Ronnie O'Sullivan levels semi-final as Jimmy White dismisses Rocket's 'don't care' claims

Ronnie O'Sullivan battled back to level his semi-final against John Higgins as Jimmy White dismissed the Rocket's assertions that he does not care if he wins the match or not.

O'Sullivan will equal Stephen Hendry's record of seven world titles if he wins the competition, which would surely cement his position as the greatest player of all time.

He started poorly against Higgins, losing all of the first three frames before O'Sullivan found his groove and he levelled the match at 3-3 with a 116 break.

Higgins won the seventh frame to forge ahead again, only to be reigned back in by another O'Sullivan century, this time 107, in the final frame of the session.

Afterwards, O'Sullivan told Eurosport that he was 'treating every day like a holiday' and was not bothered if he won the match or not, but six-time defeated finalist White is having none of that.

"That's not the truth," White told Eurosport. "He is trying his heart out.

"He would love to equal Hendry's record and beat it in the next few years, so I don't buy into that.

"He said after the second match he has a good team around him and is seeing Steve Peters, so he is trying to win the competition.

"We love Ronnie O'Sullivan, he has the biggest heart we have ever seen.

"I don't buy into that at all, as he has put every effort he can and given himself the best chance he can of winning this World Championship."

The other semi-final was dominated by Judd Trump with him opening up a 7-1 lead against Mark Williams overnight.