Mark Selby will face fellow four-time world champion John Higgins within the ultimate of the British Open on Sunday.
World quantity 5 Selby overcame Northern Eire’s Mark Allen 6-3 in a hard-fought semi-final in Cheltenham on Saturday.
The Englishman will now tackle Higgins after the Scot beat Oliver Strains 6-0 earlier to succeed in his first rating occasion ultimate since April 2022.
Selby produced a break of 105 on the way in which to a 3-0 lead within the second semi-final, after which led 4-1, earlier than world quantity three Allen fought again.
The 38-year-old from Antrim, who made a most 147 break throughout Friday’s quarter-final win over world primary Judd Trump, hit a 130 as he minimize the deficit to 4-3.
However Selby, 41, discovered breaks of 95 and 77 to safe victory and attain his first ultimate since shedding to Mark Williams in final yr’s British Open title match.
At the moment ranked 99th on the earth, 29-year-old Englishman Strains was enjoying in his first semi-final and had probabilities in many of the frames.
However Scot Higgins secured every one, his highest breaks of 64 and 67 coming within the final two frames.
At the beginning of the week, the four-time British Open winner dropped out of the world’s high 16 for the primary time since 1995 however will climb again as much as no less than 14th.
The 49-year-old now has the prospect to develop into the oldest winner of a rating occasion since Ray Reardon in 1982, and to win his first for the reason that 2021 Gamers Championship.
“I’ve not gained silverware for a couple of years and I simply love the sensation of being the final man standing, that is why I maintain going,” Higgins informed the World Snooker Tour.
“I’m going to have a monumental recreation tomorrow. I will give it the whole lot.
“There have been factors within the final couple of years the place I’ve felt that I’m not adequate to compete in opposition to these guys and get to the finals. I’ll savour it.”
Higgins grew to become solely the second participant to make 1,000 profession centuries on the English Open final week, and Judd Trump grew to become the third as he misplaced to Allen within the British Open quarter-finals on Friday.
