Crucible king Luca Brecel fell victim to his bogey player as Martin O'Donnell scored a 5-3 victory to reach the semi-finals of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
O'Donnell had beaten Brecel in all three of their previous meetings, but tonight's success was the biggest win of his career so far as he knocked out a player ranked 72 places higher to reach the second ranking event semi-final of his career - the only other one coming at the 2018 Shoot Out. On Saturday afternoon, world number 76 O'Donnell will meet Elliot Slessor, ranked 50th, with both men aiming to reach a first ranking final.
The career of Bedfordshire-based O'Donnell was in danger of fizzling out when he was relegated from the tour in 2022. A year later, he managed to regain his place via the Q Tour, and since then he has enjoyed some fine results, notably reaching the quarter-finals of the BetVictor English Open and last 16 of the BetVictor Scottish Open - where he beat Brecel. This week's run has guaranteed him £17,500, but after tonight's performance he will only have eyes for the Ray Reardon Trophy.
The first six frames of a high quality contest were shared - O'Donnell making breaks of 88, 61 and 130 while Belgium's Brecel knocked in 75, 75 and 76. In the seventh, Brecel had a chance to clear from 44-1 down, but ran out of position on the penultimate red. O'Donnell got the better of a safety exchange then converted an excellent pot on the red to a baulk corner, setting him up to go 4-3 ahead.
The Englishman led 63-33 in the eighth when he missed match-ball pink to a top corner, and he later rattled the last red in the jaws of a baulk pocket. Brecel's attempted clearance ended when he missed a difficult black along the top cushion, and a brief tactical tussle was revolved when O'Donnell potted it from distance, his jubilation evident in his celebration.
It's a deflating end to a promising week for Brecel, who reached his first ranking quarter-final of the season. He is now sure to miss next week's Johnstone's Paint Players Championship, while either O'Donnell or Slessor will earn a place in Telford if they win the final.
O'Donnell said: "On the last black, I built myself up for it, I knew I was one ball away from winning. I played it positively and cued it well. I've had good wins against Luca before but tonight was a bit different at a late stage of a tournament. I have felt confident all week, I'm scoring well and I wanted to attack the balls. Last season I wasn't even on tour so I was a long way from this kind of thing. It's not easy to get back on the tour, but I always believed I could get back to this level because I am older and wiser now.
"This season I have tried not to make everything a pint of blood. I do try hard out there - sometimes too hard. I still try to play as if it means everything, but I am able to handle defeats better and move on. I have played a bit quicker too and that seems to be helping. Tomorrow will be another tough game but one of us will get through to Sunday."
Meanwhile, Gary Wilson continued his bid for back-to-back BetVictor Home Nations titles as he trounced Anthony McGill 5-0. Wallsend's Wilson triumphed in Scotland in December and is now through to his ninth ranking event semi-final. He dominated tonight's contest with top breaks of 92, 71 and 76, to earn a meeting with John Higgins on Saturday evening.
"I was prepared to battle tonight and make the most of every shot," said world number 16 Wilson. "Sometimes if I'm struggling a bit I get embarrassed, and end up forcing the issue. So I just tried to forget the crowd was there. I have played for long enough to know that you can never really analyse your own game, you just have to try to feel confident and hope that it goes your way on the day.
"I have tried to stick to what I'm doing, because it was working at the Scottish. That has helped me to just go out and play without any rubbish in my head, and to be a bit more consistent. In the past I would not be able to play certain shots, but I don't feel that way any more. I still have improvements to make, but I'm going in the right direction.
"John Higgins is an absolute legend and I look forward to that challenge. I could crumble tomorrow, but even if I do I will come away from the week with some positives. And if I can take a big scalp, even better."