Ronnie O’Sullivan overcame Welshman Ryan Day 6-3 to secure a much-anticipated semi-final clash against world number eight Ding Junhui.

O’Sullivan secured his 14th Masters semi-final in 25 appearances at the tournament and he has claimed the winner’s cheque in three out of the last five editions.

The 43-year-old reached the final in more than half of the tournaments he contested in 2018 and won five titles along the way securing his dominance in competitions that feature only the very elite players.

The Englishman was made to work for his victory and needed a strong second-half showing to beat his opponent, who was looking to make his first appearance in a Masters semi-final, and put his loss of rhythm down to his lapse in form during frames two and three.

He said: “I phoned up my dance teacher and said I have really not got this rhythm thing going is there anything you can give me.

“It is once you get that rhythm going that you are okay I suppose.”

O’Sullivan refused to discuss his game plan but felt he played well and he praised the performance shown by his opponent.

He said: “I felt it was okay. I thought Ryan was a bit edgy at the start, we both were really, and it picked up after the interval.

“Ryan is a really, really good player and I was sitting here at one stage thinking if he beats me I would not be surprised if he goes and wins it.

“He is a class act. A class player and sometimes it is a fine line between winning and losing.”

In frame five, O’Sullivan made is 989th career century break and will be looking to move closer to that 1000th break against Junhui in the next round.

O’Sullivan is bidding for an unprecedented eighth title in a single Triple Crown tournament.

Watch the London Masters LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player, with analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds