Joe Swail is close to wrapping this tournament around his little finger. Endearingly honest and again open to talking candidly about his flaws as much his talent, the 30-year-old Belfast-born player continued to enthral the Crucible by becoming the first Northern Irish player since Denis Taylor in 1985 to advance to the semi-finals of a World Championship.
After six frames in the afternoon, Swail finally edged out Dominic Dale 13-9 when once more the 28-year-old Englishman was asked to respond to Swail's ability to pot long balls which appeared safely positioned. "Joe was potting every time. It is a bit dispiriting leaving a guy long pots and then him putting them in," said Dale. Less emotional than earlier, Swail did once again emphasise how the premature death of his mother turned his life around and encouraged him not to squander his talent. The self confessed night-clubber, who admitted to regularly rolling home at 9.00 a.m. had already picked up the biggest cheque of his career when he beat John Parrott in the second round for £19,000. His biggest before that was £17,000.
Now guaranteed Stg £70,000 and with a possible Stg £140,000 available to him if he can reach the final, this week has transformed the career of the once virtually unknown player. Currently living in Manchester with his girlfriend Treacy and two-year-old son Joe, Swail also moves into the top 16 in the world ranking, displacing Steve Davis.
A sign of the times, it is the first time in 20 seasons that Davis has fallen outside the crucial mark. "I put myself under pressure today thinking about the (top) 16 and thinking about what all of it means to me. I'd actually checked out of the hotel and had to check back in again," said Swail.
"Yeh, my lifestyle had to change. If I told you what I was up to you wouldn't believe it . . . a young lad, a bit of money . . . but don't get me wrong, I don't regret it."
Swail went into yesterday's match with a healthy 10-6 lead, needing only three frames to ensure a safe passage. But Dale made life hard, fighting back to 12-9 and putting Swail under considerable pressure to clinch the final frame. Swail had early shown his potential as a break builder with an early 82 and always looked predatory when he got to the table. But Dale's two frames in succession, which took him from 12-7 to 12-9, did cause some anxiety before Swail finally finished him off with a 79 break. Fergal O'Brien entered the arena with a smile on his face first thing in the morning. Excepting a catastrophe, the Irishman knew his morning session was a formality, Mark William's needing only one frame to confirm his place in the semi-final. Showing that there was still some resistance left, a 43 break took O'Brien to 12-5 before Williams found position to rattle in an 82 for the match and become the first player into the last four.
"It went through my mind this morning that I would try to go for max," said O'Brien. "If you came out and won four frames and got to 12-8 you might have a chance. But the top players, particularly the top four, are very good with a lead. Other players just look over their shoulder but they keep on going."
His best ever performance in the competition, O'Brien views the unforeseen run as a positive influence on his career. "I've learned a lot. I've been here two weeks. I played the first morning but there were years when I've been back home the first Sunday. Winning matches out here, killing time . . . I have a much better picture in my mind now of what's it's like to go all 17 days and the demands on you," he said.
John Higgins made short work of the player who packed off Ken Doherty, Anthony Hamilton. The Scot, who won the title in 1998, ran out a 13-3 winner and with it earned himself a record. Higgins' run of 485 unanswered points between the 12th and 15th frames with successive breaks of 86, 136, 103 and 135 took him to 12-3 before closing out the match.
Matthew Stevens ended the brave challenge of crowd hero Jimmy White 13-7 and the bookmakers now make him slight favourite for the title ahead of Williams and Higgins. Stevens pulled away to lead 115 after the morning session, and despite a few gusts from the `Whirlwind' in the final session he had little trouble completing the job.
White was full of praise for Stevens and believes he is ready to add the game's most prestigious title to the two he has bagged already this season.
"You can't fault his long potting," said White, whose defeat means he follows old rival Davis out of the world's top 16.
"If you don't dig deep and fight against players like Matthew they will bash you up.
"He outplayed me. I just couldn't stay with him. He's definitely world class and is improving with every tournament.
"He's very mature for a 22-year-old and he'll take some stopping for the rest of the tournament."
