Ronnie O'Sullivan will take on Stephen Hendry in the final of the European Open after an impressive 6-3 victory over Peter Ebdon. Now O'Sullivan must beat Hendry over the best of 17 to lift his first world ranking trophy since his triumph in the UK Championship 15 months ago.
“The game plan was just to concentrate on myself and forget about who I was playing,” said O'Sullivan, who in the past has been guilty of falling victim to frustration when up against the ultra-methodical Ebdon. “That's how I've been approaching the game lately and it's been a revelation. I'm keeping my focus all the time now.”
Upbeat O'Sullivan ignored a lengthy safety exchange to eventually claim the first frame with a 73 break and further contributions of 112, 44 and 47 enabled the game's most enigmatic figure to build a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.
Ebdon's renowned stubbornness then surfaced as the world champion, who has not reached a final since his Crucible success 11 months ago, made a century of his own, 111, in fighting back to 3-3.
But a composed O'Sullivan was not to be denied as runs of 74, 77 and 48 helped him rattle through the closing three frames of the contest in only half an hour.
Earlier in the day Stephen secured a 6-3 victory over Mark Williams in the other semi.
Filed by Johnny Proby
