The Englishman, who was relegated from the World Snooker Tour at the end of last season, came through a field of 94 cueists in the Swedish capital to make the perfect start to his bid to return to the professional ranks.
Miah faced a tough route to the final as he took on fellow former professionals in each of the five rounds leading up to the title match.
A trio of half-century breaks helped Miah to a whitewash victory over Sean Maddocks and he battled through against Ashley Carty in the next round by compiling a break of 50 in the deciding frame.
The 32-year-old, who first turned professional in 2013, then confirmed his place in the concluding day at the Snookerhallen by defeating Ryan Thomerson 4-1 with a top break of 92.
Reigning World Seniors Snooker champion Alfie Burden provided tough opposition in the quarter-final, but Miah was able to secure a 4-1 victory before downing Peter Lines 4-2 with breaks of 71, 61 and 109 to reach the title match.
There he faced fellow countryman Whelan, who had reached the first Q Tour final of his career by defeating 16-year-old Ukrainian sensation Michael Larkov, who had compiled the tournament high break of 140 earlier in the week, in the semi-final.
The 27-year-old made the perfect start to the best-of-seven frame final by firing in a break of 105 in the opener.
Miah quickly hit back, however, moving ahead for the first time at 2-1 with a break of 75 before stealing frame four from 50 points behind with a 76 clearance.
Whelan rallied to take frame five and looked set to force a decider in the next, but a risky blue was missed leaving Miah able to clear the last three colours and secure the title.
Post-match, Miah said: “I am happy with the way I finished off the final. I’m not 100% satisfied, but I did enough to win so there are a lot of positives to take from the weekend.”
“It’s been a huge adjustment but I think I needed this to gain some confidence again. I just need to win a couple more events and secure my tour card for next season. That is my only goal for this campaign.” said Miah.
Bai Yulu has defeated Ng On Yee 4-2 to win the Taom UK Women’s Snooker Championship for a second time following a high-quality final at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England.
The 22-year-old from China becomes the first player since Ng in 2017-18 to successfully defend both the UK and World Championship titles during consecutive years and maintains her 100% record of having reached at least the final of both events since her Tour debut.
Glory represents her fifth ranking victory overall since 2023, seeing her equal Kim Shaw and Sue Foster in the all-time list of ranking title winners on the WWS Tour.
Having won the title for the first time a year ago, the top seed made smooth progress through the round robin group stage on Saturday, before she saw off Deborah Fladgate – who secured her place in the knockout rounds following a dramatic black ball playoff – to reach the final day.
Victories against English duo Tessa Davidson and Rebecca Kenna – who both came close to forcing a deciding frame – would see her through to the title match for a third successive year.
Awaiting her was four-time UK champion Ng On Yee, who herself had navigated a draw which featured former world champions Reanne Evans, Baipat Siripaporn and Mink Nutcharut to earn a ranking final with Bai for the first time on the WWS Tour.
The decisive match would prove to be a thrilling contest as the first four frames were split with Ng hitting breaks of 53 and 50, either side of a stunning 102 clearance by Bai to equal the tournament high break set by Mink Nutcharut earlier in the competition and earn a share of the high break prize.
As the match became increasingly tactical as it entered the final frames, it was Bai who would emerge victorious with breaks of 46 and 30 enough to see her over the line and continue her reign as UK champion for a second year.
Phoemphul, Davidson claim titles
The Under-21 competition saw an all-Thai final as Narucha Phoemphul defeated Phakwalan Kongkaew 2-0 to lift her third junior crown since November 2024.
The 19-year-old Thai talent – who was only denied a place in the main tournament semi-finals by a gutsy comeback from Rebecca Kenna – defeated Daisy May Oliver and compatriot Kongkaew to earn her first UK Junior title and her defeat to the same opponent at the World Under-21 Championship earlier this year.
In the Seniors competition meanwhile it was runaway number one Tessa Davidson who extended her unbeaten run to an incredible two years with a 2-0 final victory against Charlene Chai of Singapore.
The 56-year-old did not drop a frame as she defeated Rose Nicholson, Selina Dean and Chai – who was competing on UK soil for the first time since 2017 – to lift the title for the third time in Leeds.
Finally, the 6-Red Challenge Cup competition was won by India’s Anupama Ramachandran following a 2-1 final victory against Charlene Chai.
The 2023 World Cup winner – who had narrowly lost out to Narucha Phoemphul at the last 16 stage of the main competition – defeated Audrey Chua, Ellise Scott, So Man Yan, Zeinab Shahi and finally Chai to earn her first individual trophy on the WWS Tour.
4 thoughts on “Amateur and Women Snooker News – 01.09.2025”
Is it going to assure some good ranking on the women’s tour to Bai Yulu to keep her professional status did she happen to lose it? I was disappointed she didn’t play in Saudi, which offered many points. I know she played somewhere representing China and maybe she had to, but it’s a shame nevertheless.
She played in the World Games, as did Xiao Guodong. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t really their personal choice indeed.
A key turning point in the WWS final was frame 3. Ng On Yee was on a break of 50, with a chance to continue, but didn’t fancy a medium distance pink and played a safety shot. Bai Yulu did extremely well to clear the last 3 reds and ultimately won the frame on the black. If On Yee is going to make progress – particularly on the WST tour – she will need to be more positive. You can’t rely on protecting 40-point leads against good players.
You are absolutely right Lewis but I’m afraid that this may be very difficult for On Yee. Maybe you have met her and spoken to her, as I did many times. She’s a lovely person, calm, friendly and extremely dedicated to what she sees as her duties. But “daring” is certainly not a word I would associated with her. Hopefully, this is something David Roe notices and adresses with her as part of his duties as a coach at the HK institute of sports.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Is it going to assure some good ranking on the women’s tour to Bai Yulu to keep her professional status did she happen to lose it? I was disappointed she didn’t play in Saudi, which offered many points. I know she played somewhere representing China and maybe she had to, but it’s a shame nevertheless.
She played in the World Games, as did Xiao Guodong. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t really their personal choice indeed.
A key turning point in the WWS final was frame 3. Ng On Yee was on a break of 50, with a chance to continue, but didn’t fancy a medium distance pink and played a safety shot. Bai Yulu did extremely well to clear the last 3 reds and ultimately won the frame on the black. If On Yee is going to make progress – particularly on the WST tour – she will need to be more positive. You can’t rely on protecting 40-point leads against good players.
You are absolutely right Lewis but I’m afraid that this may be very difficult for On Yee. Maybe you have met her and spoken to her, as I did many times. She’s a lovely person, calm, friendly and extremely dedicated to what she sees as her duties. But “daring” is certainly not a word I would associated with her. Hopefully, this is something David Roe notices and adresses with her as part of his duties as a coach at the HK institute of sports.