Thepchaiya Un-Nooh overcame Hossein Vafaei 7-6 in a thrilling clash to reach the Six Reds World Championship final in Thailand.
The home favourite held his nerve in the deciding frame to send the crowd wild and he'll now meet Ding Junhui or Tom Ford for the title on Saturday over a best-of-15 frames.
It's the third time Un-Nooh has reached the final of this invitational tournament, which was first staged in 2008 and last held in 2019, having won the title in 2015 when beating Liang Wenbo 8-2 and finishing runner-up to Mark Williams in 2017.
Vafaei had surged into a 5-2 lead but a crucial miss in the eighth frame allowed Un-Nooh to make a frame-winning break of 50 to get himself back into the match.
The world number 45 pulled another back only for Vafaei to take the next and move one away from victory at 6-4 up.
Un-Nooh produced a gutsy break of 59 to stay alive before edging a tight 12th frame and running away with the decider.
“I am so relieved. When I was 6-4 down I was not feeling good. I just looked at my family to give me some power. He missed in the last frame and I got the first chance. It is a good game to win,” said 37-year-old Un-Nooh.
“I’m very glad to play among them (Thai fans), including my family. This is a very rare chance to get into the final of a big event in Thailand. I will do my best in the final now.
“The fans helped me a lot. They were with me on every shot and that gave me energy to pot the balls. Hopefully tomorrow there will be even more of them.
“It will be a huge moment tomorrow. It has been eight years since I won the trophy in this event. I’ve been waiting for a very long time to win the Six Red again. It would be great if I can lift the trophy.”
More to follow...
Six Reds Tournament Format & Results So Far
- The first round consists of eight groups of four players, and runs from March 6-8.
- Each group match is best of 11 frames, with the winner receiving one point and the loser none.
- The top two players in each group will advance to the knockout stage. If players are level on points, frame difference comes into play.
- The last 16 and quarter-finals are both best of 11 frames and take place on March 9.
- The semi-final will be the best of 13 frames and take place on Friday March 10. The final will be the best of 15 frames on Saturday March 11.
Six Reds Group A
- Ding Junhui 5–2 Stephen Maguire
- Zhang Anda 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
- Zhang Anda 5–2 Stephen Maguire
- Ding Junhui 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
- Zhang Anda 5–0 Ding Junhui
- Stephen Maguire 5–0 Mink Nutcharut
Zhang Anda (1st) and Ding Junhui (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group B
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–0 Jimmy White
- Tom Ford 5–1 Zhou Yuelong
- Zhou Yuelong 5–1 Jimmy White
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–3 Tom Ford
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–2 Zhou Yuelong
- Jimmy White 5-3 Tom Ford
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (1st) and Tom Ford (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group C
- John Higgins 5–2 Ken Doherty
- Hossein Vafaei 5–2 Poramin Danjirakul
- Hossein Vafaei 5–1 John Higgins
- Pormin Danjirakul 5–3 Ken Doherty
- John Higgins 5–0 Poramin Danjirakul
- Hossein Vafaei 5–1 Ken Doherty
Hossein Vafaei (1st) and John Higgins (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group D
- Judd Trump 5–0 Ricky Walden
- Ma Hai Long 5–3 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
- Judd Trump 5–4 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
- Ricky Walden 5–1 Ma Hailong
- Judd Trump 5–4 Ma Hailong
- Ricky Walden 5–4 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
Judd Trump (1st) and Ricky Walden (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group E
- Robert Milkins 5–2 Matthew Selt
- Chris Wakelin 5–4 Dechawat Poomjaeng
- Chris Wakelin 5–4 Matthew Selt
- Dechawat Poomjaeng 5–0 Robert Milkins
- Chris Wakelin 5–3 Robert Milkins
- Matthew Selt 5-3 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Chris Wakelin (1st) and Dechawat Poomjaeng (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group F
- Joe Perry 5–1 Mark Williams
- Andres Petrov 5–3 Sunny Akani
- Mark Williams 5-4 Sunny Akani
- Joe Perry 5-3 Andres Petrov
- Mark Williams 5-2 Andres Petrov
- Joe Perry 5-3 Sunny Akani
Joe Perry (1st) and Mark Williams (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group G
- Noppon Saengkham 5–4 Jordan Brown
- Stuart Bingham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Stuart Bingham 5–2 Jordan Brown
- Noppon Saengkham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Jordan Brown 5–2 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Stuart Bingham 5–2 Noppon Saengkham
Stuart Bingham (1st) and Noppon Saengkham (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group H
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–3 Jimmy Robertson
- James Wattana 5–1 Stan Moody
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–2 Stan Moody
- James Wattana 5–4 Jimmy Robertson
- Jimmy Robertson 5-2 Stan Moody
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–2 James Wattana
Ronnie O'Sullivan (1st) and James Wattana (2nd) progress
Knockout Stages
In draw bracket order
Last 16 (March 9)
- Zhang Anda 6-4 James Wattana
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-2 Dechawat Poomjaeng
- Hossein Vafaei 6-3 Noppon Saengkham
- Judd Trump 6-3 Mark Williams
- Chris Wakelin 3-6 Tom Ford
- Joe Perry 2-6 John Higgins
- Stuart Bingham 6-0 Ricky Walden
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 2-6 Ding Junhui
Quarter-Finals (March 9)
- Zhang Anda 2-6 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Hossein Vafaei 6-5 Judd Trump
- Tom Ford 6-5 John Higgins
- Stuart Bingham 2-6 Ding Junhui
Semi-Finals (March 10)
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 7-6 Hossein Vafaei
- Tom Ford v Ding Junhui
Final (March 11)
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Winner SF 2