Kyren Wilson opens the second mini-session with a good break. He's five frames away from winning the title meaning he needs eight this evening to take the match to a decider.
Jak Jones has an early opportunity to level the score when a miss from Wilson ricochets into the middle pocket. He doesn't take it though.
Mark Williams
A showdown between two of snooker’s biggest names is set to take place at the Crucible this year. John Higgins and Mark Williams will meet for the first time since their respective heydays in the 90s, with both former world champions savouring spells as number one.
Welsh Potting Machine Mark Williams delighted fans at the Players Championship with a sensational three reds in one shot. The three-time world champion was facing reigning champion Kyren Wilson in a highly anticipated wilson clash in the quarter-finals in Telford, where he tried an ambitious plant with the rest near a pack of reds and hit all three.
Wilson went on to win 6-3 and will play either Neil Robertson or Mark Selby in the semi-finals. Jack Lisowski reached the last four with a 6-4 win over Iranian Hossein Vafaei. The world number 12 started well as he raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 68 and 73. But Vafaei hit back to level before a scrappy final frame was won by Lisowski.
Kyren Wilson
Kyren Wilson’s never-give-up attitude on the snooker table has earned him the nickname “The Warrior”. But he’s also been forced to overcome some testing family struggles. His wife Sophie suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with epilepsy last year. Their son Bailey also sustained a broken nose in a school accident. The couple now have to reduce practice sessions to accommodate their kids’ hospital appointments.
Wilson has been one of the biggest underdogs to win a ranking tournament this season. He started outside the world’s top 50 and reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship and World Championship.
Wilson thrashed John Higgins 13-8 in their quarter-final and will play Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace. The 33-year-old has already defeated top 10 players Zhang Anda and Luca Brecel on his way to the last four.
Books
Kyren Wilson has a bit of a reputation as being one of the best players in the world but never quite being able to win high-profile events. The Kettering cueist first made it onto the main tour in 2010 but dropped off in 2011 and spent a couple of years getting back to where he is now.
It took a while, but when the Welshman won a ranking event in 2021 it started to kick-start his career. And after a quarter-final run at the Crucible last year, it looked like Wilson was on the verge of making something of his name.
However, it all came to a crashing halt when he lost in the semi-finals against Ronnie O'Sullivan. That defeat meant he had a 7-0 losing record in matches longer than the usual best of five frames. But he has now put that behind him and can look forward to facing Mark King in Saturday's first best-of-11 frame semi.
Venue
Kyren Wilson reached the semi-finals of the Players Championship with a heavy scoring 6-3 win over Mark Williams. The world champion took a 2-0 lead with breaks of 68 and 71 but Williams responded to level the scores in the second frame with a 61 break.
The Welsh Potting Machine, who is part of snooker’s famous Class of 92 alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins, admitted he doesn’t know if he has played his last World Championship match. The three-times world champion, who has a famous love affair with the Crucible, was speaking after losing to Ding Junhui in a thrilling quarter-final match that saw play interrupted by blood dripping from his nose.
It is another blockbuster day at the Crucible with Jack Lisowski taking a 5-4 lead over Dominic Dale and Ding Junhui leading Mark Allen by the same amount against Robbie Williams. The match between the two players lasted so long that both players were forced to take a toilet break during the break.