Joe Perry reached his second ranking event semi-final last night when he ground out a 9-7 win over Ali Carter at the UK Championship in York.
The 29-year-old from Cambridgeshire was outplayed in the opening stages and trailed 4-1, but throughout the match he had a happy knack of pinching frames he should have lost and took full advantage.
World number 20 Perry was delighted to end the first session level at 4-4 after taking two frames from being 47 and 52 points adrift.
It looked like going all the way when Perry made a 114 break to restore parity at 7-7, but after he again stole the next frame on the black it dispirited his opponent and victory was soon completed. With all the top stars having already bowed out, Perry will on Friday meet world number 14 David Gray for a place in the final.
Gray, who made a maximum 147 break in his first-round win over Mark Selby, came through 9-7 against World Championship runner-up Graeme Dott.
Runs of 74, 71 twice, 69, 61 and 53 meant Gray was much the more fluent player in the opening session.
In the evening session, frame nine proved crucial.
Dott was 59 points ahead with only 43 available but former Scottish Open champion Gray amazingly snatched it thanks to a combination of snookers and free balls to move 6-3 ahead.
However, the Scot did not lie down and looked set to take the match to a decider only to miss the pink and go in-off in frame 15, leaving Gray to close it out.
