Mark Selby and Neil Robertson will contest today’s UK Championship final at the Barbican Centre in York.
It is a fitting conclusion to what has been an entertaining tournament that has lasted just shy of a fortnight.
The world no.1 and no.2 go head-to-head in what promises to be a close contest.
Neither player has been on top form throughout this tournament but have both done enough to win their six matches and reach the showpiece finale, while they have good reasons to collect the trophy on Sunday night.
Selby is bidding to defend the title he captured for the first time last year while Australia’s Robertson is hoping to complete the ‘Triple Crown’ of the sport’s three traditional majors – the World, UK and Masters.
Last night, Leicester’s Selby produced a moment of magic to compile the 100th professional maximum break in front of a jubilant crowd and live on television.
The break was perfect until he reached the brown, then subsequently he sank four consecutive gutsy pots to make history and collect the £59,000 prize.
Selby will be delighted to have achieved the feat but he will be hoping for more consistency in the final.
Against Ricky Walden in the semi-finals, the three-time Masters champion was guilty of missing too many easy balls and was fortunate that his opponent didn’t start to perform until it was already too late.
Robertson, meanwhile, will be slightly concerned as to why he almost let a seemingly unassailable 8-3 lead evaporate in his last four clash with Stuart Bingham.
But despite all that, both of them will approach this as a fresh challenge and they will each know they must play somewhere near their best to emerge victorious.
While there is the coveted trophy at stake, of similar importance is that the top spot in the rankings is also up for grabs.
Whatever the result, it promises to be a gripping conclusion to this year’s UK Championship.
