Ali Carter and Anthony McGill produce epic comebacks to set up World Snooker Championship qualifying showdown - 'It's a massive prize'

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The final round of 2026 World Championship qualifiers will take place in Sheffield over Tuesday and Wednesday with plenty of Crucible pedigree set to battle it out for a spot in the final stage of this year's tournament. Former world champion Luca Brecel held off Chang Bingyu 10-8 in a high-scoring battle before Ali Carter and Anthony McGill both produced epic comebacks on Monday night.

‘Hits the jackpot’ – Chang makes ‘magnificent’ 147 against Brecel

Video credit: TNT Sports

Ali Carter and Anthony McGill will meet in the final qualifying round for the World Snooker Championship on Wednesday after both men rallied to move within one win of returning to the Crucible.

Two-time world finalist Carter hit back from trailing 5-2 to Julien Leclercq to complete a 10-5 win, while former semi-finalist Anthony McGill reeled off six frames from 9-4 behind in a last-gasp 10-9 victory against Martin O'Donnell.

British Open finalist McGill trailed 69-0 and needed a snooker in frame 14 but managed to steal it 71-69 on the final black, before remarkably winning the next five frames with breaks of 74, 63, 51, 128 and 72 against a stunned former Welsh Open finalist.

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Meanwhile, Carter also found some vintage scoring form with knocks of 73, 142, 79, 105 and 66 keeping him on course to reach the Crucible for the 22nd time since his debut in 2003.

The final qualifying round is known as 'Judgement Day' at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield and is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday's draw for the first round on Saturday.

"I'll turn up on Judgement Day and very much hope to book my place at the Crucible," said Carter, who lost world finals in 2008 and 2012 to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

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"It will probably be my 23rd or 24th appearance, so I've been doing it a long time now.

"It's moments that save you. It is a massive prize to reach the Crucible at the end of it.

"You feel a bit hard done by if you lose at this stage or Judgement Day. First goal was to win my first match, and now the next one is to reach the Crucible like everyone else.

"It's a massive match, and I'm going to look forward to the challenge."

Chang Bingyu walked away from his 10-8 defeat to 2023 world champion Luca Brecel £157,000 richer after netting a huge bonus for producing the second maximum of the season at a major event.

Chang could add another £25,000 to that total if his high break remains intact through qualifying and the Crucible.

Meanwhile, world No. 46 Brecel will take on 2024 finalist Jak Jones on Wednesday after the Welshman defeated Marco Fu 10-6.

Brecel produced breaks of 51, 70, 81, 120, 63 and 52 in recovering from 5-4 behind against an opponent who also rolled in breaks of 129 and 100.

‘On the road to recovery’ – Brecel closes on spot at Crucible with thrilling win

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I enjoyed it a lot," said Brecel, who defeated Mark Selby 18-15 in the 2023 final, on World Snooker Tour.

"It was mentally quite exhausting to play to that level the whole game," he added. "We started off well and we never looked back.

"Every frame was in one visit. It was a very high level, and I'm happy to be the winner.

"It is nice to have an easy starter in the qualifiers. The level he produced isn't going to get any better than that. It was a good start for me really, because by winning it gives me a lot of confidence.

"There was a really good crowd, and it is nice to be able to play here."

Former UK champion Stephen Maguire is out after losing 10-5 to Liam Highfield, as he joins recent World Open winner Thepchaiya Un-Nooh on the sidelines after Un-Nooh was dumped 10-7 by Liam Pullen on Sunday.

All final qualifiers at the best of 19 frames, with the two sessions played at 11:00 and 17:00 UK time on both Tuesday and Wednesday.