Phew! Huge sigh of relief. Ronnie looked strong going into a 3-0 lead but after the interval his game went to pot and Zhou was the stronger player. Zhou went 5-4 up before Ronnie recovered from his slump and levelled the scores at 5-5. Then Ronnie capped off a fantastic victory with a 122 break!
Selby managed to avoid being steamrollered, coming back from 5-1 to 5-3, but in the end the irresistible force of the Juddernaut swept him aside 6-3.
Hossein Vafaei kept his Masters hopes alive, beating Zhang Anda 6-4.
Ding currently 4-3 up in the match that will decide whether he needs to worry about Vafaei's progress or not.
The Ding v Williams match is an engrossing duel for the win. Excellent break building. Top quality safety. Proper connoisseur snooker. 4-4. Tense.
Ding Junhui eventually won 6-5 to set up a clash with player of the season Judd Trump in the semi finals.
Ronnie O'Sullivan into the final with a 6-2 victory over Hossein Vafaei.
Beat me to the punch
Vafaei played well to go from 2-0 down and level at 2-2 at the interval, but afterwards the pressure got to him and today it was him and not Ronnie who was fighting his inner demons.
Jack Lisowski must be breathing a sigh of relief, his masters place is secure.
Ding Junhui is through to his fifth UK final with a superb 6-4 victory over Judd Trump.
Ding will be going for his 4th UK title.
O'Sullivan for his eighth.
Although Ding has never won the World Championship, he's won the UK Championship 3 times. The first was in the Barbican Centre in York in 2005, the last in 2019, also at the Barbican Centre, The venue was moved to the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes due to covid in 2020 but was returned to the Barbican Centre last year. It's no surprise Ding is in the final, he just seems to be at his best playing at the Barbican Centre, York.
Whatever happens today. Ronnie will remain World no.1 after the tournament. He must be relieved he doesn't have to contend with the Juddernaut to remain no.1
The two players are like Snookers version of brothers in arms. They get on really well, enjoy playing against one another and are both very popular in this country and in China.
The people of York in particular have taken Ding to their hearts just as those in China have taken Ronnie to theirs.
It's a bit of a fairytale final really and one I am looking forward to immensely.
Hoping for a 10-9 classic with a respotted black deciding frame
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(02-12-2023 16:43 )Joannis Wrote: [ -> ]Beat me to the punch
You both beat me. Makes a nice change from all the other times when I end up having to talk to myself
Ding coming from qualifying is I think like the only time he made the World final. 4-4 at the end of the 1st session, though it ebbed and flowed pretty drastically to get there.