Judd Trump has already booked his spot in the Champion of Champions final but will it be Neil Robertson or Mark Selby who joins him?
Trump was impressive in beating world champion Zhao Xintong 6-2 on Friday night, still not really hitting top form but winning comfortably nonetheless.
Zhao underperformed after looking good in beating Mark Allen and Kyren Wilson on Wednesday, offering the world number one far too many chances.
It looked to be a blockbuster semi-final and didn’t live up to expectations, but Selby vs Robertson is also a peach and could well deliver more of a dramatic contest.
Robertson downed Tom Ford and John Higgins to reach this stage, while Selby beat Stephen Maguire and edged out Mark Williams.
The pundits are certainly finding it difficult to predict, with both men playing good stuff and little to choose between them.
Former Masters champion Alan McManus said on his Snooker Breakfast podcast: ‘Here’s how difficult this is going to be to predict. They played against one another in the Players Championship [last season] and then two weeks later in the Tour Championship. In the Players Championship Neil beat Mark 6-3. The following week Mark Selby beat Neil Robertson 10-1 in Manchester. So good luck predicting this one!
‘I’m just going to go for Neil Robertson, I just feel as though he’s playing that wee bit better. The way he won against John [Higgins] with that clearance to get that group final won. I think that stands him in good stead, he’ll feel nice and sharp.’
Stephen Hendry is in agreement that it is extremely hard to call, but is leaning towards Selby.
‘That’s a real tough one. It’s pretty much impossible to predict a winner, they’re both playing very, very well,’ the seven-time world champion said on ITV. ‘Robertson’s scoring heavily. Missed one or two easy ones which were surprising but still was very convincing. But I think Selby could be the man to beat.
‘I just hope it’s a proper game and doesn’t get bogged down because it has happened between these two before. The game goes scrappy and they go to the dark arts, I hope it’s top quality in every department but I’m going to go Selby 6-4.’
1997 world champ Ken Doherty appeared to be edging towards Robertson but then took camp firmly on the fence, expecting it to go to a deciding frame but not picking a winner.
‘I think he [Selby] is coming to the boil, but I think Neil Robertson is playing better than him and of course the victory in Riyadh gave him a huge boost,’ Doherty said of Robertson’s Saudi Arabia Masters win.
‘He’s playing with a lot more confidence, playing a lot faster, he’s scoring a lot more freely. That makes him a really tough animal to beat.
‘It’s going to be really tough between the two of them, Mark Selby is so hard to scrape off the table. 6-5 either way.’
In all competitions the pair have met 48 times, with Robertson leading the head-to-head 24-23, with one draw in an old Championship League format.
They first played 19 years ago in the 2006 Welsh Open, which Selby won 5-3, long before both men became world champions.
The winner will face Trump who still feels a long, long way from his best despite finding himself in a sixth Champion of Champions final.
He still feels the new cue he is using this season is holding him back, among other reasons, but is pleased to be churning out wins nonetheless.
‘I am happy to be in the final because I am still not 100 per cent, I’m probably more like 10 per cent,’ he said after beating Zhao. ‘To make a final like this when I’m not at my best, I don’t feel comfortable, I take a lot of credit.
‘I don’t feel that fluent, I really have to take care over every shot. I just get going, I’m revving up and then I slam the brake on. It’s hard work.’