Neil Robertson v Chris Wakelin live stream | English Open Semi-Final preview

Neil Robertson and Chris Wakelin go head to head for the right to play Wu Yize in Sunday’s English Open final at Brentwood Centre.

A showdown with Yize is at stake for both players following the Chinese’s comprehensive 6-0 whitewash of Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the opening semi-final on Saturday.

The gulf in experience between the players at this stage is evident. Indeed, this is Robertson’s 51st ranking semi-final appearance; 48 more than his opponent.

Following a disappointing 2023-24 season, in which he felt out of the world’s top 16 and failed to qualify for the Crucible, Robertson is enjoying a resurgence so far this term.

After reaching the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters quarter-finals, the Australian has built on that momentum this week, and has dropped just four frames on the way to his eighth Home Nations semi-final.

It is also a fourth in this event for Robertson, who lifted the Steve Davis trophy in 2021, and is eyeing a fourth triumph in the series.

The 23-time ranking event winner leads the head-to-head 5-1 including a resounding victory by that scoreline in their most recent encounter at last season’s World Open, where he was in impressive scoring form with breaks of 140, 122, 109 and 91.

Former Shootout champion Wakelin will be hoping he has more of a foothold in this contest, as he eyes a third ranking final appearance.

A runner-up in last season’s Northern Ireland Open, the world number 22 is certainly playing well enough to match that performance here.

After beating former ranking event winners Zhang Anda and Joe Perry, he recovered from 3-0 down to edge out Pang Junxu, before battling to a hard-earned 5-2 win over world number three Mark Allen in the quarter-finals.

With world number 41 Yize awaiting the winner, whoever prevails will go into Sunday’s final as favourite to lift the trophy.

The match gets under way at 7pm BST on Saturday and will be contested over the best of 11 frames at Brentwood Centre.