Ali Carter is through to face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Championship final after a 17-15 win over Joe Perry.
Trainee pilot soars in Sheffield to set up showdown with Rocket
Ali Carter is through to face Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Championship final after a 17-15 win over Joe Perry.
The 28-year-old from Tiptree will go up against his former practice partner after reeling off three straight frames to come out on top in a close semi-final.
After a break of 110 in the 29th frame had put Perry 15-14 ahead, Carter turned the tide to reach his first ever ranking final.
There he will face an opponent in O'Sullivan who has beaten him in all eight previous meetings and turned in a classical performance at the Crucible when he hammered Stephen Hendry 17-6 in the other semi-final.
Tight contest
The contest had ebbed and flowed throughout, with Carter resuming on Saturday morning with a lead of 9-7, only for Perry to win all four frames before the mid-session interval, allowing his opponent just 24 points.
A run of 36 to the final black was sufficient to seal the opening frame for Perry whose only final appearance during his professional career was in the 2001 European Open in Malta.
Perry then won the next two frames with runs of 57 and 58 to go back into the lead and Carter's lack of form was highlighted in the final frame before the interval when he missed a pink off its spot by several inches.
However, he came to life after the break, winning three of the remaining four to level the best-of-33-frame match at 12 apiece.
Instant reply
The evening began with Perry on top but every time he went one up Carter would answer back immediately.
A century, the fourth of the match, from the Cambridgeshire potter put him within two frames of a meeting with the Rocket on Sunday and Monday.
Yet Carter would simply not go away, hauling himself level with 77 in the next and then going ahead for the first time since he led 9-8 with runs of 44 and 23.
With the finishing line in sight both players missed chances in frame 32 before Carter held his nerve to progress, the right-hander punching the air with delight when he potted the crucial pink.
