Ronnie O’Sullivan begins his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Xintong Zhao with ‘The Rocket’ continuing his bid for a history-making eighth world title.O’Sullivan had too much for Si Jiahui in the quarter-finals,

Ronnie O’Sullivan has hailed ‘phenomenal player’ Zhao Xintong ahead of their World Snooker Championship semi-final and suggested his ban from snooker was ‘a bit unfair’. The pair meet for a place in the Crucible final, with O’Sullivan in his 14th World Championship semi-final and Zhao in his first.

There are two ways to look at Ronnie O’Sullivan’s stumble into the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship.