Ronnie O'Sullivan storms back to edge out Kyren Wilson in Saudi Arabia
O'Sullivan looked to be heading home when 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson led 5-3 in the race to six.
But the veteran produced back-to-back century breaks, firing 110 and 118 clearances, to make it 5-5 and then claimed the final-frame decider.
He secured a 6-5 victory with a stunning long pot on the red.
The 49-year-old is now two wins away from a first title in 17 months as his love-hate relationship with the sport continues.
"I'm enjoying playing at the moment," he told the World Snooker Tour. "I didn't expect to win.
"My goal was to just give him a half decent game, see if I could make him work for it.
"I'd have been happy, because for me, he's the best player in the world. And it's hard because I'm a bit in and out.
"But I just had to focus and concentrate as hard as I could. And it also helped that I looked at a comment where someone said I was going to get tranced by Wilson tomorrow, so that made me try a little harder."
Elliot Slessor's career-best run continued as he earned a guaranteed £100,000 (€116,000) payday by beating Mark Williams in a final-frame decider.
The 31-year-old, helped by a classy break of 130 in the fourth frame, got over the line in a nervy affair to claim a 6-5 victory and set up a semi-final with Neil Robertson.
The Australian beat Ali Carter 6-4 in his quarter-final.
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