Ronnie O'Sullivan admitted he needs 'a few cigarettes' after being left disappointed with his performance against Judd Trump, saying it was the 'worst' he had seen his opponent play.
O'Sullivan beat Trump 4-1 in the semi-final of the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker but said he 'dragged' his counterpart down to his level.
The Rocket is now in yet another final and will face reigning world champion Luca Brecel on Wednesday evening after the Belgian beat Mark Allen in the first semi.
O'Sullivan is aiming to win his fifth tournament of the season as well as seeking out a historic 167 break worth £395,000 in Riyadh.
Ronnie O'Sullivan says he needs a few cigarettes after his performance against Judd Trump
Eurosport
The 48-year-old was at his sumptuous best on Tuesday when he beat old rival John Higgins 4-0, not allowing his opponent to pot a single ball.
But his performance dropped considerably against former world No 1 Trump, who was also off colour.
Asked what he will do in the two-hour break before the final, O'Sullivan quipped: "I'm going to have a few cigarettes I think after that performance!"
The seven-time world champion was not pleased with his display and said it was the worst he had seen Trump.
Asked if he was happy, O'Sullivan said: "I don't know. It was a win, it wasn't great.
"Judd was probably the worst I've seen him play, I think I dragged him down to my level.
"That's what I seem to be doing most of this season.
"I played really well last night and I had expectations coming in here, thinking I could put two matches together back-to-back playing well but that's put that out of the window."
O'Sullivan has now won his last six matches against Trump and hasn't tasted defeat against him since 2020.
He was wary of a comeback though, even when he led 3-1 in Wednesday's semi-final.
O'Sullivan said: "You know with Judd even if you're 3-1 up, or you can be 8-1 up against Judd first to nine, and he can come out and he starts smashing them off the lampshades, that's the way Judd plays.
"There's a lot of drama when you play Judd because he gets the white ball moving around, he plays a different game to pretty much anybody.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan said it was the worst he had ever seen Judd Trump play
Eurosport
"You have to just stick to your basics and try and be clinical.
"You know you're going to get your chances but if you don't take them, usually he just puts you away."
O'Sullivan says being in a final doesn't excite him and he just hopes he can put in a better performance.
He said: "For me, I don't get excited by winning any tournament any more because I feel like I've won pretty much everything there is to do.
Judd Trump was far from his best against Ronnie O'Sullivan in Riyadh
Getty
"I just want to play half decent. I don't even want to play well, I just want to play half decent, enjoy the game, be competing.
"When you're not playing well you lose a little bit of belief in yourself and your confidence can go.
"I still try to play attacking, aggressive snooker even though I'm not playing great, because that's the only way you can win really."