Ronnie O'Sullivan is two wins away from a historic eighth World Championship and revealed he made some last-minute changes to his cue hours before beating Si Jiahui. The Rocket, 49, levelled Stephen Hendry's haul of seven Crucible crowns in 2022.

Widely regarded as the greatest player to ever pick up a cue, O’Sullivan is desperate to stand alone on eight titles to further cement his legacy.

The fifth seed saw off talented Chinese cueist Si 13-9 last night to reach a record 14th semi-final despite playing in his first ranking event since November.

And O’Sullivan, who plays Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals, said: “I'm just grinding it out. I had some work done to my cue earlier today. But I need a new ferrule, a new tip.

“I’m playing awful. The cue feels awful. It's the worst situation to be in. I don't think I can get any worse. I need to find some form from somewhere.

“I’m still in it. So I’ll keep punching and keep trying. I’ve missed the buzz of playing well. I’d like to be playing a bit better then I'd be looking forward to it. I need to find some form.”

Tournament favourite Judd Trump highlighted his title credentials as he recovered from 7-5 down to down Luca Brecel 13-8.

And he made history with the most centuries ever in a season as he hit his 105th ton of the campaign during his surge for the line.

Trump is regularly criticised for only being a one-time world champion with opponents Shaun Murphy and Brecel saying he is under appreciated.

“I knew I needed to get out at 8-8. I didn’t want to be 9-7 behind,” admitted Trump, the 2019 champion.

“I feel like my form's there. This is probably the best I've felt since 2019. I felt good in 2022 until the Mark Williams semi-final drained all my energy.

“My form's there and I’ve played really well so far.”