YORK (England), Dec 16: Ronnie O’Sullivan described his performance against Mark Williams as one of the best of his life as a 9-6 win put the Essex man into the final of the UK Championship.

The Rocket blasted in three centuries in a high-quality contest between the top two players in the world rankings and will meet Dublin’s Ken Doherty in the final at the Barbican Centre late Sunday.

O’Sullivan won the UK Championship in 1993 when, at 17, he became the youngest player to win a ranking tournament - and again in 1997. He is hot favourite to make it a hat trick after showing his most devastating form against Williams.

Victory over Doherty would also make O’Sullivan the fifth player after Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, John Parrott and John Higgins to win the world and UK titles in the same year.

Williams was disappointed that he failed to break his 14-month streak without a tournament win this was his tenth semi-final since he won the Grand Prix last October.

The Welshman took the first frame of the final session with a break of 67, set up by a long red, to reduce his deficit to 5-4.

Williams was desperately unlucky in the next as he played an apparently perfect split on the pack after potting the blue, but the cue ball stuck to a red. O’Sullivan later smashed in the penultimate red and took the frame with a decisive 30.

Both players had clear chances to win the 11th but it eventually went to the Englishman as he cleared to the blue after Williams had missed a simple yellow to the centre.

Runs of 30 and 63 from world No 1 Williams kept his hopes alive going into the interval at 7-5.

But he left a red near the corner in frame 13 and a stunning 131 total clearance to go with the 107 and 142 he made in the first session put O’Sullivan three up with four to play.

Williams began to evoke memories of his quarterfinal comeback against Stephen Hendry when he pulled one back with 40 and 32.

But a 44 put the Rocket in command of the next and he wrapped up frame and match after a poor safety from Williams on the 13th red.

O’Sullivan leads 9-5 in head-to-heads against Doherty, though the Irishman won their latest meeting at the Champions Cup in September.