Ronnie O’Sullivan has made two 147s in his 6-3 Saudi Arabia Masters semi-final win over Chris Wakelin, banking a £147,000 bonus for his efforts and saying: ‘It’s probably the maddest game I’ve ever played in.’
The Rocket has become only the second player ever to make two maximums in the same game after Jackson Page did so in World Championship qualifying last season.
In making his first 147 of the evening in Jeddah, O’Sullivan became the oldest player to make a professional maximum at 49 years old.
The second maximum of the night beat his own record by a couple of hours as he takes his career tally to 17.
The seven-time world champion made the perfect start to the match by making his first 147 in the opening frame.
Further illustrating that he was in sparkling form, he knocked in a break of 142 in the second frame, but Chris Wakelin deserved credit for how he dug in.
The underdog was not overawed and scrapped his way back to 3-3 in a race to six, but then came more perfection from the Rocket.
It was in the seventh frame that the second 147 arrived, playing a brilliant final red down the cushion to keep his hopes alive and then delivering the max.
He reeled off the next two, making another huge break of 134 in the ninth and final frame.
The Rocket was very complimentary of Wakelin, telling TNT Sports: ‘I’m sitting there at 3-3 thinking I’m probably going to lose this game after a maxi, a 142 and a 70 clearance.
‘He’s a monster. I said he’s going to win a ranking event, he’s so solid. He’s better than solid, solid is a compliment, he’s very reliable but he’s got more than that. It’s like Kyren Wilson. As a player he’s very hard to break down. He’s a superb competitor, superb player.’
There is a £147,000 bonus on offer for any player who makes two maximums over the Saudi Arabia Masters, UK Championship, Masters and World Championship.
O’Sullivan has needed just one of those events to land the hefty financial prize, and it is a very profitable week indeed for him in Jeddah.
He is already guaranteed £100,000 for his run to the semi-final, with the runner-up taking home £200,000 and the champion claiming £500,000 on Saturday.
The £147,000 bonus could actually be claimed again by O’Sullivan if he can make two more maximums over the remainder of the major events this season as up to three of the prizes can be dished out.
Waiting for O’Sullivan in the final is Neil Robertson after he beat Elliot Slessor 6-3 in the first semi-final earlier on Friday.
There were far fewer fireworks in that match, with neither player making a century, but the Australian did enough with efforts of 93 (twice) and 50.
The 43-year-old is into a 37th ranking final and a huge one financially, with the runner-up getting £200,000 and the winner banking £500,000.
‘The start was crucial today, I could see Elliot was a bit nervous and I was able to use my experience,’ said Robertson. ‘The clearance to go 5-2 ahead was the killer blow, after that I was just looking for once chance.
‘To get to the final is huge in terms of ranking points, it means I should be in all of the big events like the Players Series later in the season which makes my scheduling so much easier. I took that for granted a few years ago when I was always in the top four.
‘The standard is so high now that I have realised you have to keep your foot down all the time. A lot of hard work has happened to get these kind of results.’
Robertson has had a tough run, beating Ben Woollaston, Mark Selby and Ali Carter before downing Slessor in the semis.
O’Sullivan’s victory over Wakelin followed the Rocket beating Joe O’Connor, Chang Bingyu and Kyren Wilson 6-5 in a brilliant quarter-final clash.
The Rocket said of the final to come: ‘It’s hard for me, where do I go from there? I’ve just got to regroup and go again. Neil’s a phenomenal player.’
Slessor fell short at the semi-final stage for the fifth time as he continues to try and reach his first ranking final and he was extremely disappointed with himself.
‘I was very poor for the whole match,’ he said. ‘I thought Neil was pretty poor as well, he picked up the pieces that I gave him.
‘I am sick of getting to this stage and coming up short. At the moment I feel absolutely disgusted, gutted.
‘The money is irrelevant, I wasn’t interested in the money – I just want to win. It makes me question whether I will ever be a winner. Some players would be happy with £100,000 and the semis but I’m not, I’m devastated.’