Rank outsider Graeme Dott reached his first World Embassy Championship final and immediately wrote off his chances of toppling Ronnie O’Sullivan as he claimed: “How do you stop a machine?”

Graeme Dott might have been stacking supermarket shelves had he carried out his threat to quit snooker at the start of the season.

Graeme Dott looks to be heading for the Embassy World Championship semi-finals after continuing to dominate his match with David Gray in Sheffield this morning.

Alan McManus made a determined effort to break his Crucible curse in Sheffield today although his opponent Ian McCulloch remains favourite to reach the Embassy World Championship quarter-finals.

Stephen Hendry revealed he is finding snooker a “chore” and that he “can’t be bothered playing” after making a shock exit from the Citywest Irish Masters in Dublin today.