Barry Hawkins moved to just one win away from reaching the World Championship final for a second time after defeating Stephen Maguire tonight (Wednesday).

Hawkins, runner up in 2013 to Ronnie O’Sullivan, won four frames on the bounce to beat the in-form Scot 13-9.

Barry Hawkins. Picture by Monique Limbos

The match looked set for another humdinger of a climax when Maguire levelled to 9-9 after trailing 9-7 at the start of the session.

But Hawkins won the match in fine style, wheeling off four frames in a row including making breaks of 126 and 77.

It sets up a semi-final showdown against John Higgins who needed little time earlier today to book his place in the World Championship semi-finals – beating Kyren Wilson 13-6.

Leading 11-5 from a dominating last night’s final session, Higgins only needed three frames to reach his first semi-final at the Crucible in six years.

World Championship Semi-Finals 2017

Mark Selby vs Ding Junhui

John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins