McGill and Murphy reach British Open final

Anthony McGill (left) was in danger of losing his tour card

Anthony McGill will play Shaun Murphy in the final of the British Open on Sunday after winning four consecutive frames to beat compatriot John Higgins.

Scotland's McGill won 6-3 to reach his first final in eight years, while England's Murphy breezed past defending champion Mark Selby 6-1.

McGill, who has slipped to 57th in the world and had reached his first semi-final in nearly three years, was the underdog against the four-time world champion currently ranked sixth.

But the 34-year-old was delighted to record his third professional win over Higgins in nine meetings, having trailed 2-1 and 3-2.

"It's fantastic win for me because John is a legend," McGill said after reaching his fourth ranking final.

"This will be the biggest final of my career. In the last couple of years I have won hardly any matches so this is a huge week for me."

From a career high of 12, McGill had even been in danger of relegation from the tour, but he is already guaranteed a return to the top 50.

When Higgins took the fifth frame with a break of 111, the former world champion looked to be in the groove.

However, McGill proved the steadier of the two and a 104 break in the eighth and a 93 break in the ninth secured victory.

In, Saturday's other semi-final, Murphy was looking to end a 26-month drought without a ranking title. The 43-year-old got off to a superb start against four-time world champion Selby, winning the first three frames.

Selby fought back to take the fourth frame with a break of 123, but Murphy soon regained control.

He won a tense fifth frame, coming from 54-0 down, before wrapping the match up with a break of 93 to book his place in Sunday's showpiece and a chance to win the £100,000 top prize.

Murphy said he was "delighted" with his performance, adding: "I've had a very tough draw to get to the final but hopefully that hasn't taken too much out of me.

"It has been a while since I won a ranking event so it would be nice to pick up another one."