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O'Sullivan fought back superbly

Ronnie O'Sullivan fired a maximum 147 break in the final frame to seal a superb comeback 9-8 win over Mark Selby in their UK Championship semi-final.

Selby led 3-0, with runs of 74 and 99, and 4-1 before "The Rocket" reduced his deficit to 5-3 after the first session.

Selby went 6-3 up before O'Sullivan had breaks of 75 and 76, but a 65 put Selby 7-5 ahead before O'Sullivan hit back.

He reeled off three straight frames to edge ahead only for Selby to level, but O'Sullivan sealed it in stunning style.

It was his eighth maximum break in competition, equalling Stephen Hendry's record.

O'Sullivan will now play Stephen Maguire in Sunday's final as he targets a fourth UK title.

	It was a really special way to finish the match

"My snooker wasn't great, but I've cheated in a way," he said. "We've played 16 poor frames, but everyone is going to talk about the 147.

"I took a shortcut. I'd much rather have won 9-3 and played a solid game of snooker, but at least I've given the crowd something to smile about.

"He had the upper hand, he's a tough player and a tough competitor. I was losing it midway at 6-3 down, I was struggling out there, but I had to find a way of staying focused."

O'Sullivan revealed he did so by counting spots on the side of a spoon.

"There were 108 dots on either side, and I was counting them in twos and threes," he explained. "It was my little mental exercise.

"I thought at 8-8 'I've got my chance'. I'm going to go out in a blaze of glory here.

"I felt the butterflies which was nice. I was on a break of 40 and the balls opened up really nice. It was a really special way to finish the match."

Selby, who lost to John Higgins in this year's World Championship final after an epic comeback, was not too downcast despite the defeat.

"I'm a little bit disappointed because I felt I controlled the match all the way through," he said.

"But the turning point came at 7-5 when I had a good chance and after that the match changed around.

"It was a brilliant end to the match. It's disappointing to lose but Ronnie seems to have his head on this week."

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