The 2024 English Open final will be contested between Neil Robertson and Wu Yize at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday.
The pair easily emerged from their respective semi-final ties on Saturday to move to within one additional win of lifting the Steve Davis Trophy.
Wu first outplayed Ishpreet Singh Chadha – recording a dominant 6-0 scoreline over the Indian competitor – before Robertson later thrashed Chris Wakelin 6-1.
For Wu, the 20 year-old’s magnificent run this week will be rewarded with a maiden appearance in a ranking event final.
The Chinese cueist can count world number one Judd Trump, former world champion Stuart Bingham, and this season’s Championship League Snooker winner Ali Carter among his conquests in the tournament so far.
His opponent in the final is another experienced and proven champion at this level, albeit one who has generally struggled in recent times.
Having come through the field in strong fashion this week, Robertson will compete for ranking silverware for the first time since April in 2022.
It has been a long spell in the doldrums for someone who, for almost two decades, made it a habit of featuring prominently at the business end of events.
The Australian, looking for a 24th career ranking crown and a second English Open title, would return to the top 16 in the world rankings with success on Sunday.
That status remains out of reach for Wu, but whatever the outcome is of the title-deciding bout, the new young star will definitely break into the top 32 on the official two-year list for the first time in his career.
Robertson and Wu have clashed three times on the World Snooker Tour since the latter’s promotion to the professional circuit in 2021.
Their most notable encounter was at the 2023 World Championship when Robertson prevailed in the first round with a 10-3 victory.
They have shared one win apiece since then, but this fixture will represent their biggest to date.
The smart money would suggest that, given his experience at this stage of tournaments, Robertson would etch his name onto the trophy for the second time.
But there’ll likely be some nerves on his side too given the length of time it’s been since he has found himself in this position.
Wu’s pedigree in these moments is unknown, which perhaps makes him an even more dangerous threat.
He would become the seventh player from mainland China to win a ranking event if he were to outlast Robertson in the most important match of his fledgling career so far.
The 2024 English Open final takes place over two sessions (1pm and 7pm UTC+1) and has a best-of-17 frame format.
The champion will earn £100,000 in prize money.
Featured photo credit: WST
