Wilson to face Jones in NI Open final

World number nine Kyren Wilson will face British Open champion Jak Jones in Sunday's Northern Ireland Open final at the Waterfront Hall.

Wilson won the final three frames to beat Sam Craigie 6-5 in the opening semi-final to book his spot in the decider.

Meanwhile, a deciding frame was also needed in the second match with Jones the victor against Mark Williams.

The final will be a repeat of the 2024 World Championship showpiece when Wilson won 18-14.

This season, Jones has already won the British Open and Championship League titles and will be looking to continue his impressive form with Wilson the NI Open champion in 2024.

Wilson made a bright start to his semi-final in Belfast and won the opening two frames, before Craigie claimed the next to reduce his deficit.

The 2024 NI Open winner took the fourth frame with a break of 98, but Craigie seized control by winning four in a row, helped by breaks of 56, 55 and 100, to move to within one frame of victory.

However, Wilson fought back with breaks of 60 and 56 to win the next two frames and force a decider.

It was a tense and error-strewn deciding frame with neither player able to find their rhythm.

Craigie missed a key red that could have given him the chance to pull clear, with Wilson able to hold his nerve to progress to Sunday's final.

"I am delighted, relieved, stressed, I think multiple emotions running through my mind and my body at the moment, but this is one of my favourite venues, so I am really looking forward to the final," Wilson told BBC Sport NI.

"It's been well documented that I've got a lot of ranking points coming off at the moment, just with how successful I was two years ago and the way the rankings work.

"So, I've had to fight hard this week to try and claw some of that back to stay where I am. I've been in the top 16 for over 10 years now, so it's not something that I want to give up."