Stephen Maguire called out Ali Carter over his behaviour during their Welsh Open semi-final.
Maguire came through the scrappy match, winning 6-4, to book his first ranking title final in five years.
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The world number 49 had to deal with some unusual antics from his opponent, but he didn’t let it get the better of him.
When asked what the match was like, Maguire told Eurosport: “Tense.”
He added: “I found it easier playing him, because the rest was getting thrown about.
“The extensions were flying under the table. I felt like saying to the ref, ‘Let him pick them up.’”
Snooker legend Jimmy White then questioned whether there was a lot of that going on, to which Maguire said: “Oh, they were just getting thrown everywhere.
“It made it a wee bit easier. I was thinking, ‘Is that the way you act?’”
World number 15 Carter led 3-2 with the aid of breaks of 118 and 54, but Maguire looked to be in control after taking the next three frames to go 5-3 ahead.
Maguire made scores of 85 and 57 to forge his lead and although Carter edged the ninth frame to cut the gap to 5-4 in a topsy-turvy contest, the Scot prevailed after sinking a decisive long red in the 10th frame.
He continued: “I don’t know what frame it was, but there was a point in the match. I thought I was starting to cue the ball better.
“I was just thinking, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’ do you know what I mean? When I was playing bad shots, I was thinking, ‘If I get another chance, I still feel OK. It’s coming.’”
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Maguire will play Mark Selby in Sunday’s final and the Scot joked: “Tomorrow I could wreck the place.”
Selby reached the final after winning four frames in a row to beat Luca Brecel, having trailed 3-2.
Brecel, who beat Selby in the 2023 World Championship final, had to take a 15-minute medical timeout after the first frame because of a migraine.
The Belgium snooker star also misses out on the £150,000 BetVictor Bonus.
Neil Robertson will now finish top of the 2024/25 BetVictor Series rankings following Brecel’s semi-final defeat.
Speaking after his defeat, Brecel remarked: He said: “I’m a bit disappointed.
“I wanted to go to Hong Kong for the Grand Prix. Maybe it’s a bit of karma for not entering all the tournaments this year.
“I’ve skipped 5-6 tournaments. I had my chances. I didn’t take them well.
“Just a few shots here and there, which didn’t go to plan. Mark is very tough to beat.
“It’s all about building up my game for the World Championship. For me that is the big one. Happy to go there with some confidence and results.”
