Mark Allen kept his dream of becoming the oldest first-time world champion in the modern era alive after a hard-fought 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The 40-year-old Northern Irishman, who has already won snooker's UK Championship and Masters, is now just two wins away from completing the Triple Crown.
Resuming tied at 8-8, Allen seized control by winning the first two frames of Wednesday's morning session. However, Hawkins, a runner-up at the Crucible in 2013, fought back with breaks of 70 and 83 to level the match. The duo then traded frames before Allen produced his third century of the contest to move 12-11 ahead.
In a tense final frame, Allen crafted a break of 59 to take control. Hawkins kept his hopes alive by fluking a red, but an attempted snooker on the pink fell short, allowing Allen to finish the match. Allen will now face either Wu Yize or Hossein Vafaei in a best-of-33 semi-final starting Thursday at 19:00 BST.
Should Allen go on to win the title, he would break Stuart Bingham's record as the oldest first-time world champion in the modern era. Bingham won the championship in 2015 at the age of 38 years and 343 days.