Matthew Stevens reached the final of the Fáilte Ireland Irish Masters at Citywest tonight after he produced a gritty comeback against Robert Milkins.
It was Stevens' second successive ranking tournament semi-final after losing to Hendry in Malta while Englishman Milkins - a professional for nearly 10 years - had never before featured in the last four.
The Welshman trailed 7-4 and 8-6 at stages during this evening's second session, but held his nerve to secure the win in the final frame
Best of enemies Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams will meet tomorrow in the second semi.
There has been no love lost between the pair since O'Sullivan's autobiography 'Ronnie' claimed the Welshman was 'not Mr Popular' among his fellow professionals.
FAILTE IRELAND IRISH MASTERS SEMI-FINAL RESULT
M Stevens 9-8 R Milkins
Frame 1: 77-20, Frame 2: 45-60, Frame 3: 19-73 (51), Frame 4: 80-1, Frame 5: 66-73 (on re-spotted black), Frame 6: 0-89 (51), Frame 7: 70-24 (70), Frame 8: 81-1 (56), Frame 9: 0-77 (77), Frame 10: 31-52, Frame 11: 6-84 (62), Frame 12: 65-28 (51), Frame 13: 59-25, Frame 14: 78-12 (57), Frame 15: 66-62 (54), Frame 16: 72-9, Frame 17: 71-22 (51).
