Things are finely poised between David Gilbert and Kyren Wilson after the first session of their World Snooker Championship semi-final.
Wilson is the highest seed remaining in the tournament, but was on the back foot on Thursday afternoon as Gilbert first took a 3-2 and then a 4-3 lead.
By the end of the session, Wilson was level, and the pair will reconvene tomorrow morning tied at 4-4 in the best-of-33 contest.
The final frame of the game had the crowd on edge, with Wilson looking to complete a maximum break for the second successive year at the Crucible.
The Englishman would deliver a brilliant quip referencing that feat from last year which cracked up the Crucible crowd.
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Kyren Wilson references 2023 prize money clash with Crucible quip
In the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Kyren Wilson managed a maximum break of 147 in his first-round win over Ryan Day. The organisers award £15,000 to the player who achieves the highest break in the tournament, as well as £40,000 for any player who manages a maximum break.
Wilson thought he was set to take home a massive check, before Mark Selby managed to pull off a maximum break of his own in the final against Luca Brecel. The last-gasp 147 meant that the prize money was shared between the two players, leading Wilson to tweet:
That awkward moment you wake up 30k lighter this morning. Congratulations to @markjesterselby on making a 147 in last night's world championship final lots of love the wilsons #worldchampionshipsnooker #notbitter.
As he chased a maximum break towards the end of this afternoon's session, Wilson referred to last year's incident, exclaiming to the crowd:
Thank god Mark Selby's out this year!
Selby was knocked out in the first round by tournament debutant Joe O'Connor.
Thank God Mark Selby's out this year 😂 pic.twitter.com/oyy7alVls8
— SnookerNStuff (@SnookerNStuff) May 2, 2024
Laughs rang out at the Crucible after Wilson's quip - but he was unable to convert the chance at a 147, calling himself a "wally" after cornering himself.
As it stands, Thai player Noppon Saengkham stands to take home the prize money for a maximum break, as the only man who has managed a 147 in the tournament thus far.
With several big hitters such as Selby already out of the tournament, all four of the players left will hope to capitalise on an unusually open championship.
The other semi-final gets underway this evening and pits yesterday's two shock winners Jak Jones and Stuart Bingham against each other. Jones dumped Judd Trump out at the last eight in sensational fashion, while Bingham pulled off a shock win over seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
There could well be a new world snooker champion this year - but it remains to be seen whether anyone can prise the 147 prize money from Noppon Saengkham's grasp in the closing days of the tournament.
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