Snooker fans will see something that hasn't happened in 47 years during World Championship semi-finals

The 2024 World Snooker Championship will see an ultra-rare feat occur in the semi-finals, which get underway on Thursday.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump were both knocked out at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday after defeats to 2015 champion Stuart Bingham and Jak Jones respectively.

Mark Selby and Ali Carter were among the high-profile first round exits, while 2010 champion Neil Robertson didn't even qualify after losing his Judgment Day clash 10-9 to Jamie Jones.

The wide-open nature of the tournament this season has led to opportunities for other players to have a deep run, with David Gilbert arguably being the most impressive player of the tournament thus far en route to the semi-finals.

He will take on number 12 seed Kyren Wilson, who dispatched of Dominic Dale and Joe O'Connor before beating a rejuvenated John Higgins in the quarter-finals.

All that means that, out of the 32 players that began the tournament, only one of the four semi-finalists is a seeded player, with Gilbert, Bingham and Jak Jones all having to go through qualifying.

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Astonishingly, it will be the first time since 1977 that three qualifiers will appear in the final four of the competition.

That tournament saw early exits for the likes of Alex Higgins and Ray Reardon, with eighth seed John Spencer going on to defeat Canadian qualifier Cliff Thorburn in the final.

Current BBC commentator Dennis Taylor, who won the iconic 1985 'black ball' final against Steve Davis, reached the semi-final that year.

The last qualifier to lift the World Championship was Shaun Murphy, who became the second-youngest winner of the event when he beat Matthew Stevens 18-16 in the 2005 final.

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It was the first time Murphy had played in the event, and he has yet to win the title again despite reaching the final on three occasions.

'The Magician' beat Lyu Haotian 10-5 in the first round this year, but lost 13-9 to old rival Stephen Maguire in his second round match at the Crucible.