Four-time champion Mark Selby came through a late-night battle with Mark Allen to set up a World Snooker Championship final with Crucible history maker Luca Brecel.
The 39-year-old was embroiled in a tense thriller with the Northern Irishman, eventually getting over the line with a 17-15 victory at 12.48am on Sunday morning – just 12 hours before the final is due to start.
Selby, who last won the tournament in 2021, probably thought he would have been done and dusted much earlier as five successive frames at the start of Saturday’s evening session put him one away from victory shortly before 10pm.
Yet, he had to wait the best part of three hours before potting the final ball as Allen hit back with five successive frames of his own and threatened to take it even deeper into the night.
Selby said: “I was just happy to get over the line, I felt I played well from 11-10 to 16-10 and then missed a couple of chances.
“At 16-15 he probably goes favourite because he had the momentum. It means everything to be back, I want to try and win it now I’m in the final.
“I don’t feel too bad right now, but I haven’t been sleeping too well while I’ve been here. If I don’t sleep well tonight there is something wrong.
“Luca will be fresh, he has had a night off, but if it means I only get 10 hours and playing in the World Championship final, I’d rather have that than have 24 hours off and be driving home.”
While Selby will have a quick turnaround before Sunday’s final, Brecel will have been tucked up and relaxed after he created history earlier in the day in his semi-final win over Si Jiahui.
The Belgian, who conquered Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-final, produced the largest comeback at the famous Sheffield venue, winning 11 frames on the spin to turn a 14-5 deficit into a 17-14 victory.
He became the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit and booked his first World Championship final, having never previously got past the first round.
Brecel said of his miraculous recovery against the 20-year-old Chinese debutant: “At 14-12, 14-13 I knew I had a chance, but I think 14-14 I was really believing it because I could see he was struggling and I was playing great stuff.
“But I knew I could have lost as well. To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking.
“The whole game I was expecting to lose, even with a session to spare, so to even have a chance to win was the craziest feeling ever in my body and I can’t believe I did it.
“I have never won a game here and now I am in the final, it is some story. It is going to take a while to sink in.”
Xavi believes Lamine Yamal will go on to achieve great things after the teenager made Barcelona history with his LaLiga debut against Real Betis on Saturday.
Yamal was introduced as a late substitute at Camp Nou as Barca cruised to a 4-0 victory over Betis, restoring their 11-point lead at the summit.
The La Masia academy product, aged 15 years and 290 days, became the Blaugrana's youngest player in LaLiga history.
Yamal almost teed up a late goal for Ousmane Dembele, only for the winger to falter in front of goal, and Xavi believes the midfielder has the talent to make his mark.
The Barca coach said: "I've told him to try things. At 15 years old, he is a talent and a special player.
"He has been able to score, he has assisted and when you see him in training you see that he can be very great."
Raphinha scored one goal and assisted another in the thrashing of Betis, with Andreas Christensen and Robert Lewandowski also on target and Guido Rodriguez scoring an own goal.
The Brazil winger echoed Xavi's sentiment on Yamal, saying: "When I was 15 years old, I played for my neighbourhood team.
"It's incredible. It would have been incredible to score a goal."
Raphinha suggested Barca must repeat performances such as the one against Betis, which was in stark contrast to their showing in Wednesday's surprise 2-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.
He added: "The Rayo game was very tough. We needed to respond with a victory.
"Xavi warned us, we knew we needed a better attitude and be better on the ball. If we want to win the league, we have to play like this."
Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp has warned his team-mates they cannot afford to start poorly away to Liverpool.
Spurs bounced back from their humiliating 6-1 thrashing at Newcastle last weekend by earning a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Thursday.
Cristian Stellini lost his job after Tottenham conceded five times in the opening 21 minutes at St James’ Park and his replacement Ryan Mason watched Jadon Sancho break the deadlock in the seventh minute in midweek.
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While Spurs were able to hit back from 2-0 down to salvage a point at home to the Red Devils, it further dented their slim top-four hopes, but Skipp insists they can win at Anfield on Sunday.
“Every game you have to start strongly in the Premier League, so this one will be no different,” the Tottenham academy graduate admitted.
“I hope we can use that second half to build on but we know it is a new game, with new challenges so we have to be on it from the first minute. We know what Anfield is like.
“For sure (we can win) because of that second half and performances throughout the season. We’ve beat Man City, beat Chelsea, there are performances that show we are definitely capable.
“It is just about finding that team spirit, the togetherness that we showed in the second half especially and to go to difficult places and know moments will be difficult but to push and dig in.”
Despite being only 22, Skipp is highly respected in the Spurs dressing room and repeatedly referenced the importance of being unified following the draw with Manchester United.
Mason had preached similar before and after the midweek fixture after the 6-1 thrashing at Newcastle was the latest low of a poor campaign for Tottenham.
Skipp added: “Second half I think everyone upped their levels five to 10 per cent and that shows when we are together, a collective and everyone ups their game, what we can do.
“Now we really need to build on that. We are not getting carried away because we’ve had second halves like that before, but we really need to use that as a positive.
“Everyone was disappointed: the whole club, staff, players. We were all really disappointed and we massively let everyone down with our performance at Newcastle.
“We knew we had no choice but to react and to show the togetherness that we know is in there. It is really about enhancing and finding that.”
Mason’s first big decision after he replaced Stellini was to revert back to Spurs’ favoured 3-4-3 formation but he stated Thursday’s second-half rally was more about sticking together.
However, Skipp revealed Tottenham’s third manager of the season made key tactical tweaks during half-time that helped change the course of the match.
“Ryan has been brilliant in just reinforcing and trying to get belief back into the players,” Skipp said of Mason.
“He has been brilliant in terms of small details he has changed. Obviously he hasn’t had as long as he’d want (in training) but there are things that helped everyone.
“At half-time everyone was aware of what we needed to do and also a few tactical things we changed, perhaps stopping their midfield getting easy possession because at times they had easy possession.
“A few tactical changes really helped us push up the pitch and stop worrying about what was behind us.
“I think we started the second half really strongly, so that gave everyone the belief but it would have been easy after the (Newcastle) performance for people to hide but I don’t think anyone did.
“It was really about showing everyone that we have got a team that is capable of fighting.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has warned his team not to “destruct” by listening to people saying the title race is already over.
City are now firm favourites to win the Premier League for a fifth time in six years following their convincing 4-1 win over leaders Arsenal in midweek.
The champions trail the Gunners by just two points with two games in hand and they could move top with victory over Fulham on Sunday.
Guardiola acknowledges City, who are also bidding for Champions League and FA Cup glory, have a chance to achieve something special this season but he insists it is far from done yet.
The Spaniard said: “At the end of the season, fighting for the title is the best feeling that we can have and the Premier League is in our hands.
“It doesn’t matter what happens in London, at the Emirates, it depends on us.
“We must just look at ourselves, perform every single game like we’ve performed the last two, three, four months, do everything and we’ll be closer and closer to the something exceptional.
“We cannot deny, winning another Premier League, how exceptional it would be.
“When you have that depending on us – you can drop it because you are not good, but not because you destruct or you start to listen to the wrong messages that it is already done. It is done when it is done and still, it is not done.”
Guardiola is building an extraordinary legacy at City having already won nine major trophies since taking charge at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
He has also had a transformative impact on English football as a whole with the style of play he has introduced and the high standards he has set.
His impact is likely to be felt long after he moves on but he claims leaving behind happy memories, rather than trophies or a redefined game, is what matters most to him.
The 52-year-old said: “The legacy will be, I’ve said many times, if in 10-25 years people in the UK or Great Britain, or here in Manchester especially, still remember that period. What happened would be the legacy.
“That people enjoyed watching us – that’s enough, that people remember in 10-15 years with a smile and say, ‘How nice was that period of seven, eight, nine years when we were together’?
“Come on, that is the biggest compliment, better than any trophy or things you can give.
“Honestly I don’t know (how I’ll be viewed). I’m not concerned about that. My concern is to live the moments and now it’s Fulham – the rest doesn’t matter.
“In life, when it’s gone it’s gone. When you pass away, you pass away and they remember you, your close family for a few days and after it’s gone. It’s sad but it’s true. The manager will be replaced.
“The nicest things are what you leave and I don’t want to leave history. I want to leave them what we live now.
“That’s why I like to be here because still we have the chance to continue to do something to make people happy.”
Sixth seed Coco Gauff slumped to a third-round exit at the hands Paula Badosa at the Madrid Open on Saturday, while Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 16th birthday by setting up a meeting with Aryna Sabalenka.
Badosa – the highest-ranked Spanish player in the women's draw – needed just 71 minutes to wrap up a 6-3 6-0 win over last year's Roland Garros runner-up, thrilling a supportive home crowd at the Manolo Santana Stadium.
Badosa edged a competitive start on the clay, with each of the first five games featuring break points, before the 25-year-old forced a series of errors from Gauff to take the opener.
The second set was far more straightforward, the error-prone Gauff rounding out the match by losing eight consecutive games to miss out on a spot in the last 16.
Gauff was not the only seed to be humbled on Saturday, with Caroline Garcia falling to a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 loss in her meeting with Egypt's Mayar Sherif.
Sabalenka – the highest-ranked player in action on Saturday – enjoyed a more productive outing, however.
She saw off a spirited challenge from Colombia's Camila Osorio to clinch a 6-4 7-5 victory, teeing up a last-16 meeting with surprise package Andreeva.
Playing on her 16th birthday, wildcard Andreeva celebrated in style with a 6-3 6-3 win over Poland's Magda Linette, continuing a dream run which has also seen the Russian eliminate Leylah Fernandez and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Two-time world champion Peter Wright produced a great escape against Krzysztof Ratajski in the Dutch Darts Championship.
Wright looked dead and buried against the Pole in European Tour event in Amsterdam as he trailed 5-1 in the race to six.
But he was able to reel off five successive legs to claim victory and make it through to Sunday afternoon’s quarter-final.
One man who did tumble was Dirk van Duijvenbode.
The Dutchman got a little too excited during his walk-on and tripped over on the stage while dancing in front of his home crowd.
However, he was able to literally pick himself up and beat Irishman Dylan Slevin, although he needed a 129 checkout in the final-leg decider to win 6-5.
Home favourite Michael van Gerwen began his quest for Dutch glory with a 6-2 win over Gabriel Clemens, winning four legs in a row, while defending champion Michael Smith had too much for Jim Smith in a 6-4 success and will now meet Wright in the last eight.
There were also wins for Nathan Aspinall, Luke Humphries, Josh Rock and Dave Chisnall but Jonny Clayton and Rob Cross were eliminated.
Barcelona edged closer to the LaLiga title with a 4-0 win over 10-man Real Betis.
Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored inside 40 minutes before Guido Rodriguez’s late own goal rounded off the scoring as the leaders cruised to victory.
Betis substitute Edgar Gonzalez, who was on the pitch for just 21 minutes, was sent off for two yellow cards after 33 minutes.
Victory leaves Barca, who had won one of their previous four league games, 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top with six games remaining.
Earlier, Karim Benzema’s hat-trick inspired Madrid to a 4-2 win over Almeria.
The striker – who has scored three trebles in April – helped Madrid briefly close the gap at the top to eight points.
Benzema’s close-range finish after five minutes meant he became the second Real Madrid player to score 350 goals in all competitions after Cristiano Ronaldo.
The striker added a second after 17 minutes following Rodrygo’s brilliant assist and completed his hat-trick from the spot when Lucas Vazquez was tripped by Largie Ramazani.
Lazaro pulled a goal back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time but Rodrygo made it 4-1 two minutes after the restart, although Lucas Robertone grabbed another consolation.
Benzema was denied a penalty after a VAR check as Madrid cantered to victory while, earlier, already relegated Elche beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0.
In Serie A, Alexis Saelemaekers’ dramatic leveller deep in stoppage time kept AC Milan ahead of Roma in the race for the top four.
Tammy Abraham had struck in the third minute of stoppage time with a goal which looked set to send Roma above AC Milan, only for Saelemaekers to level four minutes later to secure a 1-1 draw.
Mid-table Torino lost 2-1 at home to Atalanta after Duvan Zapata’s late winner added to Davide Zappacosta’s goal. Antonio Sanabria had levelled earlier for Torino.
RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim 1-0 thanks to Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku to tighten their grip on fifth place in the Bundesliga.
Freiburg beat Cologne 1-0 to close the gap on third-placed Union Berlin who drew 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg drew 1-1, struggling Stuttgart beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, while Schalke beat Werder Bremen 2-1 to boost their survival hopes.
In Ligue 1, England Under-21 striker Angel Gomes scored in Lille’s 3-0 victory over Ajaccio.
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open but there was no such luck for Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday.
Second seed Medvedev cruised past Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4 6-3, teeing up a meeting with Alexander Shevchenko, who overcame Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.
Tsitsipas was made to work by Dominic Thiem, but the fourth seed battling from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5).
World number 40 Dusan Lajovic provided the shock of the day by defeating seventh seed Auger-Aliassime 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
Denis Shapovalov, the 21st seed, was another surprise second-round loser, falling 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-1) to China's Zhang Zhizhen.
Taylor Fritz avoided adding to the list of notable early eliminations in the Spanish capital, the eighth seed battling to a 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 victory over Christopher O'Connell.
Fritz's fellow American Frances Tiafoe progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while 14th seed Tommy Paul crashed out after a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) defeat to Roman Safiullin.
Seeds Alex de Minaur and Sebastian Baez also navigated their way through to the third round, defeating Marco Cecchinato and Marcos Giron respectively, as did Cameron Norrie at the expense of Yosuke Watanuki.
Logan Costa and Thijs Dallinga both scored twice as Toulouse thrashed holders Nantes 5-1 in a one-sided Coupe de France final, handing Les Violets their first major trophy in their current guise.
Nantes never looked likely to defend their crown at the Stade de France, falling behind within four minutes as centre-back Costa climbed to head Branco van den Boomen's corner home.
Toulouse's dream start continued as they capitalised on another set-piece six minutes later, Stijn Spierings crossing for Costa to nod in from close range after Nantes half-cleared a free-kick.
Nantes almost got one back as Gabriel Suazo denied Mostafa Mohamed with a goal-line clearance, but Toulouse had a third 23 minutes in, Dallinga racing onto Suazo's pass to beat Alban Lafont with a dinked finish.
Any slim hopes of a Nantes comeback were then crushed as Dallinga tapped in his second after Lafont saved from Fares Chaibi, stunning Les Canaris' supporters into silence.
Nantes captain Ludovic Blas got one back from the penalty spot when Rasmus Nicolaisen scythed down Fabien Centonze with 15 minutes remaining, but Zakaria Aboukhlal swiftly blasted into the top-left corner to round off the scoring for Toulouse.
While Toulouse can celebrate lifting a first major trophy since predecessors Toulouse FC won this competition in 1957, Nantes must recover quickly as they battle to preserve their Ligue 1 status.
Raphinha scored one goal and assisted another as Barcelona restored their 11-point lead at the LaLiga summit with a comfortable 4-0 victory over 10-man Real Betis.
Real Madrid cut the gap at the top to eight points with a 4-2 victory over Almeria before Saturday's kick-off at Camp Nou, but Barca reclaimed their significant advantage in style.
Andreas Christensen's early header from Raphinha's delightful cross set the Blaugrana on their way before Robert Lewandowski struck after a mindless first-half dismissal for Betis substitute Edgar Gonzalez.
Raphinha added a third goal soon after, before a Guido Rodriguez own goal sealed a dominant victory for Barca, who introduced 15-year-old debutant Lamine Yamal in the closing stages.
Barca raced into the ascendancy after 14 minutes when Raphinha delivered a pinpoint right-wing cross for Christensen, who headed down past the helpless Rui Silva from close range.
A needless Gonzalez foul on Pedri then saw the Betis defender, brought on for the injured Luiz Felipe, dismissed for two quickfire cautions in the 33rd minute.
Lewandowski capitalised just three minutes later when firing a right-footed strike into the bottom-left corner from Jules Kounde's low cross.
Raphinha inflicted further damage by smashing past the onrushing Silva following Sergio Busquets' disguised throughball, with the goal given after the VAR overturned an on-field offside decision.
Lewandowski rattled the right post when one-on-one with Silva after the break but Betis suffered further punishment when Rodriguez turned Ansu Fati's low cross into his own net.
Xavi took the opportunity to hand teenager Yamal his debut as Barca eased to victory.
What does it mean? Barca get back on track as title awaits
With just one win in their past five games in all competitions, Barca appeared to be stumbling – rather than cruising – to their first title of the post-Lionel Messi era.
Yet Xavi's side got back on track with their eighth win in nine league games against Betis, maintaining their unbeaten record at Camp Nou this season in LaLiga (W13 D3).
Bayern Munich and Union Berlin are the only other two clubs to boast such unbeaten runs across Europe's top five leagues this term, with Barca's home form proving the difference in their quest for the title.
Rampant Raphinha
Raphinha seemed simply unplayable at times as left-back Juan Miranda and the Betis defence were unable to cope with the Brazil winger on the right-hand side.
The Barca attacker's glorious cross for Christensen took his assists tally to 11 for the season, as many as Neymar managed in his first Blaugrana campaign in the 2013-14 term.
Poor Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini must be wondering what he must do to defeat Barca, the Betis coach losing 13 of his past 14 games in LaLiga against the Blaugrana.
Pellegrini will still have European hopes for Betis this term, with his side in sixth – three points clear of the chasing pack and Europa Conference League qualification.
What's next?
Barca host Osasuna on Tuesday, while Betis visit Athletic Bilbao two days later.
Carlo Ancelotti compared Karim Benzema's relationship with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to the one the striker shared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, after his first-half hat-trick helped Real Madrid down Almeria.
Benzema needed just 42 minutes to complete another treble in a 4-2 win over the LaLiga strugglers, benefitting from fine assists from Vinicius and Rodrygo before converting a penalty.
Rodrygo then added a spectacular fourth from range, while goals from Lazaro and Lucas Robertone ensured Almeria kept the scoreline respectable at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
After the game, Ancelotti was asked whether Madrid's current forward trio could match the talents of those who fired Los Blancos to four Champions League titles in five seasons between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
"It's a good question," the Italian said. "They are similar in effectiveness and quality, with different characteristics of the players.
"It's a different trio, but they are both very good. The 2014 trio was very dangerous and the trio now is also very dangerous."
Having also scored hat-tricks in resounding wins over Real Valladolid and Barcelona this month, Benzema has three trebles in eight games for Madrid – as many as he hit in his previous 120 club matches.
Asked about the Ballon d'Or holder's display, Ancelotti said: "Benzema is in good shape and he has shown it.
"In attack we are very good, we are dangerous. Even while we are well behind [in LaLiga], the team comes out very well in offensive terms."
Stefano Pioli feels Milan dropped two points against Roma despite Alexis Saelemaekers snatching a draw with a 97th-minute equaliser at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
The Rossoneri headed into the match in the Champions League places but above fifth-placed Roma on just goal difference, and it appeared the Giallorossi would leapfrog Pioli's men as Tammy Abraham scored in the 94th minute with the match's first shot on target.
But with Roma seconds away from a huge win, Saelemaekers turned home from Rafael Leao's deep cross to break the hosts' hearts and keep Milan in the top four.
Despite his team snatching a draw at the death, Pioli still felt Milan dropped two points, with city rivals Inter just three points behind and with a game in hand.
When asked if Roma had dropped points, Pioli replied: "For us too, it means that tonight we all go home unhappy. It's not the result we wanted.
"We didn't play badly, we lacked the right decisions in the last 30 metres. It's a shame we didn't exploit situations. We knew that the difficulty was to unlock the match, we didn't succeed."
Roma may have seen a crucial three points slip through their fingers with seconds to play, but head coach Jose Mourinho remained appreciative of his players' efforts, telling reporters: "I'm sad, but I'm more proud than sad.
"Only we can do what we've done, only us with all our limitations, only us with all the players we've lost, could play this match against Milan. Milan have two teams, one on the pitch and one on the bench. I'm not envious of Pioli; he is always fair and nice to me.
"I'm super proud and I'm sure Roma fans go home like I do, sad but proud."
Cameron Norrie finally delivered some British success in Madrid as he beat Yosuke Watanuki in straight sets.
With Andy Murray and Dan Evans crashing out in the first round and Emma Raducanu withdrawing on the eve of her match due to a hand injury, it had been a rotten week for the Brits.
But Norrie went some way to putting that right with his 6-4 7-6 (5) victory.
The British number one, who is looking to kickstart his European clay court season after early exits in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, made an inauspicious start against the Japanese and trailed 4-1.
But he found his rhythm and reeled off five successive games to take the first set.
The second was tighter, though it was the Brit who was the enforcer, seeing two break points saved as it went to a tiebreak.
And Norrie was able to get the job done, winning on his second match point.
Evans, seeded 19th, had earlier crashed to a straight-sets defeat to Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
The Spaniard, ranked 42 and a clay-court specialist, won 6-3 6-2.
Tim Murtagh recorded a 10-wicket match haul as Middlesex secured a second successive LV= Insurance County Championship victory at the expense of Kent in Division One.
The seamer reached 1000 wickets in all formats for his team after taking six for 42 – and match figures of 10 for 82 – as Kent fell to 128 all out at Lord’s.
Ben Compton and Jack Leaning had dragged Kent back into contention with an 87-run partnership but seven wickets tumbled cheaply, setting Middlesex a comfortable chase of 86 as Sam Robson and Pieter Malan steered them to victory with nine wickets remaining.
Surrey also secured a nine-wicket victory with a dominant display against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
The visitors added 70 to their total, with Jamie Smith top-scoring on 88, to set a first-innings lead of 131, but a fantastic spell from Kemar Roach saw the fast bowler take three for nine, leaving Warwickshire 22 for four at lunch.
Roach finished with a five-for as the hosts fell to 141 all out and Surrey knocked off the required 11 runs in two overs.
In Division Two, Matthew Potts starred with the ball picking up five wickets as Durham claimed victory by an innings and seven runs against Derbyshire at Chester-Le-Street.
The visitors had made a good start to day three with Matthew Lamb and Luis Reece putting on 149 runs for the sixth wicket, but Durham sparked into life after Lamb fell just short of his century on 99, pinned lbw by Ben Raine.
England seamer Potts then skittled through Derbyshire’s lower order, taking five for 65 for Durham to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Sussex continued their push for victory against Gloucestershire, sparked by substitute fielder Tom Clark’s direct-hit run out of Marcus Harris.
A chaotic period then saw Nathan McAndrew claim the wickets of James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren from successive balls for Gloucestershire to go four down at tea.
Sussex took five further wickets in the late session, with McAndrew finishing the day with figures of five for 53 to leave Gloucestershire 198 for nine at the close, still 257 runs behind their opponent’s first-innings total.
Chris Cooke and Michael Neser starred with the bat as Glamorgan fought back against Leicestershire.
Chasing 407, Glamorgan were struggling on 225 for seven in their opening innings before Cooke and Neser shared an eight-wicket partnership of 211 to help move the side on to 446 for eight.
Cooke remained unbeaten on 121 at the close of play, with Neser departing for 90 after being bowled by Chris Wright.
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