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Kyren Wilson

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Kyren Wilson "gutted" at how he reached World Snooker final


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Ultimately it was a fluke that decided the match, but it doesn't begin to tell the tale of Kyren Wilson's passage to the World Snooker Championship final.

The world no.8 beat Anthony McGill 17-16, with the final frame lasting in excess of an hour.

Wilson resumed in the afternoon with a 13-11 lead, and won the first frame of the session.

But the Scot then won five of the next six frames, aided by breaks of 136, 84, 87 and 98 along the way, to take a 16-14 lead and within touching distance of the final.

But Wilson composed himself to take the next two frames and force a decider.

From there it was a tale of safeties and errors.

A snooker forced eight successive fouls from McGill as the scoreboard began to reach rarely charted territory.

20-points ahead, and with 25 left on the table, Wilson then fluked the green to leave his opponent needing snookers.

Such was the gravity of the moment, it left the man on the verge of victory holding back tears.

"Mental match, mental. Mental decider," Wilson told Eurosport after the match.

"I'm gutted it's obviously ended the way it has. It's not nice to send someone home in such a big stage on a fluke.

"I just couldn't believe what was happening. I sort of managed to find something from somewhere and pulled back to a decider.

"Held myself together through the break, and then took my eye off a red focusing on position.

"I played a great snooker where I thought it had won me the match. And if it had finished there, it'd be a different story with the way I'm feeling.

"But then I went in-off on the red, kicking it in the middle. I just couldn't believe what was happening, it was mental - absolutely mental."

Asked about that decisive green, and the emotional scenes that followed Wilson told Colin Murray, "We're two young lads that have grown up together, played in amateur stuff since we were 11-years old.

"So for me it was great that we were competing in a semi-final, and competing so well.

"I felt like it was probably one of the best semi-finals you'll ever see. It had just absolutely everything.

"I just wish that it didn't end the way it did. But I've had so many kicks in the teeth, like Anthony's just had there.

"I lost the Champion of Champions final more or less to a bit of bad fortune, so these things happen. Maybe it was just my turn, Lady Luck was on my side."

Wilson will play either Ronnie O'Sullivan or Mark Selby in the final this weekend.


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Anthony McGill Crucible Crucible Theatre Kyren Wilson Snooker World Snooker World Snooker Championship

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