London, May 4 (IANS): Mark Selby beat World No.1 Neil Robertson 17-15 to set up a final clash against Ronnie O’Sullivan at the World Snooker Championship.
This is the second time Selby has reached the final, following his maiden entry seven years ago, reports Xinhua.
Leicester’s 30-year-old Selby will vie for the title against five-time champion O’Sullivan in a best-of-35 frames format Sunday and Monday, with the winner receiving 300,000 pounds as prize money.
“It’s a shame there had to be a loser. Neil played fantastic all through the match. Every time I got a few frames in front and his back was against the wall, he just showed his class and showed why he’s World No.1 and came back at me. It was blow for blow towards the end but I felt very relaxed,” said Selby after the semifinals outing Saturday.
“Ronnie’s a genius, he doesn’t fear anyone. He’s played some great snooker in patches but in other patches he’s missed balls and nobody’s punished him. I’m going to get my chances, it’s just a case of whether I take them or not.”
Selby said he is much more confident this time around than he was in 2007.
“I’m a lot more confident now than I was in my first final in 2007. I was a qualifier then so any match I was winning was a bonus. But over the last few years, I’ve won a few tournaments and every time I go to one, if I don’t win I see it as a failure. I’m confident going into tomorrow and hopefully I can pull through over the two days.”
