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Ronnie O'Sullivan storms into Welsh Open final with win over Joe Perry

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12:  Ronnie O'Sullivan of England reacts during his round one match against Mark Williams of Wales during Day Three of The Dafabe
Image: Ronnie O'Sullivan looking at legacy and not number of titles

Ronnie O'Sullivan closed in on a record-equalling fourth Welsh Open title by beating Joe Perry 6-3 in the semi-finals.

'The Rocket' will meet Neil Robertson on Sunday for the trophy and £60,000 first prize at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena.

Five-time world champion O'Sullivan already has three Welsh crowns to his name and victory would see him match the record of four held by John Higgins.

After taking a break from competitive snooker for the first few months of the season, O'Sullivan has been nearly flawless in 2016, winning his last 18 matches.

He captured the Masters crown in January and now stands on the brink of his 28th ranking title, which would match the tallies of Higgins and Steve Davis.

Perry had chances in the opening frame, but when he missed the penultimate red O'Sullivan stepped in with a 41 clearance to snatch it.

The players then had to take an unscheduled interval due to a technical problem backstage which prevented television broadcast of the early stages.

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Once the cameras were rolling, Perry warmed up with an excellent 139 clearance to level. O'Sullivan regained the lead with a 124 before Perry squared with a run of 92.

Neil Robertson in action during the Dafabet Masters 2016 at Alexandra Palace, London
Image: Neil Robertson set to go head-to-head with O'Sullivan for Welsh glory

But he could do little against a barrage of high scoring after the interval as O'Sullivan fired in 101, 94 and 88 breaks to go 5-2 ahead.

Perry capitalised to pull one back, but O'Sullivan cracked in a long red and cleared with 78 to book his place in the final.

"In the past three or four years I have been expressing myself and produced the same type of snooker I played when I was 14 or 15," O'Sullivan told World Snooker.

"Now it's about my legacy and leaving a mark on the game. Not so much in terms of titles, but in the way that I play. I like to think I've played snooker that no one else has.

"The matches are getting harder but I felt I scored well tonight.

"Neil is like RoboCop. I watched him throughout the UK Championship and he never showed any emotion. He's like Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry in that respect."

Robertson had earlier stayed on course for his third title in four months by beating Mark Allen 6-4.

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