Gary Wilson is just one win away from a second ranking title in as many months, having beaten John Higgins 6-4 in a fantastic semi-final at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
World number 16 Wilson won the BetVictor Scottish Open in December and now has the chance to land a third career ranking title, when he faces Martin O'Donnell over 17 frames on Sunday, with the Ray Reardon Trophy and £80,000 top prize on the line.
It was a dream night in Llandudno for the Wallsend cueman as he beat one of the all-time greats in Higgins, as well as making the fifth 147 of his career. Overall it was an outstanding performance from the 38-year-old as he made two centuries and four more breaks over 50, eventually getting over the line in the tenth frame after Higgins threatened a fight-back from 5-1 down. Wilson is through to his fifth ranking final, and if he captures the title he'll become the only player other than Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan to win multiple ranking titles this season.
Higgins has shown consistent form this term, reaching four ranking semi-finals, but has come up short in each of those and is still waiting for his first ranking title since the 2021 Players Championship.
Wilson was an target for a 147 in the opening frame until he missed the penultimate red on 104, then made amends in the next with his marvellous maximum. He added an 82 in the next then dominated a scrappy fourth frame to lead 4-0. Higgins finally got going after the interval with a break of 93, before Wilson went 5-1 ahead with an 89.
In frame seven, Wilson looked to be cruising past the winning post until he missed a tricky thin cut on the black on 55, allowing Higgins to launch his recovery with a trademark 69 clearance. In the eighth, Wilson over-cut a risky red when he led 49-0, and again Higgins took advantage with 66 to close the gap. The Scot's run of 78 turned up the heat, with the scoreline at 5-4.
But Wilson kept his composure, and executed a superb red to centre when he led 24-0 in frame ten, setting him up for a match-winning 73.
"It got a bit twitchy towards the end because I missed chances to kill it off," admitted Wilson. "John is a such a class player and if you miss you know you might as well set the balls up for the next frame because he's going to clear up. At 5-4 I knew I had to take a chance and not give him another sniff. When I potted the red to the middle, I knew that was my chance to win. I am feeling better about my game and more consistent.
"Martin will be excited and he'll want to enjoy the occasion tomorrow. I feel the same, it's an opportunity to win a big trophy and I'll be well up for it."
Higgins added: "Gary was deadly for the first three and a half frames, I was just sitting there like a bystander, he played incredible and made a great 147. It's a tough sport because I knew I was hitting the ball well and I showed that at the end when I came back. It was a great game to be involved in and Gary played superb. I was just enjoying it. In the last frame I went for a red to the green bag because, the way I was feeling, I thought I would get it, but I missed and he potted an unbelievable red to the middle. It has been a good week, hopefully I can have another run in Telford next week."