O'Sullivan, Selby to meet in UK snooker Championship final

Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the United Kingdom (UK) Championship final for the sixth time after edging Marco Fu of Hong Kong 6-5 at the Barbican Centre.

The "Rocket" will take on World No.1 Mark Selby late on Sunday in a best-of-19 frame final for a sixth title, reports Xinhua.

On Saturday, the first two frames of the match were shared, before O'Sullivan took a 3-1 lead. Fu, the beaten finalist in 2008, hit back with a century break after the interval, before O'Sullivan extended the lead to 4-2.

Fu managed to level the score at 4-4 with breaks of 85 and 59, before he took the ninth frame for a 5-4 lead. He then saw O'Sullivan cleared the table for 5-5 then dominated the decider with a stunning break of 130 to seal victory.

"I was a little bit nervous. I tried my best, I played quite well and put him under pressure but at the end of the day it was still not quite good enough. But I'm happy that I am playing well again," said Fu after the match.

"I have had a tough season and I was just trying to find a bit of form. Ronnie was just too good on the day."

World champion Selby, who beat O'Sullivan to win his first world title in 2014, defeated Shawn Murphy 6-2 in the other semi-final.

"I felt good out there," he said.

"I felt if I got a chance I was going to score."

--IANS

sam/dg