But the world No 7 could be forgiven for having his mind elsewhere, after revealing his five-year-old son Bailey’s recent health scare.

The youngster first became ill in January, spending five days in hospital, after doctors initially feared a tumour.

“We had a couple of days to wait for an MRI scan to find out whether it was a tumour, and that was very tough,” said Wilson, who beat Ali Carter 10-4 in his quarter-final at Hull’s Bonus Arena.

Kyren Wilson of England is through to the last four in Hull (Picture: George Wood/Getty Images)

“It now seems more likely it could be something like Crohn’s Disease, though we are still not sure.

"But before I left home he was running about and seems to have turned a corner so that was great to see. It’s important to talk about these things sometimes rather than bottle them up.

"I have sometimes felt that snooker is the be-all and end-all, but this has made me realise how lucky I am, and it has freed me up to just enjoy the game.”

Wilson – who won this season’s European Masters – certainly impressed against Carter.

The 31-year-old, pictured, knocked in a break of 137 in the second frame as he raced into a 5-0 lead before cantering to victory.

“Ali is a class act so I’m chuffed to win,” said Wilson, competing in the Tour Championship – a tournament for the top eight players on the one-year prize money list – for the third time.

“I stepped up when I needed to and made some good clearances.

"This event is the best eight players of the season so you have to be on your game from the start.

"One of my main goals for the season was to get into this tournament and now I have won a match in it for the first time.”

Joining Wilson and Ding in the semi-finals is Shaun Murphy, who beat Robert Milkins 10-8.

Milkins, 47, took a 5-3 lead into last night’s evening session in their best-of-19 battle.

He edged a 28-minute opening frame on the colours, and despite Murphy levelling with a 70 break, Milkins reeled off the next four frames to go 5-1 up.

The 2005 world champion managed to win the final two frames of the afternoon to keep the match in the balance.

Murphy – who saw a charity skydive on Sunday called off due to poor weather – made a flying start to the evening, winning five of the first six frames to lead 8-6.

But Welsh Open champion Milkins refused to wilt, dragging the match back to 8-8.

The Tour Championship is being staged in Hull for the first time, and this contest was proving to be a thriller for the ITV audience.

And it was Murphy who held his nerve to win the next two frames – including a 128 clearance – to clinch a 10-8 win.

Today sees the last quarter-final between former world champion Mark Selby and Ryan Day.

A number of balcony tickets have been released for Sunday’s previously sold-out final. Tickets for all other days remain available, starting at £22. Details at www.wst.tv/tickets

Kyren Wilson's bid for Duelbits Tour Championship put in perspective, as Shaun Murphy makes last four