Robertson set for Players Championship final with Hawkins

Neil Robertson secured a place in the final of the Cazoo Players Championship in Wolverhampton with a hard-fought 6-1 win over namesake Jimmy Robertson on Saturday.

Despite the convincing nature of the scoreline, the Australian was forced to dig deep throughout a series of scrappy frames before finally booking a date with Barry Hawkins in Sunday's showpiece.

The world number four began impressively with a break of 86 in the opening frame, but the next two were tight, drawn-out affairs which he only narrowly edged.

Jimmy Robertson hit back to take the fourth frame on a respotted black after nervelessly clearing the colours.

The fifth was another close contest, but Neil Robertson snatched it before then moving 5-1 ahead by taking advantage of his opponent missing a straightforward yellow after putting himself in a winning position.

Both players then had opportunities in frame seven, but it was Neil Robertson who eventually prevailed after a break of 53.

The 2010 world champion admitted after the match he had not been at his best but felt conditions at Aldersley Leisure Village were not favourable.

He 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