Wilson fights back to beat Robertson and reach final

Kyren Wilson plays a shot with the extended rest — Kyren Wilson has already won the Xi'an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open and German Masters this season [Getty Images]

World champion Kyren Wilson fought back from 4-1 down to beat Neil Robertson 6-5 in a final-frame decider and reach the final of the Players Championship.

Wilson will now face either world number one Judd Trump or four-time Crucible winner John Higgins in Sunday's showpiece in Telford.

Robertson crafted a century and an 83 break in a high-quality opening to the contest - and when he took a dramatic fourth frame on the black and then the fifth, a third final of the season appeared to be beckoning for the rejuvenated Australian.

However, Wilson compiled a break of 116 on his way to winning three successive frames to level at 4-4.

Although he lost the ninth after going in off on a respotted black, Wilson responded with a break of 89 before sealing the win with a 134 total clearance.

It was a particularly impressive finale from the 33-year-old, who did not concede a point in the final two frames and is chasing a fourth ranking title of the campaign after advancing past Robertson in a classic.

"It is a testament to my mental strength," Wilson told ITV4. "It was sickening to lose the frame on the respot.

"Neil is so good and his cue action is second to none but you have to switch that and be aggressive. It was about digging in and at 4-1 I was able to do that."

Earlier, Higgins set up a last-four meeting with Trump on Saturday (19:00 GMT) after recovering from 4-1 and 5-2 down to beat Xiao Guodong 6-5.

A superb break of 111 in the opening frame laid the platform for China's Xiao to dominate the early stages of the quarter-final against the four-time world champion.

And further runs of 55, 60 and 104 helped him move one frame from victory.

However, Higgins - who turns 50 in May and recently claimed his first ranking title in four years at the World Open - came back with a break of 70 in the eighth frame and then reeled off the next three, before finishing off the match with a half-century.

"I'm very relieved. I've been on the wrong end of matches like that, where I've been dominant. To come out on the right side is brilliant," said Higgins.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the game. He was outplaying me, but it was great. There was a packed crowd.

"That is what I'll miss when I retire from the game. That pressure moment at 5-5 when you have a chance to win the match. You can't replicate that at any time. It only happens at snooker, in crunch matches."

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