Snooker results: Joe O'Connor beats Neil Robertson 6-3 to reach Scottish Open final

O'Connor twice trailed in the match including after Robertson started it with a 137 break, but he fought hard to remain in the match at 3-3.

Then came a huge moment as he pinched the seventh frame by a point after a fabulous final red was thundered into the pocket, and from there he took the eighth frame to move within one of an almighty upset.

With the winning line in sight, O'Connor would've been forgiven for stalling, but instead he produced a remarkable break of 71 which saw him defy what appeared to be end-of-break moments on at least three separate occasions.

The last of them saw him cut an audacious red into the bottom pocket and when the next one, itself tricky, also found the same bag, the match was his. Little wonder a magnanimous Robertson took time to praise him as the pair shook hands.

"Absolutely speechless," was his reaction, speaking to Eurosport. "I played well when it mattered, so I'm over the moon."

O'Connor had already beaten Zhao Xintong and Mark Williams in deciders, as well as Ding Junhui and Ricky Walden, and will now face Gary Wilson in his bid for a first ranking title.

"I prepared hard, practised well, and one thing led to another," he said. "I've beat Ding, Mark Williams... it just keeps going and going. It's a little bit strange, because in practise I haven't been flying."

Asked how he'll feel on Sunday, he added: "I think I'll be OK. It's been quite a strange week, it's been very normal - no extra pressure, no expectations. I've just been concentrating on my own game and trusting my cue action, and it's been working so far."

Wilson raises his game

Gary Wilson produced a trio of centuries to beat Thepchaiyah Un-Nooh 6-4 and reach the final of the Scottish Open.

It might have been a surprising semi-final draw but these two rare contenders conjured snooker of a high quality towards the end of it, Un-Nooh threatening a 147 break to kick things into life before Wilson found his best form too.

After Un-Nooh came unstuck on the 15th and final red in a break of 112 to level at 2-2, and again with a run of 61 to level at 3-3, it looked like it was the Thai who would kick on to reach Sunday's final.

But this upturn from Un-Nooh seemed to bring out the best in Wilson, who put together back-to-back breaks of 122 and 130 to move into a 5-3 lead before getting among the balls in frame nine.

A missed red to middle suggested nerves were beginning to kick in and Un-Nooh cleared expertly to get within one, but the pendulum swung one more time as he mishit a shot with the spider to present Wilson with a winning opportunity.

The 37-year-old rode his luck at times but went on to bag his third century of the match, a run of 115 seeing him deservedly advance to his third ranking final.

'Old enough and stupid enough'

"My whole thought process changed after the interval," said Wilson. "It was embarrassing the first four (frames). Luckily for me, Thepchaiyah was struggling as well.

"I went into the interval and had a complete reset and though I don't care if I butcher everything now, I'm going to play on complete instinct. I still missed a few, but I managed to pot a few.

"It was like a match of two halves, the first half was terrible and the second half, I completely played on instinct and enjoyed it a little bit. I'd like to continue trying to play like that, but every time I do I make daft mistakes and miss easy balls.

"It's swings and roundabouts with me, but I think I've got to the point in my career where I'm old enough and stupid enough to accept that I'm going to have to play on instinct a bit more."

Daily schedule & results

Saturday December 3
Afternoon session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: Eurosport

• Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-6 Gary Wilson

Saturday December 3
Evening session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: Eurosport

• Joe O'Connor 6-3 Neil Robertson

Related links

• Neal Foulds' latest column