Players Championship: Neil Robertson beats Jimmy Robertson to reach final

Neil Robertson has set up a rematch with Barry Hawkins in the final of the Players Championship.

The world number four beat Hawkins last month to win his second Masters title and the pair will meet again in Wolverhampton on Sunday.

Robertson faced England's Jimmy Robertson, 35, in the second semi-final on Saturday.

And the Australian, who turned 40 on Friday, won 6-1 to stay in contention for a first Players Championship title.

«It was hard fought,» he said on ITV4. «There were a lot of frames that could have gone either way.

»But the difference was that, in the bigger moments, I probably played better than him."

Jimmy Robertson spurned opportunities in each of the first three frames, with Neil Robertson making a break of 86 in the first before going 3-0 up.

Jimmy Robertson gave himself hope in the last frame before the interval, with the world number 38 winning it on a respotted black after getting level on 67-67.

But Neil Robertson took the next frame and although his English rival fought back in the sixth frame to trail 43-31, he missed a straightforward yellow to give the Australian the chance to secure victory.

Hawkins, the world number 11, has reached the final in Wolverhampton despite being the 16th and lowest seed, while Neil Robertson is the sixth.

Hawkins, 42, won the Players Championship in 2014 while Robertson has lost in three finals, most recently to Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2019.