Neil Robertson has come through a tight semi-final with Jack Lisowski to reach the final of the International Championship where he will face Mark Allen.
Allen booked his place in the final after a 9-6 victory over Matthew Stevens in the first semi-final on Friday, despite the Welshman throwing everything thing at him in that contest.
Early on in the contest, Stevens looked like his old self taking three of the first four frames and claiming an early lead, after breaks of 58, 70 and 86 to leave Allen in trouble early on. The response from the Northern Irishman was to come from behind to win frame five, before runs of 70 and the matches first century, a 120, put Allen ahead at 4-3. Stevens had a golden chance to level at the end of the opening session, but missed a tricky pink to take the frame and Allen picked up the pieces to claim a 5-3 advantage.
That advantage extended to 6-3 at the start of the evening session, before Stevens really hit his stride. Back-to-back centuries of 110 and a magnificent 144 total clearance got him back in the contest at 6-5, before Allen responded in style with his own break of 102 to maintain the two frame advantage that he had started the session with. That lead was cut once again though when Stevens made his third century in four frames, with another excellent contribution of 115 this time. It looked like he was going to level at 7-7 in the next before missing a cut on the black, leaving Allen the chance to clear which he did superbly under the pressure, a run of 85 putting him one away from victory, which he would secure soon after.
The second semi-final had just as many twists and turns as the first, with Lisowski looking to avenge his defeat to Robertson in the season opening Riga Masters final. A scrappier opening four frames of the match were shared, but the real drama began after the mid-session interval of the opening session. Lisowski's break of 64 in the fifth was not enough to clinch the frame as Robertson stole it after getting the snooker he required. Just when Robertson looked like taking charge he missed on a break of 66, leaving Lisowski the chance to clear which he took superbly with a 71 to square the match at 3-3. He followed that with a 102 and had the chance to lead 5-3 at the end of the session, but Robertson would take the eighth on the colours to make sure it was a best-of-9 for a final spot in the final session.
The evening started well for Lisowski with a run of 76 putting him back in front at 5-4, but things then quickly turned against him. Two tight frames in the 10th and 12th both went the way of the Australian, with breaks of 54 and 119 giving him the 11th and 13th respectively, with those four successive frames putting him one away from victory at 8-5. There was no giving up from Lisowski though with breaks of 133 and 60 in the next two frames really starting to put the pressure on Robertson at 8-7. He responded like a true champion though, taking advantage of any errors Lisowski made, as he had been doing all day long, and making a closing statement of 67 to clinch a 9-7 win.
The Final: (Pick in bold)
Mark Allen Vs Neil Robertson (Best-of-19 frames)
What a week it has been for these two players. In a week that has yielded centuries aplenty, Allen is already into double figures for the week with a total of 10 tons made, while Robertson has made seven overall. In terms of the frames they have conceded in making it to the final, Allen has lost 15 and Robertson slightly more at 21 though arguably with a slightly tougher route as well.
The Australian was a comfortable winner in the last 64 against Matthew Selt, but then faced trouble in the last 32 when he faced Joe Perry. On that occasion he came from 4-2 down to overcome the European Masters runner-up in a deciding frame. Then against Yuan Sijun he was 3-1 and 4-3 adrfit and starting down the barrel of a 5-3 deficit before coming back from snookers required to take the eighth frame and then finishing with back-to-back centuries. In his quarter-final he took down the world number one Mark Selby, ending his incredible defence and ending an 18 game win streak of Selby's in the International Championship with a four straight frames from 4-2 down. The semi-final was another match that could have gone either way but his patience and full punishment of Lisowski's mistakes were the two deciding factors.
As for Allen, he was down and out in the last 64 when he trailed Liam Highfield 4-0 and then 5-2, but he stood strong and made three centuries on the way to an amazing 6-5 triumph that has set him up for the rest of the week. Breaks of 142 and 146 were the highlight of his last 32 victory against Hossein Vafei, 6-3 from 2-0 down before losing just one frame in his last 16 and quarter-final ties against Alfie Burden and Ali Carter, with the whitewash against Carter one of the most impressive results of the week. Then in the semi-final he withstood everything that Matthew Stevens had to throw at him. Forget Stevens ranking, because for two or three matches this week including against Allen it was as if the clock had gone back to a time when Stevens was winning his Masters and UK titles and reaching two World finals and snooker fans will be hoping to see Stevens climb back into the top 32 and maybe beyond.
For Allen, this is his third International Championship final, having lost out Mark Selby 12 months ago as well as falling short against Ricky Walden in 2014. Robertson meanwhile is also a former runner-up in this tournament, coming up short in the inaugural edition in 2012 against Judd Trump. The head-to-head is not favourable for Allen by any means, with the record standing at 10-4 to Robertson if Championship League matches are excluded. Their last meeting was in the 2017 World Open which Allen won 5-4 and they have had a lot of close encounters and classic ties in the past. Those include an enthralling Welsh Open semi-final in 2016 and meetings every year at the Masters between 2011 and 2014, two of which went the distance, while they have also contested a final at the 2015 Champion of Champions - Robertson winning 10-5. This week though is arguably some of the best snooker Allen has played to reach a sixth ranking final in China and certainly the best he has played since winning the Masters at the start of the year. That Masters win will give him extra confidence on occasions like this that he truly belongs at this level and that he can win these big titles. Robertson has regained that belief in the last 12 months and is now looking for his third ranking title since briefly dropping out of the top 16 last December, setting this up to be a potentially thrilling final.
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