Neil Robertson gets the best of Ronnie O'Sullivan to move into Players Championship semi-finals

Neil Robertson got the better of Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Players Championship as he moved into the semi-finals.

Robertson, who recently won the Masters, started the contest the brighter, rattling off three frames in a row to take a 4-1 lead over the six-time world champion.

That included a break of 79 in the opening frame before O'Sullivan replied with a 98 of his own. The Australian then punished the careless Rocket with breaks of 52, 82 and 80 either side of the interval.

O'Sullivan responded with a 90 break in the sixth frame and reduced the deficit to one after Robertson had missed the final red down the cushion.

But Robertson, runner-up in this tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2019, kept his composure to complete a 6-3 win and boost hopes of winning the Players Championship for the first time.

Barry Hawkins booked a semi-final date with Ricky Walden by beating Yan Bingtao 6-5.

Yan made three century breaks, including 139 and 103 to open up a 2-0 lead, but the game swung one way and then the other.

Hawkins hit back with three half-centuries in a row - 86, 77 and 95 - to lead, but Yan responded and was one frame from victory after knocking in a brilliant 132 break.

In a high-quality contest, Hawkins countered with a 126 break and seized on Yan missing a long red to compile a match-winning 73.