Ding fends off Dott rally to reach Chengdu final

Ding Junhui is one win away from a rare hat-trick of ranking event titles after beating Graeme Dott 9-7 in the semi-finals of the International Championship. [Photo/world snooker]

Ding Junhui is one win away from a hat-trick of ranking titles after fending off a Graeme Dott rally in the semi-finals of the International Championship in Chengdu.

The in-form Ding produced a tremendous clearance in the 16th frame to end the tenacious challenge of Dott, who had battled hard after falling 7-3 behind.

Ding will face Hong Kong's Marco Fu in Sunday's best-of-19 final.

Having won the Shanghai Masters in September and the Indian Open in October, the 26-year-old is bidding for three consecutive ranking crowns.

The pair shared the first four frames before Ding pounced on a loose safety on the final brown to take a 5-3 lead at the end of the first session.

A 31 clearance gave Ding frame nine and runs of 50 and 40 in the next put him 7-3 up.

However, former world champion Dott won three frames in a row with breaks of 72, 75 and 83 before Ding stopped him drawing level with a superb 121, then Dott's 57 kept him within a frame at 8-7.

The match appeared to be heading for a deciding frame as Dott built a 62-6 lead in the 16th. Ding came to the table with several reds close to cushions, but fashioned an outstanding 63 clearance to earn his place in the final.