Ronnie O’Sullivan v Judd Trump LIVE: Snooker updates as stars clash in Saudi semi-final
The two sporting icons square off in the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker, with a place in tonight’s final up for grabs
Ronnie O’Sullivan will look to keep his impressive start to the year going when he takes on Judd Trump in the semi-final of the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh this afternoon.
The 12-man event is the inaugural tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia, featuring a prize pot of £788,000 and a controversial new Golden Ball worth an additional 20 points, extending the maximum possible break to 167.
O’Sullivan who has already won The Masters and the UK Championship among other events this year, breezed past John Higgins 4-0 in his quarter-final match to reach the final four.
Trump, meanwhile, who lost to O’Sullivan in the World Grand Prix final, will hope to enact revenge having won 4-3 in a tight encounter against Shaun Murphy in his quarter-final match.
Follow all the action from Saudi Arabia below:
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Judd Trump
Ronnie O’Sullivan thrashed John Higgins to reach the semi-finals of the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
The Rocket made three century breaks in the opening three frames before a break of 82 handed him a 4-0 victory against the Scot. Higgins failed to pot a red in the game - his only four points coming from a foul.
O’Sullivan now meets Judd Trump in the semi-finals. Trump rallied from 2-0 down to beat Shaun Murphy 4-3 and reach the last four.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the UK can watch the match and the entire World Masters event on Eurosport. Subscribers can also stream the match online via the Discovery+ app.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
When is Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Judd Trump?
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Judd Trump is the second semi-final scheduled to take place second on Wednesday 6 March in Riyadh. The match will take place following the conclusion of Luca Brecel vs Mark Allen and is expected to get underway at around 4pm GMT.
The winners of both semi-finals will meet in the final on the same night which is scheduled to take place at 7pm GMT.
Luca Brecel vs Mark Allen
In the other semi-final of the day, Luca Brecel has just clinched a lenghty frame to take a 2-0 lead over Mark Allen. The Belgian is halfway to a spot in the final needing to win two more frames to win the match.
Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on Judd Trump following the conclusion of this one.
Saudi Arabia Masters to become snooker’s ‘fourth major’ with £2m prize fund
Saudi Arabia will stage its first ranking snooker event later this year, with the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters boasting a prize fund of more than £2m.
That puts the tournament behind only the World Championship in terms of prize money, with the World Snooker Tour branding it the “fourth major” alongside the traditional triple crown of World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.
A 10-year deal has been agreed for the event, which will take place from 31 August to 7 September in Riyadh and is open to the entire tour, plus six local wild cards.
Saudi Arabia Masters to become snooker’s ‘fourth major’ with £2m prize fund
The event will be open to the entire World Snooker Tour, plus six local wild card entrants
Luca Brecel in action before Ronnie O’Sullivan v Judd Trump
Ahead of Ronnie O'Sullivan v Judd Trump later on, we have Luca Brecel taking on Mark Allen.
And the Belgian Bullet leads early on in the best-of-seven frames match.
The 2023 world champion has credited a weight loss for his return to form, stating: “I just needed to work a bit on my fitness and stuff like that. I lost a bit of weight and feel much better.
“I think that was the kind of change I needed to play well again. I feel like now, the sky is the limit.”
A golden ball and a 167 break: Saudi Arabia’s mad snooker gimmick is a step too far
The announcement at the end of January that Saudi Arabia would be entering the snooker fray as the latest phase of its sportswashing project didn’t come as any great surprise and the fact that the sport is welcoming Saudi investment with open arms is even less shocking.
With its fingers in an almost exponentially increasing number of sporting pies – from F1 races to tennis tournaments, boxing super-cards to lucrative horse races, purchases of Premier League clubs and revolutionary golf tours, and with global tournaments such as football World Cups and Asian Games on the horizon – the country shows no sign of slowing down in its concerted attempt to distract from alleged human rights abuses.
Snooker is simply the latest (fairly small) piece of the jigsaw; a full ranking event in the Gulf state has been mooted for a couple of years, with an official announcement made last month for a tournament featuring all 128 professional players to take place next season. For a niche sport fighting for both coverage in a congested media landscape and desperately needed investment from external partners, a Saudi link-up is almost inevitable – moral quandaries be damned.
A golden ball and a 167 break: Saudi Arabia’s mad snooker gimmick is a step too far
Saudi Arabia’s latest sportswashing project, a new snooker tournament in Riyadh, will have a 20-point golden ball added to the table in a ludicrous gimmick that is the sign of a desperate sport, writes Luke Baker
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Judd Trump
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Ronnie O’Sullivan v Judd Trump from Saudi Arabia this afternoon.
The World Masters of Snooker has reached the semi-final stage in Riyadh, with the two sporting icons squaring off in a best-of-seven match.
Stick with us for all the updates from the clash.
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