RONNIE 'The Rocket' O'Sullivan launched a scathing verbal attack on his opponent after coming back from 6-1 down to score a sensational 9-8 victory over Peter Ebdon in their UK Snooker Championship quarter-final in front of a packed house in York last night.

The world champion revealed afterwards that when 6-2 down after the first sessions he had packed his bags at tea time and was ready to catch the 9.30pm train back home to London.

But he took full advantage of Ebdon's earlier superb form deserting him under pressure and tomorrow O'Sullivan will play Mark Williams for a place in Sunday's final.

Welshman Williams himself staged an astonishing comeback last night from 8-4 down to beat five-times UK champion Stephen Hendry 9-8 in what was one of the most amazing nights of snooker ever seen. And Hendry made it clear later that he will be rooting for Williams to take home the trophy and winner's £100,000 cheque.

Ten minutes after punching the air in triumph when clinching victory O'Sullivan was tearing Ebdon to pieces with uninhibited criticism.

"He must be the luckiest player alive - ever. I had only one lucky shot but he had loads," he responded to Ebdon's view that O'Sullivan had enjoyed the run of the balls.

The world champion also laid into Ebdon having smashed open the pack of reds early in the deciding frame.

"When he is about to take a shot it's attention all pockets. He's a kamikaze," said O'Sullivan. "It's like playing an amateur. He has no class around the table - just grit and determination. That's what makes him so dangerous. You never know what he is going to do next. It's frightening."

When 6-1 down O'Sullivan said he thought he "was history" but he dug in.

"I had my bags packed after being 6-2 down at the end of the first session and I was hoping to catch the 9.30pm train if I got slaughtered.

"Sometimes I play better when I am behind. In the second session I was just hoping to make the score respectable but he started missing balls and I got my momentum going and the crowd got behind me."

Ebdon's afternoon performance was superb and he had O'Sullivan on the ropes. Back-to-back centuries of 136 and 112, the second of those at one time a potential 147 which broke down because it was impossible to get position on the last red, helped take Ebdon towards what even O'Sullivan thought likely to be an unassailable 6-1 lead.

When Ebdon went 8-4 ahead it seemed all but over, but then breaks of 74 and 70 in the next two frames kept O'Sullivan in the hunt.

Ebdon lost the intiative and 'The Rocket' began to get up steam and claw back the deficit to take the match to a decider with a 73 break in frame 16. O'Sullivan was flowing and an 85 break took him through.

"It was very disappointing," Ebdon said later. "I totally outplayed him in the first session but Ronnie played well and he got on a run. Good luck to him."

In the other semi-final Williams was on the brink of defeat at 8-4 down but in a dramatic, error-strewn tactical duel he won five frames in a row to beat Hendry 9-8. An 83 break in the deciding frame, the highest of the match, took him into the semi-finals.

"I was unlucky to be 8-4 down, but I was playing well and at 8-6 I could see the pressure was back on him and he missed a few," said Williams. "I knew it was tough but I also knew it wasn't impossible."

Hendry admitted that at the end of the day he did not deserve to win as he failed to take his opportunities.

"I hope he wins the tournament. He is the World No 1 and it is a disgrace that people don't given him enough recognition of that. I hope he rams it down their throats by winning."

The first semi-final began this afternoon between Ken Doherty and Stephen Lee, who play to a finish tonight. The O'Sullivan v Williams clash tomorrow starts at 1pm, (and not as printed in today's Evening Press from information incorrectly supplied to the Press) with the evening session at 6.45pm.

Gary Rogers (York) and Tom Harris (Harrogate) play their amateur snooker challenge tomorrow at 10.30am over the best of five frames. Entry to that match is free.

Updated: 11:47 Friday, December 14, 2001