O’Sullivan To Meet Higgins In Final

Ronnie O’Sullivan will face John Higgins in a potentially epic clash in the final of the Dafabet Champion of Champions in Coventry on Saturday.

First to ten frames will receive the £100,000 top prize at the invitation event at the Ricoh Arena. O’Sullivan is seeking to win the title for the third time – and is aiming for his first trophy of the season.

The Rocket took just 87 minutes to beat Mark Allen 6-2 in a tremendous semi-final which featured five centuries. Allen compiled runs of 100 and 109 in the second and fourth frames, but was no match for O’Sullivan who fired breaks of 51, 130, 73, 124, 109 and 59.

Earlier, Higgins edged out Ding Junhui 6-5 in their exciting semi. Ding made four centuries and led 5-4, but Higgins battled to win the last two frames to snatch victory.

“I am over the moon,” said Higgins, who won the China Championship last week. “The last three or four times I have played Ding he has played like that, so I knew I had to play really good myself to have a chance.

“I enjoyed watching Ding play – he made four centuries and he was totally flawless. He is probably like Steve Davis – he is never more than four or five inches away from the object ball in each break, and you just sit and admire it.

“I know how good a player Ding is, so to beat him in that way and the way he played, it is one of my best wins because we all know how good he is.

“I will try and ride this form as best as I can, and hopefully I will play well tomorrow.”