Kyren Wilson will face Judd Trump in the Cazoo Champion of Champions semi-finals after battling past Neil Robertson in Bolton.
Wilson produced breaks of 114, 112, 98 and 113 to see off Robertson 6-4 in their group final, having earlier defeated Jordan Brown 4-2.
Having taken control of the match when easing into a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval thanks to a brace of century breaks, Wilson would have then been forgiven for thinking his chances were slipping away when watching the Australian win three frames on the spin to edge 4-3 in front.
However, Wilson rallied superbly, levelling the scores with a run of 98, before following up with a further hand of 55 and then closing out the match with another century – his third of the night.
“I played Neil last week at the English Open and it was another cracker there, but I was on the wrong side of that one. It was nice to put in a similar performance tonight and come out the winner,” Wilson told WST.
“I was a little bit unlucky at 3-3, I went into the pack off the blue and knocked in a red. Sometimes you can see potential plants and I couldn’t see anything, it was just sort of freak shot that the red went in. I knew I was starting to hit the ball pretty well and it was all about staying focused and waiting for my next chance.”
Wilson will meet Trump on Friday night: “It doesn’t get much tougher. That’s what you expect in a showpiece semi-final. It’s going to get tougher and tougher. Everyone is a champion in this event. It’s very pleasing to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to that match.”