UK Championship snooker 2020 - Neil Robertson beats Zhou Yuelong to reach final

Neil Robertson beat Yuelong Zhou 6-2 to seal a place in the UK Championship final on Sunday.

Robertson managed to unpick a cagey first frame to go 1-0 up, and he doubled his lead in no time with a break of 125 and his eighth century of the tournament.

But Zhou pulled back a fascinating third frame. The 22-year-old’s initial break was cut short at 45 after a poor positional shot on an ambitious red, and Robertson responded with a break of 62 only to fluff frame ball on the blue.

Engaged in a battle for the blue, Robertson then played a terrific safety but Zhou potted it with a huge fluke before cleaning up to halve the deficit.

Robertson returned to the table a man befitting of his 18 ranking titles and hit a brilliant break of 122, ensuring a two-frame lead at the interval.

Zhou had an excellent chance to pull another frame back after the stoppage, but with a simple clearance ahead he potted the cue ball and conceded the frame to go 4-1 behind.

And with Zhou low on confidence, Robertson made the most of his time at the table, hitting another century to take the sixth frame.

With the pressure off, Zhou hit back with his highest-ever break in the UK Championship of 141 to reduce the deficit to three.

But Robertson saw out the match and sealed a place in the final where he will face either Judd Trump or Lu Ning.