Chris Wakelin leads Xiao Guodong 5-3 after the first session of their International Championship semi-final in Nanjing, with the match set for a first-to-nine frames finish. Wakelin is aiming for the second ranking final of his career, following his victory at the 2023 Shoot Out, where he defeated Julien Leclercq. A win in this semi-final would not only earn the 32-year-old Englishman £75,000, but also propel him into the top 16 of the world rankings for the first time.
Xiao Guodong, already secured a top 16 spot, is aiming for his fourth ranking final. The Chinese player recently captured his first ranking title at the Wuhan Open, where he defeated Si Jiahui. After a slow start, with the two players splitting the first two frames, Xiao's break of 83 gave him a 2-1 lead, but Wakelin fought back strongly with breaks of 54, 77, and 61 to take a 4-2 advantage.
Xiao managed to reduce the deficit to 4-3 with a 73 break, but in the final frame of the afternoon session, he led 53-8 before Wakelin produced a remarkable 62 clearance to take a one-frame lead into the concluding session.
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