O'Sullivan beats Bingham to reach 11th Masters final

Ronnie O'Sullivan was just one win from a record-equalling sixth Masters title with a 6-3 win over Stuart Bingham 6-3 in the semifinals at the Alexandra Palace here on Saturday.

O'Sullivan, now reaching his 11th final, will fight for the title against Barry Hawkins on Sunday to win the 200,000 pounds top prize and match Stephen Hendry's six Masters crowns.

The 40-year-old fought back from one frame down to pull ahead 5-1 before world number two Bingham, the reigning world champion, potted 11 reds and ten blacks in frame seven before his hopes of a 147 ended when he missed the black on 81. He took the next as well with a 52 to close to 5-3.

Frame nine came down to the last red and O'Sullivan extinguished his opponent's hopes of a fight back with a typical piece of brilliance. A thumping long pot on the red to a baulk corner set up the chance to clear the table for victory, the worldsnooker.com reported.

"I am butchering everything and I feel embarrassed," O'Sullivan said. "I'm not sure if it's my back problem but my body and cue feel disconnected."

Bingham said: "I was 3-1 down at the interval and I should have been 3-1 up. When you play Ronnie you have to take your chances. I pulled a couple back but then he potted the last red and cleared up - that's Ronnie. He looked as if he'd had enough and didn't care, and it's hard to play against that because he goes for everything. When he's sharp he doesn't go for those type of shots."

In the earlier semifinal, Hawkins defeated Judd Trump 6-4 to reach the final for the first time. Endi