World Snooker Championship 2020: Kyren Wilson beats Anthony McGill after dramatic final frame
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World Snooker Championship 2020: Kyren Wilson & Anthony McGill play thrilling final frame
Betfred World Championship |
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Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 31 July-16 August |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and Red Button, with uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app. Full details and times. |
England's world number eight Kyren Wilson won an incredible final frame to beat Anthony McGill 17-16 and reach his first World Championship final.
Scottish qualifier McGill was one frame from victory at 16-15 but Wilson drew level to set up a decider.
McGill conceded 35 points after missing a snooker eight times, then Wilson went in-off twice as fortunes fluctuated.
Wilson fluked the green and struggled to contain his emotions as he edged the frame 103-83 after 62 minutes.
Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry, commentating on BBC Two, described the frame - the longest of the championship - as "the most bizarre end to a World Championship match I've seen".
Wilson, who will face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final, said: "It's a cruel game. I've dreamt of this moment but I didn't want to get there like this.
"I held myself together right up until the end of that decider. It's just mad what can happen on a snooker table.
"I felt like it was one of the best semi-finals ever at the Crucible. I felt it was such a good standard, I'm just annoyed that it ended that way."
McGill added: "I feel as though I played really well. I don't feel as though I have done anything wrong. I feel like it has been stolen from me, not by Kyren but by the snooker gods."
A cliff-hanging final frame
Analysis: 'Never see a frame like that again'
The astonishing 33rd frame will live long in the memory and go down as an all-time Crucible classic.
Both players missed chances in a nervy frame and the two were separated by a single point with one red remaining, but then Wilson got McGill in a brilliant snooker.
Following his numerous misses on the red, McGill needed a snooker to get back, which he got as Wilson went in-off from the following shot.
The pair attempted the final red into the middle by playing the cue ball off the baulk cushion. McGill got it, but then lost position on the green and a long tactical battle ensued.
Further incredible drama followed as Wilson fluked the green leaving McGill needing snookers and he dropped his head and seemingly broke down in tears at the table, apologising to his opponent for his fortune.
Wilson snatched the pink to end the most dramatic frame of the tournament.
'We will never see a frame like that again' - analysis
1991 world champion John Parrott on BBC Two:
I have never, in 44 years of playing this wonderful game, seen a frame of snooker like that. It was unbelievable.
There were so many talking points in it. I thought I was watching a basketball match. It was 90 plays 60 at one point. We will never see a frame like that again. When you put all those balls on a table things can happen that are so bizarre, but I have never seen anything like that.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis:
Kyren is a very lucky boy to get through that in the end. He played a great snooker to put Anthony in trouble with the misses.
The ball over the middle pocket was just stupid and they had their chances both of them. The fluke was massive. Kyren over-hit the shot, so he was risking leaving everything on. It was incredible and he was nearly crying knowing he had nearly won.
The emotional rollercoaster both players have been through in that last frame is enough to last a lifetime. So many shots could and may have gone differently. In the end somebody had to win it and Kyren fell over the line.
A memorable final session
Wilson received a bye into the second round after opponent Anthony Hamilton withdrew on the eve of the tournament with health concerns and ousted defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.
He started the final session on Friday with a superb 94 break but McGill responded with a hardworking 84, before punishing his opponent for missing two tricky blacks off the spot with nerveless runs of 87 and 122.
McGill split the balls after potting the blue, but inadvertently sent a red into the corner pocket, allowing Wilson to capitalise with an 82 under pressure.
The pair continued to trade blows as the Glaswegian responded by levelling once more at 15-15 and taking the next with another cool 98 break to go one from victory.
Wilson needed a couple of chances to pinch a re-racked 32nd frame and take the semi-final into a deciding frame.