Wilson holds his nerve in Crucible thriller

KYREN WILSON won one of the wildest frames in snooker history to beat Anthony McGill 17-16 and advance to his first World Championship final at the Crucible. Wilson edged home in an astonishing finale which included McGill missing a snooker eight times in succession and effectively concluded when Wilson fluked a green over three cushions. The frame score finished 103-83 in favour of Wilson (below), who appeared to struggle to contain his emotions upon fluking the green, and subsequently broke down in a BBC interview. ‘I put him under great pressure to go three ahead at 14-11 and he just stuck it up me from then. It is a cruel game, he had some bad rubs,’ Wilson said. ‘I have dreamed of this moment for years but this isn’t the way I wanted it to happen with the green. It is s mad what can happen on a snooker table.’ Both players missed simple chances ances to claim frame and match, with McGill running aground on 39 then Wilson missing a simple red to middle on 47. With the black teetering over the top pocket, Wilson snookered McGill on a nearby red and the Scot missed it eight times in a row — leaving him requiring snookers. Yet Wilson duly stepped up and screwed the white back into the middle pocket, with another subsequent in-off handing his opponent back the initiative. After an extended safety battle, Wilson fluked the green via three cushions, leaving McGill requiring snookers again and Wilson ultimately thanking his outrageous fortune. Wilson will play either Mark Selby or Ronnie O’Sullivan in front of up to 1,200 spectators this weekend. Around 300 fans will attend each of the four sessions — less than a third of the theatre’s 980-seat capacity. World Snooker bosses sprang into action on Thursday night after the Government announced they were resuming pilot events to test the safe returns of spectators, starting at the Crucible.