Shaun Murphy left one frame from World Championship final

The 2005 champion leads 16-8 going into Saturday afternoon's concluding session, and seems certain to make the final for the third time - and the first time since 2009.

Yet his hopes of earning a day off in between his semi-final and final were dashed in extraordinary fashion.

Hawkins trailed 13-3 going into the evening session, facing the very real prospect of losing the match with a session to spare.

But Hawkins produced some of his best snooker of the tournament, jumping at the least opportunity and scoring ruthlessly when at the table.

[SECOND SEMI-FINAL REPORT: Stuart Bingham matches Judd Trump blow-for-blow in semi-final]

Though Murphy played well - winning the evening's opener - Hawkins played better, as he won the next four frames in a row, collecting breaks of 103, 57, 104 and 73 as he did so.

Murphy found his game with breaks of 90 and 106 to show that he had not gone off the boil, and looked like finishing the job in the final frame of the night: after a miss by Hawkins left Murphy with a perfect chance to wrap up the match.

But the twice UK Championship winner left himself hampered on a simple red, missing to the top right corner - and Hawkins needed no second invitation.

His 76 wrapped up the session 5-3, earning Hawkins a huge cheer from the crowd and the right to walk away with head held high and a smile on his face. While it's all but inconceivable that he will win the next nine frames of the match to make the final, but at least he will leave the Crucible with his confidence and pride intact after an excellent fortnight.

Shaun Murphy 16-8

Stuart Bingham 9-7 Judd Trump