There is something uncanny that happens whenever Barry Pinches beats Jimmy White. At the 2004 World Championships the Whirlwind lost out to Pinches in a first round match, only for the Norwich potter's path to be blocked in the next round by Stephen Hendry. Ronnie The Rocket There are few players who deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as White, the best player never to win a world title, and Hendry, seven times a world champion - but Ronnie O'Sullivan is one of those few. It is the man dubbed The Rocket who stands in the way of Pinches and the first semi-final of a ranking tournament in his career. Widely regarded as the most talented player ever to pick up a cue, O'Sullivan is back at the top of his game. He is ranked as the world number one, with five wins in major tournaments last season, and he has just picked up the world player of the year award. After turning professional in 1989, Pinches' rise to fame has been far from meteoric. Only in the last two seasons has he begun to flirt with a place in the world's top 20, but with the performances he has shown at Preston's Guildhall this week, a spot in the lucrative top 16 is a realistic target. Pinches 'pleased' Following Thursday's 5-4 win over White, Pinches was a happy man. "I'm really pleased, especially with the way I played in the last frame, I didn't really make a mistake," he said. "It took me a while to settle and if Jimmy had gone 2-0 up it would have been a different story, but that's the way it goes in sport sometimes." Friday's quarter-final is another tough match but he's optimistic. "Ronnie O'Sullivan is the best player in the world, but I look forward to playing anybody on the tour," he said. "You have to give any opponent total respect these days, because every player on the tour can play great snooker. "I've played - and beaten - players in qualifying who play just as good snooker as some of the world's best, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one," he added. | 
