Chris Wakelin’s remarkable week in Leicester shows no sign of slowing down, as the Englishman followed his opening-day win over defending champion Mark Selby by beating former Champion of Champions winner Neil Robertson 6–2 at the Mattioli Arena to reach his first Champion of Champions final.
Wakelin commented: “Me and Neil have had some great battles over the years, so I knew coming into today I had to play my best to win. I felt nervous in the last frame, the first time I’ve felt nervous in a match for some time, so glad I pulled through and got the win.
“Tournaments like this Champion of Champions are massive events, and five years ago I could never see myself qualifying for. So, to be here in the final of such a prestigious tournament and a huge event is a huge honour for me. I’m excited for Sunday.”
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Robertson had the first chance to take the lead, but a missed yellow in the opening frame proved costly and handed it to Wakelin. The Australian quickly hit back in the second, compiling a century break of [CONFIRM] to level the scores.
Wakelin restored his advantage in the third. Robertson had made a run of 57, but Wakelin produced an incredible long pot on a red to wrest control of the frame. Robertson again had an answer, compiling a run of 80 in the fourth to make it 2–2.
The fifth proved a hard-fought battle, but it was Wakelin who came out on top to move back in front, before extending his lead to 4–2 in the sixth. The misfortune continued for Robertson in the seventh, when an in-off ended his hopes of a fightback and handed Wakelin the chance to compile a superb century of 100 and move one frame from victory.
A foul from Robertson opened the door in the eighth, and Wakelin made no mistake, sealing the match with a fine run of 87 to complete a superb semi-final display and a 6–2 win.
Wakelin will now wait to discover his opponent in Sunday’s final. Tomorrow’s second semi-final pits Shaun Murphy, who has yet to drop a frame this week, against Kyren Wilson, who is on a 14-match winning streak.
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