Ronnie O’Sullivan staged a dramatic fightback to beat Mark Selby 17-16 on Friday as the five-time champion set up a World Championship final clash with Kyren Wilson.
O’Sullivan was
close to missing out on a first world final appearance since 2014 when he trailed
16-14 in Friday’s semi-final in Sheffield.
But the former
world number one refused to surrender, reeling off the last three frames to
earn a seventh appearance in the title match.
“For three days I’ve
just been looking for a cue action where I can hit the ball half straight,” O’Sullivan
told the BBC.
“If I can find the
cue action then I will enjoy the final. Cue action first and everything else is
a bonus.”
O’Sullivan and
Wilson will meet on Saturday and Sunday in the best of 35 frames final.
A limited number of
fans will be allowed into the final after the British government announced that
its programme of pilot events to test the return of spectators at sporting
events can resume from this weekend.
O’Sullivan’s tense
victory capped a remarkable day at the Crucible Theatre.
The 44-year-old,
who won his last world title in 2013, looked to have lost focus when he lashed
wildly at a pink and enabled Selby to sweep one frame from victory.
But O’Sullivan
responded by blasting a 138 clearance followed by an equally quickfire 71 to
set up a final frame.
After an extensive
period of safety play, it was Selby who wobbled, catching the middle jaw with a
red and allowing his rival to sweep up and seal an improbable victory.
Tears of joy
Earlier, Wilson
wept tears of joy as he reached his first World Championship final after
surviving a thrilling last frame to beat Anthony McGill 17-16.
Scottish qualifier
McGill had been one frame from victory, but world number eight Wilson hit back
to win the last two.
A chaotic finish
saw McGill miss a snooker eight times in a row before Wilson fluked a green to
effectively seal the victory.
England’s Wilson
struggled to contain his emotions after his decisive shot and broke down during
a post-match television interview.
“I can’t believe it
ended like that. I didn’t want to send someone home on a fluke,” said Wilson,
who beat defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.
“I couldn’t believe
what was happening. It was absolutely mental. It was one of the best
semi-finals you’ll ever see but I wish it hadn’t ended the way it did.”
McGill added: “I
feel like I’ve had something stolen from me, not by Kyren, but by the snooker
gods.”
Wilson had returned
for their concluding session with a 13-11 advantage and stretched his lead to
three frames with a nerveless break of 94.
But McGill stormed
back with consecutive breaks of 84, 87 and 122 to achieve parity at the
mid-session interval.
In the deciding
frame, both players missed chances, with McGill running aground on 39 then
Wilson missing a simple red to middle on 47.
With the black
teetering over the top pocket, Wilson snookered McGill on a nearby red and the
Scot missed it eight times in a row – leaving him requiring snookers.
After an extended
safety battle, Wilson fluked the green via three cushions to seal a memorable
triumph.
