Mark Davis pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career when thrashing Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 to book his place in the final of English Open.
Davis has been in terrific form all week and announced himself as a genuine title contender in Crawley when breezing past Ryan Day in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Nevertheless, not many would have given him a chance against a seemingly unstoppable O'Sullivan who made a 147 maximum break on Wednesday and came through a tough match against Luo Honghao in the last eight.
The 46-year-old Davis, who is still seeking a first ranking-title success, spoke before the match of his respect for O'Sullivan but also of his previous success against the five-time world champion and he certainly showed no signs of stage fright when the players entered the arena.
Davis dominated the opening frame and though a break of 56 allowed O'Sullivan to level the scores, it was to be his last success of the night.
A classy break of 102 put Davis back in front at 2-1 and moments later he was heading to the mid-session interval with a two-frame advantage thanks to a well-taken run of 93.
O'Sullivan didn't register a point in frame five as Davis continued to score at will, a break of 84 extending his lead even further before another 50+ contribution, this time of 65, put him on the brink of victory at 5-1.
O'Sullivan tried to rally briefly when Davis broke down on 52 in frame seven but it was to prove in vain as the latter wrapped up proceedings and a 6-1 victory, surely one of the finest of his career.
Davis will meet Stuart Bingham in Sunday's final after he defeated Stephen Maguire in the first semi-final.
Imagine playing like this against Ronnie O'Sullivan!
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) October 20, 2018
Mark Davis looks at home at @K2Crawley 👏#EnglishOpen pic.twitter.com/Od8nTow8S8
