Mark Allen missed a simple black to book his place in his first World Snooker Championship final before falling 17-16 to Wu Yize in one of the most dramatic last-four finishes in Crucible history.
The 40-year-old Antrim man had the match at his mercy when he got on top of an error-strewn 32nd frame and required just the black off its spot to wrap up a 17-15 win.
But incredibly Allen rattled the pocket, leaving Wu an unexpected chance to haul level at 16-16 and set up a pressure-filled decider in front of a raucous Sheffield crowd.
Allen shut out his nightmare brilliantly, easing into a 47-point lead before an unlucky split on the reds left him out of position and ultimately let in the nerveless 22-year-old to cue up a brilliant 71 clearance to win 17-16 and set up a final against Shaun Murphy.
Shell-shocked Allen told BBC Sport: “You don’t deserve to be in a world final if you’re missing balls like that. It was just pure pressure, to be honest.
“Even though I’m devastated to lose that match I think the right person’s in the final. The way he plays is great for the game, he scores heavily and pots some ridiculous long balls. He’s going to win many world titles.”
Saturday’s last two sessions provided a stunning antidote to Friday night’s notorious 100-minute frame that former champion Steve Davis had dubbed an “embarrassment”.
In a session that saw two swift re-racks, Allen consistently nudged one frame clear only to be hauled back repeatedly by the free-scoring Chinese star, who drilled long reds and seemed almost impervious to the mounting pressure.
The pivotal moment looked to have arrived in frame 30 when Wu missed a simple red to the middle, letting Allen move to the brink of victory at 16-14 – only for the irresistible Wu to fire back and force the dramatic conclusion.
Earlier, Murphy twice overturned a two-frame deficit in the final session against Higgins as he was forced to dredge up his best form to see off the 50-year-old Scot.
Their clash looked nailed-on for a decider until Higgins fluffed a black on a break of 50, gifting Murphy the chance to get over the line at the second attempt.
Murphy told the BBC: “I just came out today knowing if I got my chances I could score. At the interval I was just saying to myself, ‘you’ve done it before, now you can do it again’.
“But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets out there, the tougher he gets and the better he plays. If I’m half the player when I’m in my 50s, I’ll be very proud.”
Resuming the final session 13-11 in arrears, Murphy started in scintillating fashion with two total clearances to haul level, only for the Scot to chisel out the next two to restore his two-frame lead.
Murphy’s fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval, and as Higgins began to miss some easy balls, the 43-year-old Murphy went into overdrive, winning the last four in a row to confirm victory.
Higgins paid tribute to Murphy, saying: “The way Shaun hit the ball in that session was incredible. He just hits it like God.
“I’m disappointed but what can you do. As you get older your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match, but take nothing away, Shaun was awesome and he’s got a great chance of going on to win it for a second time.”
