Saturday 3 December 2016 23:57, UK
Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Mark Selby in a mouth-watering Betway UK Championship final after beating Marco Fu 6-5 in an epic Saturday night semi in York.
Selby defeated Shaun Murphy 6-2 in his semi-final and will now bid to become just the fifth player to win the UK and World crowns in the same year.
O'Sullivan is among that elite quintet and victory in Sunday's final would see him tie Steve Davis for the most ever UK titles (six) and also move him second outright on the all-time list of players with the most ranking titles.
O'Sullivan had only dropped five frames all week in reaching the last four but was not at his brilliant best against Fu, despite establishing a 4-2 lead.
Fu had breaks of 80, 100 and 85 on the night, and reeled off three frames in a row to surge into a 5-4 lead.
But the match then turned on a crucial 10th frame, in which both players squandered decent opportunities.
They fought it out on the colours and Fu stood on the brink of victory, only to miss a pivotal green, allowing O'Sullivan to pounce and level the contest.
And O'Sullivan then finished off the match in fine style, quickly rolling in a break of 130 to take the decider and set up the exciting prospect of a showdown with Selby.
After his semi, O'Sullivan reflected: "You just find something sometimes, you know you have to.
"I stayed focused and professional and didn't beat myself up. I did everything within my control. Sometimes it's either there or it's not there.
"I had to grind it out, blag it, that's what you do sometimes.
"You have to find something from somewhere even when it's not going your way."
Looking ahead to the final, he added: "I'll be the underdog going into this match, which is probably the first time in a long time that I'll be going into a final not being a favourite.
"I'd much rather be the favourite to be honest, I don't mind that pressure - I enjoy that.
"I'll have to stay professional and patient. I'd love to win it but it ain't going to change my life."
