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Anthony McGill defeated Neil Robertson to reach the English Open semi-final

Anthony McGill defeated Neil Robertson for the first time in ranking competition to reach the Dafabet English Open semi-finals by a 5-3 scoreline.

The Scot has enjoyed his most consistent run as a professional over the last few months, having reached a final and three quarter-finals already this campaign.

Today’s victory for McGill was a significant one, with him and Robertson in direct competition for a place at the Dafabet Masters in January. In the race to Alexandra Palace, the 26-year-old occupies the 14th spot, with Robertson is currently projected to miss out in 17th.

The start of the match was characterised by big breaks. Robertson came fastest out of the blocks with a run of 85, before McGill restored parity with a contribution of 65. There were further breaks of 79 and 72 for Robertson and 82 and 69 for McGill as they entered the latter stages of the match level at 3-3.

For all of the break building prowess, the key to the tie was a marathon 60 minute tactical battle in the seventh frame. With the balls positioned awkwardly, McGill chipped away with several small contributions to gain the edge and eventually found himself 4-3 ahead. The two-time ranking event winner got himself over the line with a fine run of 86 in the next. He faces either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Jack Lisowski in the last four.

“The tournaments I’ve won have been in shorter formats,” said McGill. “The next stage would be to win an event like this. It would be another hurdle for me.”

Kyren Wilson emerged the 5-3 victor in a tense battle with Iran’s Hossein Vafaei.

It will be Wilson’s second semi-final appearance this season, after a fine run at the Yushan World Open which saw him finish runner-up. Vafaei’s second appearance in a Home Nations quarter-final ends in defeat.

The Warrior will face the winner of this evening’s clash between Alexander Ursenbacher and Michael White.