By Dan Warren and Clive Jones BBC Sport at the Crucible

Saturday framewatch

Graeme Dott held his nerve in a thrilling climax to the semi-final against Matthew Stevens to win 17-15.

Dott started the final session with a lead of 13-11 then moved to 15-12 and looked well placed to finish it.

But Stevens won three frames on the trot to level the match as the tension began to tell on both players.

Dott won a tense 31st frame and took the next on the final pink to set up a showdown with red-hot favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan.

The Scot, world number 13, deserves full credit for keeping calm in the face of Stevens' repeated comebacks.

The Welshman won four in a row to move 11-10 up, only for Dott to respond with three in a row.

And the Scot refused to buckle when Stevens fought back to 15-15, showing tremendous resolve to keep cool.

His safety was impeccable throughout the match - although he is likely to need it if O'Sullivan repeats his semi-final form in the final.

Semi-final result

M Stevens (Wal) 15-17 G Dott (Sco)
42-54, 0-126 (50, 76), 76-0, 22-67 (61), 66-55 (Dott 55), 49-76, 124-15 (115), 45-66 57-26 89-0 (84) 0-117 (117) 54-80 (Stevens 54, Dott 50) 0-95 69-56 (53 Stevens) 65-27 (51) 1-71, 3-85 (61) 104-0 (104), 84-13 (84) 71-5 (52) 73-1 (73), 1-85 (74) 8-89, 38-85 (69), 111-22 (111), 32-72, 53-59 (Stevens 53, Dott 55), 76-9 (76), 65-43 (55), 82-12, 13-76, 54-62 (51)