Masters snooker LIVE: Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Shaun Murphy to reach final

Right, the players are back after the mid-session interval. Shaun Murphy needs to find a way to turn this match around

It’s O’Sullivan who eventually makes the decisive pot to get back in and from there he holds his nerve to clear up and restore his two-frame advantage.

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN TAKES A 3-1 LEAD TO THE MID-SESSION INTERVAL.

Both men give away four penalty points apiece and then Murphy misses a yellow as a free ball to left middle It’s 44-35 to The Rocket as the safety battle continues.

Ooh that’s an unexpected miss from O’Sullivan! The red to right middle seems pretty straightforward but he’s focusing too much on splitting the pack and misses the pot!

He leads by nine points, at 40-31 but this frame is up for grabs with two reds left.

Murphy eradicates O’Sullivan’s lead but a cannon goes wrong and so he leaves the table 19-18 ahead.

But he gets back in shortly after with a nice safety shot and can build his lead further.

Actually, no he can’t! He tries to power a red into the right corner to screw back for the colour but misses the red. 31-19 to Muprhy but O’Sullivan back at the table.

Ronnie O’Sullivan straight in among the balls in frame four with a nice pot but he can only make 18 before missing a red tot he corner as it flicks off another red.

Murphy then pots a red to right middle to get himself in a scoring position.

Wow what a break that is from Shaun Murphy! He looks sublime as he strides round the table and racks up pot after pot. The frame is quickly taken away from O’Sullivan and then it’s just whether Murphy can make the century.

He looks like falling just short when he tries a double off the final red and misses but it careens up the table and flicks in off the green to the corner pocket. What a fluke! He takes full advantage and makes a total clearance of 131 to get a frame on the board.

SHAUN MURPHY PULLS A FRAME BACK TO MAKE IT 2-1!

Stunning pot by Shaun Murphy and then a brave brown to the left middle to follow. Great start to frame three for him and can he make a substantial contribution now and keep O’Sullivan in his seat?

O’Sullivan snuffs the second frame out though. Plays a double ont he final red, with safety in mind, and it finds the pocket. Pots a nice green to ensure Murphy won’t return to the table and then clears up to the black.

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN WINS THE SECOND FRAME

A good break by O’Sullivan as he makes 56 but eventually runs out of position and is unable to dislodge the final red from the bottom cushion. Just a safety.

56-32 to The Rocket with 35 points remaining. He’s in control but Murphy not out of this as he returns to the table.