Wilson Through To Second Crucible Final

Kyren Wilson moved a step closer to fulfilling his dream of winning snooker's greatest prize as he beat David Gilbert 17-11 in the semi-finals of the Cazoo World Championship.

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World number 12 Wilson pulled away from 9-9 to take eight of the last ten frames to reach the Crucible final for the second time. Four years ago he was denied the trophy by Ronnie O'Sullivan, losing 18-8, but this time the Warrior will start favourite against either Stuart Bingham or Jak Jones. First to 18 frames on Monday will take the £500,000 top prize.

The 2020 final was played during the Covid pandemic, with limited crowds, so this will be a different atmosphere. "I can't wait," said Wilson. "It's what you dream of, to play in the Crucible final with a packed crowd. I'll try to soak it all in because you never know if you'll get another chance. It will be a fairy tale ending for whoever wins."

Kettering's 32-year-old Wilson hopes to become the 23rd player to win the title at the Crucible, and he would be the lowest seeded winner since Graeme Dott, then ranked 14th, took the silverware in 2006. He will be playing in his 14th ranking final, and looking for a sixth title, his most recent coming at the 2022 European Masters. Wilson had shown only glimpses of his best form this season before arriving in Sheffield, with just one ranking semi-final appearance, but since round one has looked the best player in the field, knocking out Dominic Dale 10-1, Joe O'Connor 13-6, John Higgins 13-8 and now Gilbert.

Tamworth's Gilbert may look back on the 20th frame on Friday night as a turning point, as he missed the yellow and the brown when he had chances for 10-10. This is his second Crucible semi-final defeat, having lost 17-16 to John Higgins in 2019. Today's result also ends his hopes of climbing into the world's top 16 - Gilbert will finish the season 21st and Higgins will hang on to his place among the elite. 

Wilson was on 25 in the opening frame today when he overcut the black to a top corner, and Gilbert stepped in with 70 to draw within three frames and raise his hopes of a fight-back at 14-11. Wilson took control of the next with a run of 47, and though Gilbert took it to the colours, he made a safety error on the yellow which handed his opponent the chance to regain his four-frame cushion.

Gilbert had a scoring chance in frame 27 but made just 10 before rattling a red in the jaws of a top corner, and Wilson's 54 helped him to the brink of victory at 16-11. Battling to stay afloat, Gilbert made 49 in the next before over-cutting a tricky mid-range red, and Wilson clinched the result in style with a superb 67 clearance.

"Dave cued the ball very sweetly for the first two sessions," added Wilson after his fourth Crucible semi-final. "I stayed mentally strong and didn't panic. It's a long tournament and he had been through the qualfying rounds, so maybe on Friday night that caught up with him, he missed a few and I knew I had to take advantage at that stage. I have had some big defeats here and have tried to learn from those and become a better player. I feel I can handle any situation now.  

"You can arrive at the Crucible with no form, and find it here. Before the event I had a holiday in Portugal with the family, then had two weeks practice, so I came here fresh. Perhaps some of the top players who have had great seasons had gone stale."

Gilbert said: "I lost it last night, I lost my way with my cueing and alignment and sliced a couple. I couldn't believe some of the shots I hit. I feel as if I could have won 17-11 instead of lost. Kyren looked confident but I kept landing awkward and he had a fair bit of luck. It was brilliant to be out there. The reception we had, you can't buy that and it makes you feel special. I wanted to be part of the game today and make it hard for him, but I was too far behind.

"It will be great for Kyren and his family if he wins it, good luck to him. I don't want to go missing now for another couple of years so I'll be back to the practice table soon."