Neil Robertson didn't need to be at his best to beat Jimmy Robertson 6-1 and reach the final of snooker's Players Championship.
Neil Robertson had been expected to win and the scoreline will not surprise many, but perhaps the way it was compiled will. He was never at his best, registering just one break of more than 55, and yet never was the result in doubt.
That's because Jimmy Robertson, who beat Luca Brecel and John Higgins to reach his second ranking semi-final of the season, failed to capitalise whenever he was given a chance. The former European Masters winner scored more than 30 points in six of the seven frames, but the only one he won came via a smash-and-grab re-spotted black.
He will no doubt leave disappointed that he couldn't expose the weaknesses in Neil Robertson's game which were in evidence throughout, the Aussie's best break coming in frame one with an 86 which came only after his opponent had come unstuck among the balls.
Jimmy Robertson again scored 31 before breaking down in the second and lost it, and a 35-minute third frame also went the way of the favourite despite having given his opponent several bites of the cherry.
Respite for Jimmy Robertson came when he least expected it, just as Neil Robertson appeared set to whitewash him in the four pre-interval frames. When the Australian missed frame ball yellow with the rest, Jimmy Robertson mopped up the colours to force a re-spotted black, and thumped it home from range when left with a rare chance.
That might have changed the game, because when Neil Robertson broke down on 55 on the first session back, he'd left his opponent with an excellent chance. Again, though, Jimmy Robertson couldn't put the cue ball where he needed it and went on to lose another safety battle when his escape from a snooker left the yellow hanging over a pocket.
Robertson dominated what proved to be the final frame, breaking the 100-point barrier for the first time and bagging his third half-century of the match. Still, after victories over Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O'Sullivan, his levels dropped appreciably here, though the job is nevertheless done and he'll now face Barry Hawkins in a Masters final rematch on Sunday.
In that game, one Robertson won 10-4, we saw an uncomfortable truth exposed: that the best matches in snooker can often be the semi-finals, and that winners of them can sometimes suffer when asked to go and perform again. That cannot be an excuse here, though the table might be.
The winner said on ITV4: “It was hard-fought. A lot of frames could have gone either way. At the start of the match Jimmy’s long potting was very good and he was creating chances for himself.
“The difference in the match was maybe in the bigger moments I played slightly better than him.
“But, I must admit, we were both being trolled by the table. You can’t account for a table playing like that, like when a ball comes off the cushion two feet further than what it should. It makes it extremely difficult to play.
“And the arena was too cold – far too cold. When you’re playing in leisure centres you’ve got to get the temperature right or the tables are going to be extremely inconsistent.”