “enough is enough” and threatened him with sanctions after complaints over the tour’s schedule and choice of venues, but O’Sullivan insisted “I am doing it for the players”.

“I predict that Hearn will say I am self-indulgent, but that is totally not the case,” O’Sullivan said. “All I am trying to do is prolong my career and play the best snooker I can. If his door is truly open, let’s talk about it and be open to new ideas. Barry does not want that, he wants everyone to play in his tournaments.”

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