HONOURS are even in the marquee World Snooker Championship semi-final after Ronnie O’Sullivan was pegged back by Judd Trump to leave the match balanced on a knife-edge.

Leading 4-1 and playing some of his best snooker of the tournament, it looked like another runaway victory for the Rocket was on the cards.

But Trump showed real maturity and resilience in addition to his traditional flamboyant shot-making to level things up at 4-4 when they resume on this morning.

O’Sullivan’s bizarre announcement that this will be his last World Championship may have taken some of the gloss off the pre-match hype.

But the standard of play on show was a joy to watch at times, Trump winning the second frame in dramatic circumstances on a re-spotted black.

But not for nothing is O’- Sullivan the defending champion and breaks of 65, 75 and 89 helped him to a 4-1 lead before Trump, the world No.3 and 2011 runner-up at the Crucible, hit back.

In the other semi-final Ricky Walden made much the stronger start against a clearly nervous Barry Hawkins to race into a 6-2 lead.

Both Walden and Hawkins have never been this far before at a World Championship, indeed the former had never been beyond the first round until this year.

But the 30-year-old settled well in the one-table set-up and compiled breaks of 91, 105 ad 119 on his way to a four-frame lead.