SHEFFIELD, England, 30 April 2005 — Matthew Stevens of Wales fought back from 6-2 down against England’s Ian McCulloch to level their world championship semi-final at eight frames all yesterday.
Stevens, the losing finalist in 2000, won the first two frames of the afternoon with breaks of 61 and 62.
McCulloch stopped the rot with a 72 break in the 11th frame to go 7-4 up. But Stevens won four out of the next five frames to draw level for the first time in the match.
Earlier, young qualifier Shaun Murphy produced a stunning comeback against fellow Englishman Peter Ebdon in the second session of their semifinal.
Ebdon, winner of the world title in 2002, was 6-2 up when play resumed on Friday morning. Murphy, however, rallied by winning all but one of the eight frames played in the session to grab a 9-7 lead.
The 22-year-old Murphy, who had never won a match at the Crucible venue before this year’s tournament, is bidding to become the first qualifier to reach the world final since Terry Griffiths in 1979.
The semifinals best-of-33 frames.
Meantime, deposed world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will be back at his best next season despite threats to take a break from the sport, his coach and mentor Ray Reardon said yesterday.
O’Sullivan, who was knocked out of this year’s championship by Peter Ebdon in the quarter-finals, said he was “90% certain” of taking a 12-month break from the game after his defeat, but six-times world champion Reardon is predicting he will return in a maximum of six months.
“This morning I had breakfast with Ronnie and he was as right as ninepence,” said Reardon.
“It was like a load had been taken off his mind. He is really at peace with himself and he has gone back to London happy.
“He is going to have a break for a while. If it is any consolation to all the fans, I would say he will have a break of three to six months - but he will be back. That is my own personal opinion and he is fine.”
