Ding Junhui will face Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Grand Prix Final in Preston after coming through an epic semi-final 6-5 against world number one Mark Selby. The Chinese star played the more fluent snooker of the two in a tough semi-final, which amassed four hours and 38 minutes of playing time, though he was forced to dig into his deepest reserves as the match ran towards the early hours at the Guild Hall. Ding has suffered gut-wrenching defeats to Selby in World Championship semi-finals and a final in recent seasons, so his victory in Preston will be a sweet tonic. He can now take aim at lifting ranking silverware outside of China for the first time since the 2014 German Masters when he stares down O’Sullivan.
The Rocket will be seeking to land a fourth ranking title in a single season for the first time in his career. Ding lost a 47-minute opening frame but quickly levelled at 1-1 in his tussle with Selby. The Jester knocked in an 87 to move ahead but Ding fired contributions of 91 and 94 either side of the interval to move in front for the first time. Blows were traded before Ding’s 104 moved him one from victory at 5-4. A tense tenth frame lasted 52 minutes and saw Ding require two snookers, which he got, before Selby eventually pinched it to force a deciding frame. That might have been enough to derail Ding in the past, but he was composed and took his chance to compile a match-winning contribution of 83 and reach his 19th ranking event final.
He now meets O’Sullivan in a major final for the fifth time. The Rocket has prevailed in three out of their four showpiece showdowns so far, though Ding was victorious 13-10 in their most recent clash, a World Championship quarter-final at the Crucible last April. Ding is 15/8 to defeat O’Sullivan in the best-of-19 frames decider, with the Rocket favourite at 2/5. Ding is 16/1 to win the final on a 10-7 scoreline.