Snooker:Ronnie O'Sullivan became the first player through to the semi-finals of this year's Royal London Watches Grand Prix today.
The 'Rocket' fought back from 2-1 down to beat Belfast cueman Joe Swail 5-3 in their quarter-final meeting at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
O'Sullivan will lock horns with last season's Malta Cup winner Shaun Murphy tomorrow.
Murphy fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 down to beat reigning UK champion Ebdon 5-3 in their quarter-final clash.
However, it was two-time world champion O'Sullivan who was once again the main talking point after he offered little reaction after his seventh successive win.
"It was okay," muttered the Chigwell professional. "I was okay in that match. I'm quite happy.
"I was okay today, so I don't want to look too far ahead."
Swail pinched the opening frame with a break of 42 after O'Sullivan failed to capitalise on a run of 53.
O'Sullivan, who has not won a ranking event for 31 months, hit back immediately with a break of 98, but Swail edged 2-1 ahead thanks largely to a break of 47.
A break of 80 from O'Sullivan levelled matters for the world number five at the interval — and following the resumption O'Sullivan pocketed breaks of 76 and 137 to edge closer to victory.
Swail reduced his arrears by pinching a scrappy seventh frame, but the end was not far around the corner as O'Sullivan won the next frame to progress.
In the other quarter-final match from the afternoon session, Rotherham's Murphy, the 2005 world champion, pocketed breaks of 71, 72 and 75 to win three frames on the spin and a place in the next round.
Ebdon led thanks to breaks of 66, 50 and 61, but world number three Murphy rallied to earn a meeting with O'Sullivan in the next phase.
Tonight's action sees Cambridgeshire's Joe Perry take on Kent-based Gerard Greene, the talented left-hander Northern Ireland international.
Hong Kong's Marco Fu — who dumped out world champion John Higgins yesterday — locks horns with Chinese prospect Liu Song in the last of this year's quarter-final matches.