O'Sullivan beats Selby to reach Masters semifinals

Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Mark Selby 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the snooker Masters here on Thursday.

O'Sullivan, who lost to Selby in their last clash at the 2014 world championship final, registered 83 percent long pot success and proved to be in a class of his own.

The 40-year-old will vie for a final berth against John Higgins or world champion Stuart Bingham on Saturday.

O'Sullivan's last tournament win was the 2014 UK Championship, and he took several months off at the start of the current season before returning to competitive action in mid-December.

He needs to win just two more matches to capture his sixth Masters title, which would equal the record held by Stephen Hendry.

The Rockets said after the match, "I wasn't feeling technically great out there but I still had to go for my shots and try to make things happen. I wanted to keep attacking and keep my opponent on the back foot. My long game was really good and I stayed patient.

Selby said: "I didn't feel I played that badly. I missed a few chances early on. Ronnie's long game was very good and he made a great clearance in the last frame, otherwise it would have been 5-4 and then it's game on. He's definitely playing well enough to win the tournament."

In the day's other match, Barry Hawkins breezed past Mark Allen 6-2 and will face the winner between Judd Trump and Niel Robertson. Endi