Gary Wilson will face fellow Englishman Martin O’Donnell in the Welsh Open final on Sunday after hanging on to beat five-time winner John Higgins 6-4.
Wilson’s tally included a 147 as well as breaks of 104, 82 and 89 as he secured a tight victory in Llandudno.
The Englishman led 5-1 before Higgins reeled off three frames in a row – but Wilson went through with a break of 73.
In the first semi-final, O’Donnell hit a terrific break of 126 in the deciding frame against Elliot Slessor.
Higgins was seeking a sixth Welsh Open title but Wilson got off to a flying start as he opened with a century break of 104 before his 147 gave him a 2-0 lead.
Scottish Open winner Wilson took complete control at 4-0 before Higgins got a frame back with a break of 93.
Wilson replied to move to within one frame of the final but Higgins posted breaks of 69, 66 and 78 as he fought hard and brought the score back to 5-4.
However Wilson kept his cool with a break of 73 as he held on for victory on a night where he made the 199th maximum break in snooker history.
Wilson secured his fifth career maximum as he became the 13th player to reach that milestone.
“I am delighted,” Wilson said. “I didn’t do a lot wrong and played very well in patches.
“The 147 was early in the match, I wasn’t even thinking about it at the start, I was just looking to build a lead.
“It probably wasn’t until 40 or 50 where I thought ‘the balls are on here’ and you can hear the crowd egging you on.
“I should have had one in the frame before, I had a chance at it.”
Higgins admitted he had no answer to Wilson’s blistering early form.
“He was deadly for the first three-and-a-half frames… incredible, two centuries in a row,” Higgins said.
“Gary played superbly, I give him credit… there was nothing I could do.”
O’Donnell showed wonderful composure to win the first semi-final in the deciding frame.
After a tense safety battle, O’Donnell took his chance to make the game’s first century break and win 6-5 to reach his first ranking final.
O’Donnell had built a 5-3 lead against his fellow Englishman, but Slessor made breaks of 95 and 65 to draw level.
“I was just enjoying it and I thought of all the hours you put in at the club, everything you do,” O’Donnell said.
“I was like ‘come on, let’s see what you’re made of here, let’s see if you stand up to the task’.
“That is all I was concentrating on really. Weirdly enough it was probably the most composed I’ve felt in a match at five each.”
World number 76 O’Donnell stunned world champion Luca Brecel in the quarter-final before edging our Slessor while Wilson won the Scottish Open in 2022 and 2023.
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