Paul Hunter of England wasted little time in booking his place in the Citywest Irish Masters semi-finals, after he breezed past the challenge of Wales' Mark Williams.
Hunter took the first three frames in realitively simple fashion and while Williams raised hopes of a comeback when he won the fourth frame, Hunter once again took control of affairs and was never in trouble in the final three frames.
Defeat for Williams means that he will miss out on the last four of a major event for the first time in six tournaments, and the Welshman had no complaints about the manner of his defeat. "I thought the prospect of meeting Paul would help me raise my game. But he deserved to win and it was always going to happen sooner or later."
"I said earlier in the week I've stopped him winning a few tournaments this season. So I hope now he goes on to lift the trophy because me and him have been two of the most consistent players this season," he added.
Elsewhere, Ronnie O'Sullivan followed Hunter in the semi-final, after a shakey start against Matthew Stevens of Wales. Stevens raced into a 2-1 lead against the Rocket, but O'Sullivan soon found the form that has made him one of the world's elite and he won the next five frames to book his place in the semi-finals.
O'Sullivan has now gone 11 matches without defeat, however he was in no mood to end his on-going war of words with Williams. "I would have looked forward to the prospect of playing Mark. It would have been another challenge for me. It's been a tough week with a lot of stuff that's come out in the press," he said.
"I feel I have been misinterpreted and the things from my book blown out proportion. If you read what I put in I was quite complimentary to Mark. But he clearly doesn't like me. The things he said actually confirmed what I thought he thought of me," he added.
Quarter Final Results: (best of 11 frames)
M Williams (Wal)‚1-6 P Hunter (Eng) 10-81 (64), 2-67, 1-61, 91-14 (83), 29-66, 0-74, 4-102 (72)M Stevens (Wal) 2-6 R O'Sullivan (Eng)71-29 (52), 7-111 (106), 73-1, 18-63, 0-18 (81), 1-96 (96), 8-115 (64) 52-62
Filed by Rob Wright
