SNOOKER:ALI CARTER and Ronnie O'Sullivan are on course to meet in the Betfred.com World Championship final.

Carter is now within three frames of his second Crucible final appearance, despite Stephen Maguire taking three of the last four frames as last night’s session ended four frames apiece.

Carter had been six frames clear at 14-7 and even had the possibility of wrapping up a final berth last night, but Maguire showed fighting spirit to keep his own hopes alive.

They will resume this afternoon with Carter 14-10 ahead in the race to 17 frames.

In the other semi-final, O’Sullivan gave Matthew Stevens a flicker of hope before trampling over Welsh hopes with a devastating six-frame burst.

O’Sullivan has never lost a Crucible final and barring a spectacular turnaround today he is heading to the fourth of his career.

Given the way he finished against Stevens yesterday, there is now every prospect of the 36-year-old triumphing with a session to spare, having already built an 11-5 lead in the best-of-33-frame contest.

He treated a rapt audience to breaks of 61, 62, 110, 98, 90 and 113, clicking into the form which has seen him tear past three former world champions in Sheffield.

Peter Ebdon, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson had no answer to O’Sullivan’s brilliance in the earlier rounds, and although Stevens was briefly level yesterday, having started 5-3 in arrears, trouble soon began to mount.

It was not that Stevens was off-guard. He knew the danger lurked, but when it arrived there was no preventing O’Sullivan picking off his prey. He is hungry this year, and whatever he says to contradict that needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt.

Another Welshman, Mark Williams, felt the force last Sunday when O’Sullivan hit him with a six-frame assault.

As Stevens admitted: “On the form he showed in that second session against Mark Williams, no one can beat him. But every day is different so if I play my game I’ve hopefully got half a chance.”

The two-time runner-up must hope that today is significantly different, because another 6-2 session in O’Sullivan’s favour in the opening session would mean there’d be no need to return in the evening.

Stevens came out playing purposefully and a run to 60 gave him the opening frame, before he raised the bar with a terrific clearance of 63 in the next, after O’Sullivan had led 62-0.

Showing composure under intense pressure, he cut in a difficult pink to the middle before firing in the black to take the frame by a single point.

It was just the start Stevens and his followers were praying for, but then came their worst nightmare.

Wales’ last hope needs an aberration of a session from the man least likely to provide one.

Today’s Order of Play

10am – R O’Sullivan (Eng) v M Stevens (Wal). 2.30pm – S Maguire (Sco) v A Carter (Eng). 7pm – R O’Sullivan v M Stevens.