Mark Selby blanked fellow Englishman Mark King 6-0 in the semifinals of the Bank of Communications Shanghai Masters yesterday to show why he is the world No. 1 in waiting.

World No. 2 Selby will take on world No. 1 Mark Williams in today's final. Welshman Williams outlasted another former world champion Neil Robertson of Australia 6-5 at the Shanghai Grand Stage late last night.

King went into the match buoyed by his surprise 6-4 victory over Selby at the Masters in January, but was guilty of squandering a series of chances throughout the match as Selby made him pay for his profligacy.

Selby opened with a break of 60 and never really looked back as modest efforts of 49, 33, 49, 36 helped him move 4-0 clear at the mid-session interval.

King should have won the fifth frame, but broke down on a run of 64 by snookering himself on the final yellow. He managed to miss the yellow before holing the white. Selby stepped in to mop up the colors to snatch the frame on the black for a 5-0 lead.

It was indicative of the nature of King's day as a 71 in the final frame from Selby - the highest of the match - helped him over the winning line.