Kyren Wilson books World Championship final place with win over David Gilbert

Kyren Wilson eased into his second World Snooker Championship final after completing a 17-11 win over qualifier David Gilbert at the Crucible.

The 12th seed took three of the four frames required in Saturday’s third session to wrap up a victory that earns him a second crack at the title following his defeat in the 2020 final to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Five frames in succession in their second session on Friday evening had done the damage as Wilson turned a neck-and-neck clash, that was finely poised at 9-9, into a four-frame advantage he never looked likely to squander.

How Kyren Wilson became a Cazoo World Championship finalist for the second time. #CazooWorldChampionship | @riyadhseason pic.twitter.com/DkW1PoeuJh

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Gilbert did reduce the deficit to 14-11 with a break of 70 in the opening frame of the day, but after coming off worse in a lengthy safety battle in the next, his fate was effectively sealed.

Wilson punched the air and blew a kiss to his family in the stand after potting the decisive blue and will start a heavy favourite in his second final against either Stuart Bingham or Jak Jones, who complete their last four clash on Saturday evening.

Afterwards, the 32-year-old revealed he has been benefiting from sessions with a hypnotherapist during his run to the final, which comes at the end of a low-key season in which he had just one tour semi-final, at the German Masters, to his name.

“It’s just about emptying your stress bucket,” said Wilson. “We all have things going on that can affect our day-to-day life and it allowed me to go out there and be a little bit freer.

“Our minds are so clogged up with so many different things that don’t need to be there, so if you can just eliminate them and