Bond bowed out in the first round of last year's World Championship

Nigel Bond summoned all his experience to battle past Michael Dunn and reach the finals of the World Championship for the 15th time in his career.

The 43-year-old from Derbyshire stormed back from 5-2 down to win 10-7 and book his spot at next month's showpiece finals at The Crucible in Sheffield.

Bond, the world number 23, racked up breaks of 68, 114, 85, 51 and 58 to progress at the Sheffield qualifiers.

He said: "I've had a bad season so I wanted to finish on a high."

It is the eighth time that Bond, from Old Tupton, has made it through the qualifiers and his relief was obvious.

It's horrible, it makes you feel sick Nigel Bond

"It's the hardest match of the season, the one you want to win more than anything," he explained

"Of those eight matches I've won to qualify, I've never had an easy one. It's horrible, it makes you feel sick."

The key moment in the match came in the 16th frame when Dunn missed chances to level at 8-8 and Bond, the 1995 finalist, potted the black to go 9-7 up.

Bond will discover the identity of his first-round opponent when the draw for the televised stages of the World Snooker Championship is made live on BBC Radio Sheffield on Wednesday, 11 March at 0945 GMT.

Fans outside the Sheffield area can listen to the draw live by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/radio_sheffield

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