Home favourite Ali Carter delighted a packed Brentwood crowd by reeling off five frames in a row to beat Chinese legend Ding Junhui 6-2 and make the BetVictor English Open final.
Victory sees Carter through to the 15th ranking event final of his career, where he will be gunning for a seventh ranking crown. The Captain’s last triumph came two years ago at the BetVictor Championship League.
Carter started the week placed 25th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, but if he can capture the Steve Davis Trophy and the £100,000 top prize tomorrow he will return to the elite top 16. In the Englishman’s way will be either compatriot Shaun Murphy or Welshman Mark Williams.
Defeat serves as a disappointment for 15-time ranking event winner Ding, but he can take solace from a fine week which included a 6-2 defeat of 2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson. The 39-year-old had got his season off to a slow start, having only won three of his seven matches at previous tournaments.
Ding made breaks of 98 and 65 in the first three frames this afternoon to lead 2-1 and had looked good to extend that lead before a missed brown proved to be costly. Carter cleared to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed, 47-year-old Carter took the match by the scruff of the neck to blitz to victory. Breaks of 74, 119, 76 and 77 made it five on the bounce and wrapped up a tremendous triumph.
Carter said: “I felt I was just hanging on in the first four frames, but to get out 2-2 was great as I was always on the back foot. I went out after the interval and played no miss snooker so it was amazing.
“To get in the top 16 at my ripe old age of 47 wouldn’t be too bad would it? There is a lot to play for tomorrow, but I’m going to be in there fighting. Arguably Shaun is one of the best players in the world and Mark Williams is an all-time great. It is going to be really tough but I’m going to savour it.
“It is brilliant to be here. It goes without saying that it is all about the winning, but it has been a good week to get to another final. I’m still competing with the best players in the world and it is a feather in my cap.“
Quite incredibly Ding didn’t score a single point after the MSI … 😳
Three-time World Champion Mark Williams staged an epic fightback to come from 5-1 down and beat Shaun Murphy 6-5 to reach the BetVictor English Open final in Brentwood.
The remarkable victory sees 51-year-old Williams become the oldest ranking finalist in 40 years. Rex Williams was 53 when he made the final of the Grand Prix back in 1986. Tomorrow he will have the opportunity to beat his own record as snooker’s oldest ranking champion, which he set aged 50 at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix.
Williams will now face home favourite Ali Carter in tomorrow’s final, with both players bidding to lift the Steve Davis Trophy for the first time. The victor will pick up a top prize of £100,000.
Murphy’s year-long wait for a ranking title is extended. The Magician last lifted silverware at the 2025 British Open and has endured heartbreak since then. He came agonisingly close to lifting snooker’s biggest prize earlier this year at the World Championship, falling just short against Wu Yize in an 18-17 final defeat.
Things looked to be going Murphy’s way when he charged into a 5-1 advantage. Williams showed his steel to stay in the contest with an 82 break in the seventh.
Murphy had a golden opportunity to wrap the win up when leading 5-2, but crucially spurned a black off the spot leading 61-5. Williams stepped in and cleared with 69 to steal on the black and trail 5-3.
After pulling within one frame, Williams again found himself on the verge of a tournament exit when Murphy led 56-0 in the tenth. However, the 26-time ranking event winner summoned a clearance of 65 to force a decider.
The final frame saw Williams, who was competing in his 70th ranking semi-final, once again step to the fore. He made 69 to earn a place in the final, for the 45th time in a ranking event.
Williams said: “I’m not sure how I managed to win. I looked at the scoreboard, saw 5-1 and thought I was out. I stuck in there and made a few good clearances. I got it back to 5-4 and he started to miss a few. It was a great clearance to go 5-5 and an unbelievable break in the decider.
“He missed an easy black at 5-2 and I just thought at least if I could clear up I wasn’t giving it to him. Those matches coming from 5-1 down probably only happen once in a thousand. I just had to stick in and that was the one time it turned round for me.
“It has to be up there with my best comebacks. I was 5-1 down and 60 odd behind on two occasions. I’m over the moon to have a crack at the final now.”
Willo was 3-1 down but it’s not as if he had been outplayed. Not at all. All four frames before the MSI had been close, hard fought frames. Mark Williams temperament and battling qualities are probably second to none. Behind the apparently nonchalant demeanour hides a ruthless warrior. Can he win today? I believe he can. He has all the tenacity and the patience in the world and is more than capable to play the sort of game that could frustrate Ali and push him into taking unduly risks. We shall see.