Antonsen, the third seed, retired halfway through the second game after Zii Jia had taken a 13-8 lead, because of a leg injury. Zii Jia, the eighth seed, had taken the first game 21-17 in the hour-long encounter.

The world No 14 will take on unseeded compatriot Ng Tze Yong, who earlier defeated Japanese Kanta Tsuneyama 21-12, 21-16.

In the first game, Zii Jia led all the way in the 28-minute battle which saw the Malaysian winning two challenges, including his final point before winning 21-17.

Brimming with confidence, Zii Jia went ahead 4-1 in two minutes, but Antonsen fought back to reduce the deficit and levelled the score at 6-6. It was a point-for-point exchange after this, but the Malaysian unleashed his smashes often to clinch the opener.

In the second game, Zii Jia took an 11-6 lead at the breather. Antonsen fought back but had to retire at 13-8 due to a leg injury.

The victory gave Zii Jia revenge against Antonsen, who had defeated him in the last 16 of the World Championships in Copenhagen in August.

He last won a World Tour title in May last year at the Thailand Open, adding to his 2018 Taiwan Open and 2021 All England successes.

The clash between Zii Jian Tze Yong is set to be the first all-Malaysian final in a World Tour-level event in seven years.

The previous one was between Lee Chong Wei and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin in 2016 at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold.

The winner in today’s final is set to walk away with US$31,500 (RM148,000).