Neil Robertson came back from two down with three to play to reach the final of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, defeating Shaun Murphy 6-5 in a crucial clash in the race for Crucible qualification.
The winner of today’s encounter was guaranteed to clinch a place in the projected seeding positions for the World Championship, with the other ending the week outside of the qualifying slots.
Victory for Australia’s Robertson sees him bumped up to 13th in the provisional Crucible seedings, leaving Murphy in 17th. There are two events remaining for contenders to jostle for position, at the Sportsbet.io Players Championship and the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship.
The loss for Murphy means his hopes of avoiding the qualifying rounds for Sheffield remain very much in the balance. The Englishman won both the Players Championship and the Tour Championship two years ago, meaning those points will fall off his ranking in the coming weeks.
Robertson gains revenge for a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Murphy in their recent Johnstone’s Paint Masters quarter-final. The Magician went on to win that event and lift the Paul Hunter Trophy for a second time. Today’s win for 2010 World Champion Robertson enhances his superior head-to-head record with Murphy, which now stands at 19-12.
Tomorrow’s final will see 43-year-old Robertson pitted against either world number one Judd Trump or 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham. The first to ten frames will scoop a record £180,000 top prize in what is the first ranking event to take place in Hong Kong for 36 years.
The Thunder from Down Under got off to a blistering start this afternoon, firing in breaks of 114 and 104 in the opening two frames to establish an early 2-0 advantage. However, Murphy hit back with contributions of 52 and 77 to make it 2-2 at the mid-session.
Robertson regained the lead after the break, but Murphy summoned a three-frame blitz with runs of 64, 107 and 77 to move one from victory at 5-3.
Melbourne cueman Robertson dug deep and prevented Murphy from registering a point in the ninth and tenth frames to force a decider at 5-5. He hammered home a full-blooded red from long range to get his chance in the final frame. The 24-time ranking event winner took full advantage with 114 to earn his place in the title match. He will be aiming for a second title of the season tomorrow, following on from his win at the BetVictor English Open earlier in the campaign.
Robertson said: "It was a brilliant match. I started off so well. I missed a couple of difficult pots, but other than that I didn't do too much wrong. Shaun played really well. He was very aggressive, potting some brilliant balls to get in and create frame winning opportunities. It's easier to stay in the match when you haven't done much wrong. Full complements to Shaun, he said after the match that there wasn't anything he could do about that long red I potted in the last frame. It was an unbelievable shot to create the match winning visit.
"A massive part of how I'm playing is switching to a titanium ferrule. The cue power I'm generating, I haven't been able to play these sorts of shots for six or seven years. I didn't realise at the time, but when I got my brass ferrule taken off I could see that it was damaged. I've effectively been playing with damaged equipment for the last few years. I feel as though I've got about 30 percent more power and the difference is huge.
"Coming here, I was just trying to get used to the ferrule and win a couple of matches. To be able to reach the final and get some significant ranking points is good. The only down point about playing the final is I don't get to go and see the LIV golf tomorrow now, with it being in Hong Kong!"
Robertson Winning Interview