Ali Carter edged his way into a third German Masters final as he defeated Robert Milkins 6-5 in a tense match in Berlin.
Trailing 3-1, 2013 champion Carter won four frames in succession to seemingly take control, but Milkins responded with two in a row – playing a brilliant shot to escape a snooker on his way to levelling the match at 5-5 – to send it to a decider.
The tension continued in the deciding frame as neither player could get a significant break going.
Carter had the edge in a battle of the safeties but there was still one moment of drama when he missed the final red, but had the good fortune to snooker Milkins.
When he missed the red, Carter potted it along with a blue and the yellow to seal the victory.
“It’s massive because there was so much riding on that game, possibly a Players Championships, winning another title,” Carter, who was beaten in the 2017 Berlin final, told World Snooker.
“I’ve had a good week and played some good stuff. I was disappointed with the way I went out in the first half of the match. I played really well to go 5-3 up and didn’t really do a lot wrong to go five-all.
“It was then nip and tuck in the final frame…There was a lot of pressure out there. It would have been a massive win for both of us and I was pleased to get the victory today.”
He will meet Tom Ford, who held his nerve to advance to the final with a 6-5 win over Jack Lisowski.
Lisowski came back from 5-3 down to force a deciding frame and then raced into a 52-0 lead.
But he missed a straightforward red and Ford made him pay as he reached only his second ranking final.
