European Masters: Kyren Wilson wins nervy decider against Ali Carter to reach final at Stadthalle Furth

Kyren Wilson edged a competitive semi-final against Ali Carter 6-5 at the European Masters on Saturday afternoon.

The first frame could have gone either way, but Carter took full advantage of Wilson’s miss on a mid-range red at 33-62 down, sweeping up the remaining colours and keeping his nerve to pot a tricky black with a classy break of 34.

The second frame went to the wire as well. After taking the initiative, Carter looked odds-on to add to his lead but overcut a yellow on 35. Wilson then came unstuck after a spirited break of 60.

And after Carter made a superb clearance, the black was re-spotted with Wilson winning the toss and putting Carter into bat, who played a nice safety shot. However, after missing a double, Wilson would finally take the frame with a superb shot off three cushions.

The third and fourth frames were much quicker, straightforward affairs. With new-found confidence, Wilson strung together a break of 71. Carter responded with 24 before The Warrior picked out the red he needed to make it 2-1.

But Carter battled back with an inspired century break to ensure the match was level at the mid-session interval.

Wilson then started to edge closer to victory with an unanswered break of 87 taking him a frame clear, before another re-spotted black in the sixth frame saw him take it 63-56.

The Englishman continued his good momentum as he opened up the reds and look set up to clear the bulk of the table, but a wayward cut on the red into the left corner left him wincing in his chair before Carter came to the table. A break of 73 left Carter trailing 4-3.

A nice effort from Carter then left him 69-0 up but Wilson came to the table with hope but, after a brief safety exchange, Carter left his opponent snug behind a blue, forcing him to concede.

That was followed by a miss with the rest from Wilson to let Carter back into the match, taking the lead for the first time since the opening frame, before Wilson then hit back with a superb 75.

In the decider, Wilson got the first points on the board, and at 54-0 up he retreated into safety play, and was able to get over the line to put him through to the final for a chance to win his fifth ranking event.

Barry Hawkins plays Mark Williams on Saturday night in the tournament’s second semi-final.

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