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Gary Wilson dethrones Ding Junhui to reach China Open final

Gary Wilson shocked defending champion Ding Junhui
Gary Wilson shocked defending champion Ding Junhui

Gary Wilson will face Mark Selby in his first appearance in a ranking final after he beat defending champion Ding Junhui in the China Open semi-finals on Saturday.

The 29-year-old former taxi driver was 3-1 down to home favourite Ding but fought back to establish a 5-3 lead - with impressive breaks of 97 and 112 putting him in the driving seat.

Ding refused to give up his title easily and levelled to take the semi-final into a deciding frame - with Wilson hitting a match-winning break of 72 to move into Sunday's final.

The world-ranked 56 will face a stern test if he is to make a success of his first final as he takes on world champion Mark Selby.

The world number one is in fine form and eased into the final by beating Kurt Maflin 6-3 in the day's first semi-final.

The duo shared the opening six frames before Selby pulled one ahead by taking the seventh on the final black and did not look back.

"It was a good match all the way through," Selby told www.worldsnooker.com. "Kurt took his chances but in the end I got the bit of run of the ball you need. That's definitely the best I have played this week."

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