Rocket to out-trick Wizard

But if the Rocket brings his A-game back to the table like he did in a blistering victory over Mark Allen, then he should get the better of the 'Wizard of Wishaw' at 4-6 (Skybet, Paddy Power). Irishman Allen was waving the white flag of surrender at the end of his 5-2 defeat in which O'Sullivan was sensational in what was surely one his best performances of the season.

Ronnie narrowly missed out on two maximum breaks in consecutive frames, missing the 12th red and then an easy green off it spot and the reaction from O'Sullivan to both wasted chances was intriguing – he punched the table in frustration at the first missed opportunity and then laughed and joked following the wayward green. His match with Allen was a joy to watch, with both players seeming to really enjoy themselves and even interacting with the crowd – an edict from a certain Mr Hearn perhaps?

But Ronnie being Ronnie could still not bring himself afterwards to say he had played well with the BBC Wales presenter, along with Terry Griffiths, insistent to O'Sullivan that he had played well.

As for Higgins and his new 'man in black' look, he cruised to a 5-2 victory over a subdued Mark Selby. The Scottish star has only dropped five frames on his way to the semi-final and he is 11-8 (various) to triumph over O'Sullivan, and a best price of 11-4 to win the tournament. But in this mood there is only going to be one winner of this match, the Englishman.

STEPHEN MAGUIRE advised on puntinplay as a saver at 14-1, faces defending champion Ali Carter and is 4-6 with bet365 to end 'The Captain's' decent run. He powered past the in-form Mark Williams 5-1 on Friday, and he looks well up to taking this one.

Carter was rather fortunate that he had Ryan Day in the quarter-final stage, although he performed terrifically well to beat Neil Robertson the round before, but I'm sure Maguire will have his measure here.