Captain Carter secures his Crucible final berth

ALI CARTER reached his second Crucible final with a 17-12 victory over his Betfred.com World Championship semi-final rival Stephen Maguire in Sheffield on Saturday.

The Captain had led 14-7 on Friday night but spent much of the
concluding part of the third session of his clash with the Scot in his seat as Maguire fought back to trail 14-10.

However, normal service was resumed as the Essex cueman, who was beaten 18-8 by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2008 final, won the first two frames to extend his lead to 16-10.

Maguire delayed the inevitable when winning the next two frames but Carter, understandably more focused this year than he was four years ago, stayed strong and his conservative tactics worked a treat as he crossed the line in frame 29.

Betfred.com World Championship best outright prices at 5.30pm on Saturday night (before O'Sullivan v Stevens final session): 2-7 R O’Sullivan, 7-2 A Carter, 100 M Stevens.

Read Adrian Humphries' Betfred.com World Championship final preview on racingpost.com/sport on Sunday and follow the Crucible final action via our in-play service on the Betfred and Paddy Power websites