Premier League 2011 - Ding and O'Sullivan reach the final

Ding - first name in the final

This year's Premier League play-offs sent Ding Junhui and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the grand final. Ding saw off Judd Trump by 5-3 in the process of qualifying for the final stage of the competition, while Ronnie beat the Welshman Mark Williams 5-2 to set his 10^th apparition in the final.

It's the first time an Asian player reaches the final of the Premier Lerague since 2003. Back then, Marco Fu not only that he reached the final, but he also won it 9-5 by beating Mark Williams and became the first and only Chinese to ever win a Premier League trophy. Can Ding do something about that number?

Not a lucky evening for Trump

Well, if we are to judge after his semi-final performance, I would say that he stands a chance even though his opponent is the "Premier League king".
 
On the other hand, Judd Trump was seen as favourite to beat him and just look at what happened. Maybe, just maybe, the experience made the difference.

Until Ding hit a marvellous 139 break, the lads had been separated by just one frame. Still, from that particular moment on, the direction of the match changed completely. 
The 6^th frame was going to be won also by Ding, this putting him 4-2 up against Trump and although Bristol's boy hit in series of 43 and 23 to try and catch up, he only managed to win the following frame, but not the one after that. 
Ding closed with a 75 to book himself a very well deserved spot in the final. 

No surprise to see Ronnie reach the final

The second semi-final featured the names of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams and by all means it was a bit odd. Why? Maybe because it was weird to see Williams miss so many chances as well as being very unlucky when he was up for the kill. But, that's snooker.

Despite everything the one that broke the ice was Mark who used just a break of 43 in the process. The scoreline would have easily gone 2-0 in his favour if he wouldn't miss a red to the right pocket and let O'Sullivan in. But sadly for him he did, and so "The Rocket" levelled the match.

The next frame was going to be cashed also by O'Sullivan with a beautiful 109 break, but the Welshman managed to draw level at 2-2. Unfortunately for him that frame, right there, was going to be the last one to enter in his pocket during his battle of cues.

Mark Williams torn apart  between missing & being unlucky

Runs of 55, 84 and 88 secured O'Sullivan a smooth journey into tomorrow's final, where he’s meeting with another great cueist, in the person of Ding Junhui.

So, from 7.30pm (UK time) on SkySports 2 the action continues.
Will Ronnie win his 10^th Premier League title, or shall we see a little Chinese with a big smile on his face at the end of the evening lifting that shiny trophy? Only time can tell.