Robertson to play Bingham in World Grand Prix final
Neil Robertson, left, beat Stuart Bingham in the 2019 Welsh Open
- Published
Stuart Bingham will take on Neil Robertson for the World Grand Prix title in Hong Kong after holding off world number one Judd Trump to reach his first ranking final in six years.
England's Bingham, the 2015 world champion, beat Trump 6-3 after Robertson had fought back from 5-3 down to edge out Masters champion Shaun Murphy 6-5.
Australian Robertson, 43, knocked in three centuries, including a 114 break in the deciding frame, to reach Sunday's best-of-19-frames final.
The left-hander was 19th in the world rankings before the World Grand Prix, but his run to the final has boosted his hopes of returning to the top 16 and therefore securing an automatic spot at the World Championship in April.
The 2010 world champion was beaten in qualifying last year, ending a run of 19 consecutive appearances at the Crucible Theatre.
Murphy, who won the world title as a qualifier in 2005, is faced with potentially needing to go through that route again to reach the main draw in Sheffield this year.
There are two ranking events remaining before the cut-off point for World Championship seedings - the Players Championship and the Tour Championship.
The 42-year-old Englishman, who was 12th in the world before the World Grand Prix started, will be defending a huge tally of ranking points in those two events, having won both in 2023.
Later, Bingham - the 2016 World Grand Prix runner-up - edged a scrappy opener against Trump before recording his solitary century break as he took a 5-1 lead.
Knocks of 124 and 72 followed for Trump as he launched a comeback charge, but a missed red allowed his opponent to seal the win.
Bingham's last ranking final was the 2019 Gibraltar Open, which he won for his sixth title.
"I'm over the moon," he said. "I had a little tear there at the table, because it has been a long time. It has been hard.
"Without a doubt, I've wondered if I ever would get back in a ranking final. The last few years haven't been good on my part.
"I've been searching and trying things. This week it has clicked for me. I've got through matches without feeling the best, but now I'm in the final."