Ronnie O'Sullivan revelled in a "numpty-free zone" after whitewashing John Higgins to reach the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions event in Coventry.
O'Sullivan reeled off back-to-back breaks of 101 and 138 to seal a 6-0 win in a tournament which pits together players who have won major titles over the previous 12 months and he is Sky Bet's 4/7 favourite to win the tournament.
Early last month O'Sullivan caused controversy when he said one of the reasons he was not entering the European Masters in Belgium was because he didn't want "to play a numpty in Barnsley" in order to qualify.
After beating defending champion Higgins, O'Sullivan told ITV4: "It is a numpty-free zone in a way - you come in and you can get on the practice table and get a hotel room, and it's got one table."
O'Sullivan, who faces Anthony Hamilton in the last four on Friday evening, added: "I'm just happy to still be in it. In a numpty-free zone tournament, you don't want to be going home early - you want to stick around."
O'Sullivan is 1/9 to beat Hamilton who is 5/1, while another 6-0 whitewash is also available at 5/1.
The other semi-final on Saturday night sees Shaun Murphy take on Luca Brecel and both are priced at 5/6.
Former world champion Murphy and Brecel are both 4/1 second favourites to win the event, with Hamilton the rank outsider at 16/1.
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