China’s reigning World Champion Wu Yize will take on fellow countryman Yuan Sijun in the final of the inaugural Shenzhen Open snooker championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yize swept to six frames in a row to beat Judd Trump 6-1 and book his place in the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yize is chasing his third ranking crown and will face Chinese compatriot Yuan Sijun over the best of 19 frames, with a top prize of \u00a3177,000 on the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 22-year-old claimed snooker\u2019s top prize back in May, beating Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a classic Crucible final. That saw him follow in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong the year before and become his country\u2019s second World Champion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having failed to go beyond the last 16 of a ranking event so far this season, Yize is now gunning for his first silverware since claiming glory in Sheffield.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
31-time ranking event winner Trump was remarkably competing in his 77th ranking semi-final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the world number two will have to wait to add to his silverware collection as he bids to regain top spot in the Johnstone\u2019s Paint World Rankings, having been surpassed this season by Xingtong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump took the opener this evening with a break of 77, but Yize quickly shifted the momentum and gained a stranglehold on proceedings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A closely contested second went the way of the Crucible king, before a run of 81 gave him the lead at 2-1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fourth came down to the final red, with Trump missing two opportunities before affording Wu his chance. He pounced and cleared to the pink to lead 3-1 at the mid-session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When play resumed, it was Yize who made a charge for the line. Breaks of 53 and 51 helped him take tight fifth and sixth frames to move one from the win. A century contribution of 110 took him over the line and booked a place in his fifth ranking final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World number four Yize said: \u201cThis was the best safety performance of my professional career. It would have been nice if I could have been a little more fluent in scoring. This match was also very important for my career. To be able to perform at this level in terms of safety play is very satisfying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlaying Judd is always very straightforward in one sense. Even though I won six frames in a row, he put me under a huge amount of pressure in every frame. I needed to perform well in every aspect because it\u2019s very difficult to get easy chances from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I was preparing for the evening match, I saw that Yuan had shed some tears. I believe it is his first ranking final. Hopefully we can put on a great match for everyone. Of course, I hope I can take the trophy home, but we will both give it everything we have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven when there isn\u2019t a tournament here in Shenzhen, I come here quite often, so having the chance to play here for the first time made me even more excited. I\u2019ve felt very energetic this time, and I hope I can finish the tournament on a high and give it everything I have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yuan Sijun edged out Jimmy Robertson 6-5 in a tense last four clash to make his maiden ranking event final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China’s 26-year-old Yuan was competing in only his third ranking semi-final and the \u00a334,500 he\u2019d guaranteed ahead of today was already a career-high payday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Robertson. He misses out on the opportunity to add a second ranking title to the European Masters crown he won in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this event has heralded a marked improvement in the Englishman\u2019s form. He\u2019s won five matches in the tournament, as opposed to three in the rest of the campaign put together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Sijun who looked more comfortable in a fragmented opening to the game. Trailing 2-0, Robertson had a chance to get off the mark, but spurned a frame-ball brown. Yuan punished and cleared to steal on the black to lead 3-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crucially for Robertson, he stopped the rot by taking a 41-minute fourth and went into the mid-session just two behind at 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When play resumed, the standard moved up a level. Robertson pulled another back, before back-to-back century runs of 100 and 102 made it four on the bounce and saw him lead for the first time at 4-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sijun rallied and made breaks of 64 and 62 to claim the following two frames and move one from the win, leading 5-4. However, Robertson dug deep to make 62 in the tenth and force a decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final frame was more in keeping with the opening half of the match and lasted a nerve-shredding 50 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It all came down to the last red. With Sijun in control of the frame, Robertson laid a difficult snooker. He amassed 41 penalty points and turned the frame in his favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ascendancy was to be short-lived when Sijun found a snooker of his own, Robertson failed to hit and left the balls at his opponent\u2019s mercy. Sijun cleared to the pink to seal victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World number 33 Sijun said: “The pressure was huge throughout the whole match, right from the moment I came out to play. I could feel that I was playing completely differently compared with the previous few matches. Although I kept telling myself not to think about it, sometimes your brain just instinctively and subconsciously goes back to those thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There were so many different feelings mixed together. There is happiness, but also the sense of how difficult it has been and all the struggles over the years. I suppose, in a way, this is a little bit of an answer to myself after all these years. So many emotions came together, and in the end, I probably just couldn\u2019t quite control them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Of course, the crowd were very supportive of me throughout the match today. Whether I was behind or had made a break to go beyond my opponent\u2019s total, they gave me very warm applause. So I\u2019d also like to thank them very much.
“I feel that my first ranking final has come a little bit late. Since the pandemic in 2020, the years in between have been quite difficult, and I feel it hasn\u2019t been easy. So after all these years, I just hope I can give myself something to show for it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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