O'Sullivan sinks Trump to reach snooker World final

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom (AFP) –

The referee places the pink ball above the reds ahead of a frame between Ding Junhui of China and Barry Hawkins of England in their quarter-final match in the World Snooker Championships at The Crucible in Sheffield, England on April 30, 2013. Ronnie O’Sullivan booked his place in the World Championship final for the fifth time on Saturday.

Ronnie O’Sullivan booked his place in the World Championship final for the fifth time as the defending champion cruised to a 17-11 victory over Judd Trump in the semi-finals on Saturday.

O’Sullivan will take on Ricky Walden or Barry Hawkins in the final after the latest in a long line of dominant displays at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

The four-time champion held a 14-10 overnight lead and he never looked likely to surrender that advantage as he clinched the three frames needed to progress to the final.

After almost a year out of snooker reaching another Crucible final must ranks among O’Sullivan’s finest achievements.

But the English star has already claimed this will be his last appearance at the World Championship due to a lack of passion for the game and that would be a relief to his rivals, who have once again failed to step up to his level.

Trump was 50-39 ahead in the opening frame of the session but missed a red to a corner pocket and O’Sullivan rifled in a 41 break.

O’Sullivan pinched the next after winning a tactical battle and finishing off with a crowd-pleasing 33.

Trump crashed in a 77 break to give himself the slightest hope, but the reprieve was all too brief as O’Sullivan creamed off breaks of 31 and 33 in the next frame to clinch a showdown with either Walden or Hawkins, who are tied at 12-12 in their semi-final.