Ronnie O'Sullivan reaches 55th ranking final and will face Mark Selby

O'Sullivan had appeared set to renege on his side of the deal as he trailed Li Hang 4-1, but an upturn in fortunes combined with the breakdown of his opponent's poise prompted a run of five frames in a row to seal a 6-4 win.

Selby then took to the table to face surprise semi-finalist Jamie Jones, and by contrast there was never any doubt about the result. Selby, the defending champion, won each of the first four frames, producing three centuries, and sealed a 6-1 victory with a break of 93.

Ronnie responds to earn final spot

At 4-1 down and with Li among the balls, O'Sullivan had been on brink of a shock defeat, but after the Chinese ran out of position when entering the pack the match turned in an instant.

O'Sullivan took that frame with a break of 84, followed it with a run of 87, and then took a tight eighth frame to level the scores.

Li then allowed frustration to get the better of him in the ninth frame when, having again moved into a lead, he came up short in attempting to roll behind a colour. Put back in by O'Sullivan, the 30-year-old blasted the white around the cushions and presented his opponent with an attractive table. The world champion ruthlessly made a break of 93.

And what proved to be the final frame, Li again lost his composure as O'Sullivan this time rolled him behind the green, again thumping the white and leaving O'Sullivan - who had his share of fortune - with another easy starter.

"I'll take a win, all day long - I should never have won it," beamed O'Sullivan. "(My) cue action was not great today, I was struggling, just couldn't get any penetration through the ball.

"Just had to stay patient, because he looked good from the start. I can see why he beat Judd (Trump) because he looked sharp, he didn't miss much, but towards the end... maybe the snooker gods are up there looking after me this week."

'I have to turn up'

Asked to assess Li's attempted scapes, O'Sullivan in fact supported his opponent's decision, citing the miss rule as reason not to rack up the fouls.

"If you can't get it safe, you might as well just... you know, don't give any points away and let the other geezer try and make a few points."

Sunday's final will be his 55th at this level as he goes in search of a third Scottish Open title some 20 years on from his second, before the World Grand Prix begins a day later.

"I'll just take anything, I don't care anymore - I'll just pitch up and play. We've got another tournament Monday! It wouldn't have mattered if I'd lost today, I'd have got a day at home which is always a silver lining.

"I'm just doing what all the others do which is turn up at everything, get your cue out, hit a few balls, if they go in, great.

"I wish I got excited like I did all those years ago about finals, but you get to my age and stage, and you just enjoy playing. That's the key. I enjoy practicing more than I do the matches, but I have to turn up to keep the sponsors happy."

O'Sullivan went on to say that he hoped Jones would make the final, but that was never on the cards as Selby produced breaks of 123, 128 and 101 to set-up a repeat of the World Championship semi-final which saw these two old rivals produce one of the greatest finishes in memory back in August.

While the perpetual cycle of snooker leaves some feeling wearied, for the second Sunday in succession there will be a final between two of the finest players in the sport.