Ricky Walden

RICKY Walden booked his place in Sunday’s International Championship final in dominant style thrashing Robert Milkins 9-2.

The Chester potter now stands just one win away from collecting his third major title following his triumphs in the 2008 Shanghai Masters and the Wuxi Classic four years later.

Walden, ranked number 11 in the world, will face either Mark Williams or Mark Allen who will battle it out in the second semi-final tomorrow (Saturday).

The former World Championship semi-finalist faced little difficulty throughout as he extended Milkins’ poor record in major ranking semi-finals and made him wait longer to reach his first ranking final.

Leading 3-2 from the opening five frames, Walden won six frames on the bounce over the course of two sessions to seal an emphatic victory. Breaks of 107, 54, 87 and 74 swept him to victory.

After the match Walden said: “There were a few scrappy frames early on, Rob missed a few chances and let me off the hook a bit.

“I kept my foot on the gas and played steady. For a semi-final, I felt as if I was hitting the ball nicely.

“Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll just rest, go for a run and hit a few balls. I’m really looking forward to the final. It’s tough for me to say who I’d prefer to play because Allen and Williams are both brilliant players.”

Milkins, who suffered his fourth semi-final defeat in major ranking events, wrote on Twitter: “Sorry to disappoint anyone wanting a close match today, Ricky outclassed me and really had no answer to his scoring power today!”