Reigning world champion Wu Yize won six consecutive frames to beat Judd Trump 6-1 in the Shenzhen Open semi-finals.
Yize, who will leapfrog Trump in the rankings and move second in the world after the final, bounced back in dramatic fashion after losing the opening frame to set up an all-Chinese final against Yuan Sijun at the Bao’an Sports Centre on Sunday.
Yuan, 26, endured a much more difficult route to his maiden ranking final, battling through 6-5 against Englishman Jimmy Robertson.
World number two Trump, who won the Shanghai Masters in August, had gone into the Shenzhen semi-final in fine form after beating Mark Selby 5-0 in the last eight.
But after clinching the opening frame with a break of 77, the 2019 world champion handed the initiative to his opponent with a string of errors.
Wu, 22, capitalised to avenge a defeat by Trump at the last-four stage in Shanghai earlier this year, making three breaks of 50 or more in a scrappy encounter before clinching victory with a break of 110.
“When I was preparing for the evening match, I saw that Yuan had shed some tears,” Wu told World Snooker Tour.
“I believe it is his first ranking final. Hopefully, we can put on a great match for everyone. Of course, I hope I can take the trophy home, but we will both give it everything we have.”
An emotional Yuan found it much more difficult to get over the winning line, with the lead continually changing hands throughout the best-of-11 encounter before his opponent forced a deciding frame that took 50 minutes to complete and saw a total of 177 points scored.
Robertson put Yuan in a difficult snooker on the final red and clawed back 41 penalty points before himself being put in a snooker, with Yuan finally clearing to the pink to earn his place in the final of the inaugural event.
“I feel that my first ranking final has come a little bit late,” said Yuan, who started the tournament as the world number 33 but will move to the cusp of the top 16 with victory on Sunday.
“Since the pandemic in 2020, the years in between have been quite difficult, and I feel it hasn’t been easy. So after all these years, I just hope I can give myself something to show for it.”
