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England’s Joe O’Connor reached his first ranking final by inflicting a shock defeat on Neil Robertson in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open.
The world number 55 made a 137 break to level the at 3-3 and went on take the next three frames in a row to win 6-3.
A final break of 71 clinched the match as 2017 champion Robertson slipped to defeat despite a strong start.
O’Connor will face Gary Wilson in Sunday’s final with both men aiming for a first career ranking title.
“I’m absolutely speechless,” the 27-year-old said on Eurosport. “In practice, I haven’t been flying. I don’t know whether I’m flying or just being clinical.”
Robertson started the match in the same strong form which got him past Mark Selby in the last round, as he hit breaks of 137 and 127 on his way to a 3-2 lead.
But he was unable to maintain it as O’Connor took control.
“You have to give Joe credit,” Robertson said. “It was just one of those matches where not everything will go your way.
“He hung in there, fought really well and played the match of his life in a semi-final. Every credit to him, he played a fantastic match.”
In the other semi-final in Edinburgh, Wilson, ranked 32nd in the world, put in a blistering finish to overcome Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-4.
The pair could not be separated after six frames, but Wilson put in fantastic breaks of 122 and 130 to move into a 5-3 lead.
Un-Nooh, who knocked out UK Champion Mark Allen and Judd Trump on his way to the last four, put in a nerveless clearance of 68 to stay in the game and started the next frame strongly.
But after a miss on 24, Wilson racked up 115 to clinch the match, and the Englishman now has the chance to win his first ranking title at the third attempt on Sunday.
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