Shaun Murphy sends message to Ronnie O’Sullivan after setting up Masters semi-final.

If Ronnie O’Sullivan can replicate his performance from Thursday night, Shaun Murphy has warned him that he would be “more than a handful” when they play in a thrilling Masters semi-final on Saturday.

In the quarter-finals, The Magician defeated Jack Lisowski 6-3, looking great as he opened up a 5-1 lead with breaks of 131, 123, 76, and 75.

Jackpot fought back, but Murphy struck an amazing last black to end the match and thwart the Lisowski assault.

O’Sullivan struggled to produce anything close to his best form in his 6-3 victory over Barry Hawkins earlier in the day, but he was still able to advance to the round of four.

Murphy’s record against the Rocket is not great—four wins compared to O’Sullivan’s fifteen in all competitions—but he will be optimistic going into the match following a strong showing.

“I’m not in a small club, so there aren’t many players who have a positive win ratio against O’Sullivan,” he said to the BBC. “I have defeated Ronnie numerous times in important games, including Premier League, Champion of Champions, and finals.”

It’s not like I’ve never defeated him; I’ll give it my all. I don’t know who will reach six first, but I’ll give it my all and attempt to place the balls in the pockets. I feel like I could be a handful if I play like I did tonight.