'You've got to show him you are ready to play' - Gary Wilson downs Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach Xi'an Grand Prix semi-finals

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Ronnie O'Sullivan boasted a 7-1 head-to-head record against Gary Wilson going into Saturday's Xi'an Grand Prix quarter-final match, but two centuries and three half-century breaks earned 40-year-old Wilson his second win against 'The Rocket'. Wilson will play Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals, needing to win the tournament to be guaranteed a spot in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.

O'Sullivan stunned as Wilson wraps up 5-2 quarter-final shock

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Gary Wilson beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-2 in the quarter-finals of the Xi'an Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon and said "you’ve got to show him you are ready to play."

It was just the second victory over O’Sullivan in his career for Wilson, and the win set up a semi-final with Shaun Murphy. Wilson moved to a 2-7 head-to-head record against 'The Rocket'.

Should Wilson go on to win the tournament, then he would move inside the top 10 in the world rankings, which would guarantee him a place in the upcoming Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, which takes place in November. There are two other places reserved for wildcard entrants.

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If Murphy reaches the final, then he would move into the top 10, with the tournament in China the last chance to get sufficient ranking points before the cut-off point.

Wilson has enjoyed some good form in China this season, and he defeated Murphy, Judd Trump, John Higgins and Mark Allen during his tilt at the Wuhan Open, reaching the final, where he was defeated 10-9 by Xiao Guodong.

The 40-year-old produced breaks of 74, 101, 79, 120 and 62 as he battled to victory.

Speaking after his win, he said: "You’ve got to show him you are ready to play. Against Ronnie, you can tell he’s trying to look at signs. Trying to tell if you feel good, or you feel bad. Whether you are taking your chances or you aren’t. If you are bottling it. All of that goes through your head. He feeds off that. You need to try and block it out of your head."

Wilson said he relies more on confidence than his technique at the table.

"I am one of the weakest on the tour for technique, but if I’m comfortable in it and doing what I want to do, then the confidence comes from there," Wilson said. "I feel like I can play any shot on the table and beat anyone in the world. It has been kind of like that this week. I’ve felt reasonably in control.

"I’m trying to enjoy this season. I’m trying to enjoy playing and hitting the ball alright. If I can keep doing that, then I’m not too disappointed if I lose. To me, when you’ve had so much non-enjoyment from the game by hitting the ball bad, I’m just happy to be playing well."

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In the day's other quarter-finals, Daniel Wells defeated Liam Pullen 5-2, setting up a semi-final against Mark Williams, who beat Lyu Haotian 5-4. Murphy had beaten Ding Junhui 5-3 in their match-up.

The semi-finals take place on Sunday, with Williams facing Wells in the morning session before Murphy and Wilson do battle later in the day.

The final, which will be over 19 frames, will take place on Monday.

Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Xi’an Grand Prix, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+

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