The final of the 2024 Welsh Open will be played today over a best of 17 format and the line-up is one not many would have predicted, but ne i’m rather happy with. Indeed, Gary Wilson will face Martin O’Donnell in the battle for the Ray Reardon Trophy. Here are the reports by WST:

Afternoon session: Marin O’Donnell beat Elliot Slessor by 6-5

O’DONNELL INTO FINAL WITH SUPERB CENTURY

World number 76 Martin O’Donnell reached his first ranking event final by making a tremendous break of 126 in the deciding frame to beat Elliot Slessor 6-5 at the BetVictor Welsh Open.

A high-quality semi-final in Llandudno went down to the wire, and it was O’Donnell who finished the contest in style to set up a final clash with John Higgins or Gary Wilson on Sunday. Having knocked out World Champion Luca Brecel on Friday night, O’Donnell was able to keep his career-best run going and now has the chance to play for the Ray Reardon Trophy and £80,000 top prize.

It’s some shift in fortunes for a player who was relegated from the tour in 2022 and spent a season on the amateur scene, when he must have wondered whether he would ever return to the pro ranks. The Bedfordshire-based cueman regained his card via Q Tour in 2023 and is now playing the best snooker of a career which started in 2012. 

O’Donnell could continue the sequence of surprise winners of a title which has been captured by Jordan Brown, Joe Perry and Robert Milkins over the last three years. Victory would also vault O’Donnell into the top 16 of the one-year ranking list and earn him a place at next week’s Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford. 

Slessor, ranked 50th, was also aiming to reach his first ranking final, but has now lost all three of the semi-finals he has contested. The Gateshead potter made four breaks over 50 in the match, but admitted afterwards his safety was “embarrassing.”

After sharing the first two frames, O’Donnell took the lead with a break of 78. He led 52-0 in the fourth when he missed a tricky red to a top corner, and Slessor punished him with an 82 clearance. After the interval, a run of 61 helped O’Donnell regain the lead, and he had a clear chance in the sixth but ran out of position on 47, letting Slessor in for an excellent 55 for 3-3.    

O’Donnell came from 40-0 down to take the next with an 88, then got the better of frame eight for 5-3. Back came Slessor with 95 to close the gap, and he took the tenth with a break of 65 after his opponent had missed a routine black at 11-0. The decider began with a cagey bout of safety, resolved by an error from Slessor, leaving a red over a centre pocket, and that proved his last shot. 

“It feels amazing,” said O’Donnell. “You find out about yourself in those situations. Elliot put me under a lot of pressure from 5-3. So I’m really pleased with that break in the decider. It means everything to reach my first final. There have been some dark times in the last few years. My fiancée Anna and kids have picked me up and got me through those dark days.

“When you’re off tour you find out whether you have still got the stomach for it. It feels like a long way back, because the amateur game is very competitive, you are not guaranteed to get back on. I got a new cue which made a difference, and also got back with my coach Ian McCulloch who really helps me on the mental side. I worked on myself every day because I wanted to make sure my head was right for the time when I got back on the tour. 

“Anna has seen me crying my eyes out at night, not knowing what to do. I don’t want to be a player who can’t let the game go, but I have never felt as if I was finished with snooker. I still have business to take care of, and hopefully than will start tomorrow.” 

Slessor said: “I didn’t play well enough, I was useless for most of the game. My safety was shocking, embarrassing. You can’t give that many chances away against someone as good as him. I left a red over the pocket at the end, and Martin made a great break so he deserved to win. I have played some good stuff this week but it’s very disappointing to play like that in the semis. It’s absolutely sickening.”

I’m really pleased for Martin. It will be difficult but I’d love to see him win today. The way he picked himself up after being relegated, his openness about his struggles, the work he certainly put in to change his game… and now being in his first final as number 76 in his first year of a tour card. You have to admire that.

It’s interesting to read that he worked with Ian McCulloch. They come across as completely different personalities. I got to know Ian quite well in his last years on the tour. He’s quite the character … rough as sandpaper but we got along well. Ian, who turned pro in 1992, never won a title, his highest ranking was 16, but he was hard as nails at the table and, from what I heard from several sources, when playing exhibitions, he refused to be payed if he hadn’t made at least one century on the night. And he still owes me a few glasses of wine … eh Ian? Getting the man to open his wallet at the bar was about as hard as beating him at the table! 😂

Evening session: Gary Wilson beat John Higgins by 6-4

WILSON MAKES 147 AND BEATS HIGGINS

Gary Wilson is just one win away from a second ranking title in as many months, having beaten John Higgins 6-4 in a fantastic semi-final at the BetVictor Welsh Open. 

World number 16 Wilson won the BetVictor Scottish Open in December and now has the chance to land a third career ranking title, when he faces Martin O’Donnell over 17 frames on Sunday, with the Ray Reardon Trophy and £80,000 top prize on the line.

It was a dream night in Llandudno for the Wallsend cueman as he beat one of the all-time greats in Higgins, as well as making the fifth 147 of his career. Overall it was an outstanding performance from the 38-year-old as he made two centuries and four more breaks over 50, eventually getting over the line in the tenth frame after Higgins threatened a fight-back from 5-1 down. Wilson is through to his fifth ranking final, and if he captures the title he’ll become the only player other than Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan to win multiple ranking titles this season.

Higgins has shown consistent form this term, reaching four ranking semi-finals, but has come up short in each of those and is still waiting for his first ranking title since the 2021 Players Championship.

Wilson was an target for a 147 in the opening frame until he missed the penultimate red on 104, then made amends in the next with his marvellous maximum. He added an 82 in the next then dominated a scrappy fourth frame to lead 4-0. Higgins finally got going after the interval with a break of 93, before Wilson went 5-1 ahead with an 89.

In frame seven, Wilson looked to be cruising past the winning post until he missed a tricky thin cut on the black on 55, allowing Higgins to launch his recovery with a trademark 69 clearance. In the eighth, Wilson over-cut a risky red when he led 49-0, and again Higgins took advantage with 66 to close the gap. The Scot’s run of 78 turned up the heat, with the scoreline at 5-4.

But Wilson kept his composure, and executed a superb red to centre when he led 24-0 in frame ten, setting him up for a match-winning 73.

“It got a bit twitchy towards the end because I missed chances to kill it off,” admitted Wilson. “John is a such a class player and if you miss you know you might as well set the balls up for the next frame because he’s going to clear up. At 5-4 I knew I had to take a chance and not give him another sniff. When I potted the red to the middle, I knew that was my chance to win. I am feeling better about my game and more consistent. 

“Martin will be excited and he’ll want to enjoy the occasion tomorrow. I feel the same, it’s an opportunity to win a big trophy and I’ll be well up for it.”

Higgins added: “Gary was deadly for the first three and a half frames, I was just sitting there like a bystander, he played incredible and made a great 147. It’s a tough sport because I knew I was hitting the ball well and I showed that at the end when I came back. It was a great game to be involved in and Gary played superb. I was just enjoying it. In the last frame I went for a red to the green bag because, the way I was feeling, I thought I would get it, but I missed and he potted an unbelievable red to the middle. It has been a good week, hopefully I can have another run in Telford next week.”

Here is Gary’s 147, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel:

Yesterday results mean that neither the line-up nor the fixtures of the Players Championship – that starts tomorrow – are set yet. Martin needs to win today to be in it. Gary has already qualified. Those uncertainties are not helping the promotion of the event… that’s why WST published this yesterday :

TRUMP AND O’SULLIVAN FIXTURES CONFIRMED

Top seed Judd Trump will play on the opening night of the Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford on Monday evening, with Ronnie O’Sullivan to play on Tuesday night.

The second event of the 2024 Players Series runs from February 19-25 at the Telford International Centre, contested by the top 16 on the one-year rankings.

The full line-up is yet to be confirmed, as both Martin O’Donnell and Elliot Slessor can climb into the top 16 by winning the BetVictor Welsh Open, and one of them will be in the final in Llandudno on Sunday. If either of them win the title, they will knock Chris Wakelin out of the top 16.

If Wakelin remains in the field, he will face Trump at 7pm on Monday. If Slessor or O’Donnell qualify for Telford, then Trump’s opponent will be Zhou Yuelong.

O’Sullivan will play his first match on Tuesday at 7pm, against either Zhou Yuelong or Noppon Saengkham. 

The draw will be confirmed on Sunday night, with all fixtures to be confirmed on Monday.

No doubts, Chris Wakelin will be Gary Wilson’s biggest fan today!