Gray beat defending champion Peter Ebdon 6-3 Saturday. Lee completed a remarkable comeback Sunday morning to defeat Nigel Bond 6-5.

World No 30 Gray started the week by knocking out Mark Selby and went on to beat top Scots John Higgins and Stephen Hendry as well as Mark King before seeing off No 7 Ebdon.

Ebdon settled quickly with a smooth break of 86 to take the first frame. Gray missed a black off the spot on 45 in the second. Ebdon’s long pot on the last red looked sure to give him the frame but he played a poor positional shot on the blue, missed a thin cut on the pink and allowed the youngster to pot the pink to a centre pocket.

Ebdon trailed 68-12 in the next after Gray had missed a red to a top corner on 56. He got the two snookers he required but again the defending champion missed his chance to steal the frame as a slow-rolled brown hit the jaw of the centre.

A run of 86 put Gray 3-1 up then he missed the third last red at 42-30 in the first after the interval, allowing Ebdon to make 37 and reduce his deficit.

The Surrey man restored his two-frame lead with runs of 30 and 38. The seventh came down to a safety battle on the last two reds — Gray trapping his opponent on a near-impossible snooker behind the brown in the jaws of a baulk corner. Ebdon hit a red but left Gray the chance to win the frame on the green and go three up with four to play.

Understandably showing signs of tension with a place in the final within touching distance, Gray missed an easy red to the centre at the start of the next and Ebdon made it clear that he would not lie down easily by knocking in a superb 123 clearance.

Both players made unforced errors in frame nine. Leading 39-30 with four reds left, Ebdon went in-off attempting safety. Gray held his nerve to make a decisive 37, potting the last red along the side cushion and sealing the match on the brown.