Ronnie O’Sullivan fought back from 5-3 down to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5 as he reached the Saudi Arabia Masters semi-finals.
Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan made breaks of 88 and 116 to establish an early 2-1 lead before Wilson – who won the recent Shanghai Masters having beaten the 49-year-old at the same stage – knocked in four half centuries to move within a frame of victory in the best-of-11 encounter.
But ‘The Rocket’, who has not won a ranking event for 19 months and has barely played competitively since January, compiled breaks of 110 and 118 as he reeled off the next three frames to triumph from behind for a second consecutive match.
O’Sullivan will face Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals of a tournament which offers a £500,000 top prize and is regarded as snooker’s ‘fourth major’ by organisers.
“It was a tough match and I had to rely on Kyren to make a few mistakes,” said O’Sullivan.
“I felt OK all night but I am still not playing enough good shots consecutively. I throw in some bad ones. I can use my experience, be patient and make it hard for my opponent.
“I get treated very well here, so to do well in this tournament was a big ambition. Now I’m in the semis, I’d like to do even better. We both had great support tonight from the fans, they were cheering my name at the end.
“I guess they remember seeing me when I was young and now I’m nearly 50, so they know I won’t be around for much longer and they want to see me play well towards the end of my career.”
Wakelin followed up his 6-5 win over current world champion Zhao Xintong by defeating his fellow Englishman Barry Hawkins by the same scoreline.
The 33-year-old is now guaranteed £100,000, the largest amount he has earned from one tournament.
Hawkins became the latest victim of snooker’s so-called ‘Ding Curse’. On each of the past 22 occasions that Ding Junhui has lost in a tournament, the player to knock him out – in this case Hawkins – has lost in the next round.
Meanwhile, Elliot Slessor overcame a former Crucible winner in a deciding frame for a third consecutive day as he advanced past Mark Williams.
Slessor, who had already beaten John Higgins and Stuart Bingham, delivered four half centuries and a break of 130 before winning a tense 11th frame and will now play former practice partner Neil Robertson, who beat the in-form Ali Carter 6-4.
