Judd Trump and Mark Allen will contest the Champion of Champions final on Sunday at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton.
Trump withstood a late rally from Barry Hawkins to beat his fellow Englishman 6-3 in the first semi-final on Friday.
Then on Saturday evening, Allen pulled away from a level mid-session interval with a four-frame burst to oust John Higgins 6-2.
Both contenders in what is a mouthwatering final on paper will be vying for a second Champion of Champions title.
Allen triumphed behind closed doors in 2020 while Trump etched his name onto the trophy for the first time a year later.
It has been an outstanding recent period for Trump, who undoubtedly represents the best player in the world at present.
The 34 year-old enjoyed an incredible month of October where he emerged with a hat-trick of ranking trophies in the space of just four weeks.
At the start of 2023, Trump also landed glory at the prestigious Masters in London for the second time in his career.
It was around that time when many were labelling Allen as the most prolific winner on the tour.
A week after Alexandra Palace, the Northern Irishman beat Trump in the final of the World Grand Prix.
Not long before that and towards the end of the 2022, Allen had also prevailed in both the Northern Ireland Open and the UK Championship.
There are no ranking points on offer at the Champion of Champions, but Sunday’s final pits world number two Trump against world number four Allen, with both boasting aspirations of reaching the top spot this term.
It would be fair to say that this week’s edition of the Champion of Champions hasn’t been a classic.
Only two encounters have ended with deciding frames, and they were both in the first round when the format was the best of seven.
Any Trump versus Allen showdown has the potential of being a humdinger, however.
Their World Grand Prix duel lasted the distance with Allen edging out his rival in a 10-9 thriller, and a lot of their matches down through the years have been memorable.
The Pistol possesses the greater head-to-head record overall with 17 wins to Trump’s 14 (and 1 draw) in all competitions.
This match represents their fourth in the Champion of Champions itself, with Trump leading that count 2-1.
The latter will be the slight favourite given his explosive improvement in form of late.
Either way, let’s hope they can deliver an exciting climax to this year’s prestigious invitational.
2023 Champion of Champions
Monday (Group 4)
Last 16 (bo7)
Mark Allen 4-1 Jimmy White
Mark Selby 3-4 Ali Carter
Quarter-Final (bo11)
Mark Allen 6-2 Ali Carter
Tuesday (Group 2)
Last 16 (bo7)
Luca Brecel 0-4 Barry Hawkins
Mark Williams 2-4 Robert Milkins
Quarter-Final (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Robert Milkins
Wednesday (Group 1)
Last 16 (bo7)
John Higgins 4-0 Chris Wakelin
Ding Junhui 4-3 Zhang Anda
Quarter-Final (bo11)
John Higgins 6-1 Ding Junhui
Thursday (Group 3)
Last 16 (bo7)
Judd Trump 4-0 Baipat Siripaporn
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Gary Wilson
Quarter-Final (bo11)
Judd Trump 6-4 Shaun Murphy
Friday
Semi-Final (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 3-6 Judd Trump
Saturday
Semi-Final (bo11)
John Higgins 2-6 Mark Allen
Sunday
Final (bo19)
Judd Trump 3-10 Mark Allen
Featured photo credit: Matchroom Sport
I concur with the it not being a classic due to the lack of drama primarily.
One notable aspect of their head-to-head is they’ve never met in the World Championship. Allen has 3 of their 4 meetings in finals. Their two long form finals have been crackers. Their 2011 UK Final was one of the very best in that event’s 46 year history.
Great
Mark Allen seemed to start more tentatively but he grew in confidence and form as the frames went by whilst Trump got derailed by a few misses and gradually shrank in confidence. A good win for Mark Allen and a disappointing day at the office for the form player.