And now the tournament will see a repeat of the 2008 final, starting tomorrow afternoon, with Carter hoping for a more favourable outcome having been soundly beaten 18-8 on that previous occasion.

O’Sullivan made a slow start this morning before picking up his performance after the mid-session interval, and the consolidation of his overnight six-frame lead meant he returned for the evening session with a handsome 15-9 cushion.

Stevens bit into that large advantage with a 116 break, missing the yellow when a crowd-pleasing total clearance looked inevitable.

The spectators did not need to wait long to see the table cleared in one visit though, with O’Sullivan sinking all the balls in a supreme 130 run to move one frame away from the clash with Carter, a 17-12 victor over Stephen Maguire this afternoon.

And the end for Stevens’ fine fortnight was not long in arriving, O’Sullivan having breaks of 35 and 26 in securing another visit to the title match.