Zhang Kunpeng and Gareth Potts
Zhang Kunpeng and Gareth Potts will contest the Grand Final of the 2017 Joy Billiards World Chinese 8 Ball Masters on Monday.
In a tight and tense 'B Side' Final - where there was never more than 3 frames between the pair, Potts managed to beat Shen ChongYang 13-10.
The 2013 & 2014 champion has certainly reached the Championship Match the hard way.
Things went according to plan on the opening day when he beat Wu Hao and Wang Peng, but was then forced onto the Losers Side of the draw when narrowly losing to the experienced Xi Hongyu 11-10.
A long, long road back, Potts knuckled down. With his last life he went on to defeat Xie Zhaohui, Albin Ouschan, Dai Yong, Wang Peng (again, and from 8-3 down) and Francisco Diaz Pizarro just to get into the Last 4.
The Englishman was then able to extract revenge on Xi Hongyu with a 14-8 success. If you include his victory over Shen today, Potts has had to overcome 9 matches to reach the Final for the first time since 2014.
In complete contrast, 20 year old undefeated home player Zhang has had the weekend off after he conquered the Winners Side of the draw on Friday.
His route to the final saw him get the better of Dharminder Singh Lilly, Zhao Ruliang, Li Hui, Dai, Pizarro and Shen.
The Grand Final will be a one-off match for the title. It will be interesting to see if Zhang's time waiting in the wings for his opponent has either been an advantage, or a disadvantage.
What we do know, is that it should be a belter!
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
LOSERS SIDE FINAL
Gareth Potts 13-10 Shen ChongYong
5th/6th PLAY-OFF MATCH
Zhao Ruliang 13-7 Francisco Diaz Pizarro
