Debutant Yan Bingtao can become the youngest player to win the Masters in 25 years today.

The 20-year-old goes up against the vastly experienced John Higgins in a novel final pairing [Sunday] in Milton Keynes.

Bingtao, playing in the competition for the first time, has produced some excellent performances, most notably against Stuart Bingham in his semi-final success on Saturday.

If he were to claim the top prize, he would become the youngest player to take the title since a 19-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan in 1995.

However, the Chinese player was subdued when asked if he believed he could all the way.

"Maybe. This is a big tournament with only the top 16 players," he said of his chances yesterday.

On his win over Bingham - by a margin of six frames to five - he commented: "Today I played very good and made so many excellent long pots. I controlled the table and cueball and the safety was good too."

Scot Higgins is looking for his third Masters success, having already enjoyed outright victories in 1999 and 2006.

He booked his place in the decider with a hard-fought last-four win over Dave Gilbert, winning 6-4.

Despite having significantly more experience than his opponent, Higgins is well aware of the talent he possesses.

"I am delighted to get through," he said on Saturday.

"I knew it was going to be a hard game just to get through to the final and can get better.

"I personally think semi-finals are the worst game, you are close to being in a showpiece and David did not play great.

"Yan is a brilliant player and he has an old head on young shoulders but we all know that. He is starting to come through now and he believes he can win compared to previous years."

The final is a best-of-19 frames and gets underway at 1pm.