Jak Jones, a 200-1 outsider at the start of the tournament, beat Stuart Bingham 17-12 at the Cazoo World Championship to become the ninth qualifier ever to reach the Crucible final.
Welshman Jones, seemingly unfazed by his extraordinary run, came from 9-8 down to win nine of the last 12 frames to reach the final of a ranking event for the first time in his career. Arguably the most unlikely finalist in Crucible history, he will meet Kyren Wilson over 35 frames on Sunday and Monday for the trophy and £500,000 top prize. The world number 44 is the lowest ranked player to get this far since Shaun Murphy, then 48th, won the title in 2005.
And this will be the first final since 2005, when Murphy beat Matthew Stevens, that we are sure to see a new name on the trophy. Jones, who had only previously played in one ranking event semi-final since turning pro in 2010, aims to become the 23rd player to hold the silverware at the Crucible. Already guaranteed £200,000, by far his biggest ever pay-day, the 30-year-old from Cwmbran will jump 30 places up the ranking list to 14th even if he loses the final, and will climb to number six if he wins.
He will be the sixth player from Wales to contest the final, joining Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths, Doug Mountjoy, Mark Williams and Stevens, and victory would make him only the third qualifier, after Griffiths and Murphy, to wear snooker's most coveted crown.
Qualifiers To Reach The Final
Jones Joins List Of Nine
Champions
Terry Griffiths 1979
Shaun Murphy 2005
Runners-up
Cliff Thorburn 1977
Perrie Mans 1978
Mark Selby 2007
Graeme Dott 2010
Judd Trump 2011
Ding Junhui 2016
Jak Jones 2024
Back in 2011, Wilson and Jones met for the first time, in the less glamorous surroundings of Q School. Wilson came from 3-0 down to win 4-3, and Jones was eventually relegated from the tour, not returning until 2013. His progress as a professional has been slower than he would have liked, but over the past fortnight he has shown he has the talent and temperament, and is now set for the biggest match of his life.
Bingham, the 2015 champion, misses out on the chance to become the seventh player to win the title at the Crucible more than once. Having knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan in the previous round, his confidence could barely have been higher, but he made too many errors against Jones and the Essex man's third Crucible semi-final ended in disappointment.
Going into the concluding session 13-10 down, Bingham took a scrappy opening frame to close the gap, and he had chances in frame 25 but crucially missed a red to a top corner when he led 25-5 and later made a safety error on the final green which gifted Jones the chance to go 14-11 up. Bingham was on 16 in the next when he went in-off when potting the blue, and Jones responded with 65 to extend his lead.
In frame 27, Jones led 28-0 when he over-cut a tricky red to a top corner. Bingham build a 55-35 lead and trapped his opponent in a snooker with three reds left, creating the chance to close to 15-12. After the interval, Bingham was on 23 when he missed the black to a top corner, and Jones replied with 70 to go four up with five to play. And he went on to dominate frame 29 with runs of 44 and 58 to cross the line.
"It's crazy, this was totally unexpected at the start of the event," said Jones, who won two matches to reach the Crucible before knocking out Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Judd Trump and Bingham. "I don't feel I have played that well, but my matchplay has got me through. Hopefully I'll start playing well tomorrow. I watch the world final on TV every year, it has always been a dream to play in it and find out what an amazing occasion it is. It would mean everything to win it, but Kyren is playing as well as anyone.
"I have had so much disappointment in my career that I don't tend to get too high when I win or low when I lose. I don't feel that excited yet - but maybe when I get introduced into the arena tomorrow it will hit me."
Bingham said: "I'm gutted. I gifted him so many chances. In the fourth frame I missed a blue which might have put me 4-0 up, and after that he got his teeth into the match. I must have given away eight frames. He is tough to play against, it's hard to get a rhythm against him."