Yesterday was the last day of professional snooker in the year 2025 and it saw the triumph of Chris Wakelin at the 2025 Scottish Open. He beat Chang Bingyu by 9-2.
Congratulations Chris Wakelin
The first “mini session” ended on a 2-2 score. After that it was one way traffic.
It was Chang’s first final and he probably struggled with the pressure generated by the circumstances. It isn’t the first time a player struggles badly when playing in their first final. Before yesterday Chang’s best result was a QF at the 2019 Haining Open, an APTC.
One sided defeats happened before and happened even to vastly experienced players. Only this season, we had Neil Robertson’s 10-0 whitewash of Stuart Bingham at the 2025 World Grand Prix and Mark Williams’ 10-3 win over Shaun Murphy at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix.
Hopefully Chang will learn from the experience and will not beat himself up. Despite this heavy defeat he should be proud of what he achieved this week.
As for Chris Wakelin, he’s always been a very capable player but, like so many in this sport, he went through difficult periods, struggling with mental health issues. I’m very happy for him and his family.
Chris Wakelin stormed to an emotional tournament win at the BetVictor Scottish Open, taking eight frames in a row to crush talented Chinese 23-year-old Chang Bingyu 9-2.
Victory sees Wakelin capture ranking title glory for the second time in his career, having triumphed in the 2023 Shoot Out. He powered over the line in equally dominant fashion on that occasion with a stunning 119 break in the final of the single frame event.
However, today’s win is by far and away the biggest moment of Wakelin’s 12-year professional career. At the third time of asking he has prevailed in a full format final.
Wakelin was thrashed 9-3 by Judd Trump in the 2023 Northern Ireland Open final and beaten 10-7 by Ding Junhui in the 2024 International Championship title match. Those experiences stood him in good stead against Chang, who was competing in his maiden final.
The win is testament to world number 17 Wakelin’s steely resilience after a frustrating couple of months. The Englishman missed out on qualification to the recent Victorian Plumbing UK Championship and the upcoming Johnstone’s Paint Masters by just one place in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings.
Today’s £100,000 top prize will move Wakelin up to 14th in the rankings, while Chang moves from 70th in the world to 62nd.
Heavy defeat ends a stunning week for Chang in disappointing fashion. However, he defeated a star studded cast to reach the final. Chang’s impressive hitlist this week includes: Stephen Maguire, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Mark Allen.
Chang led 2-1 during the afternoon session, before the match was completely turned on its head. Wakelin embarked on a five frame blitz to end 6-2 ahead and he carried that momentum into this evening.
Breaks of 50, 67 and 104 saw him blitz past the finishing post and get his hands on the Stephen Hendry Trophy. It was an emotional family triumph, with fiancée Lucy and daughter Mia, who celebrated her first birthday yesterday, in attendance.
“It was an incredible game. I felt like I got on top of him early in the match. That first session was a bit of a killer. I came out tonight and I was determined to get the job done quickly and as pain free as possible. I’m absolutely delighted with how I played today,” said Wakelin.
“I believed in myself ahead of the match. Just believing in myself over the last couple of years has been the catalyst. Going to bed last night I was nervous and I didn’t sleep very well. It was such a big match and so much on the line. I had Ronnie O’Sullivan say a few months ago I would win a big tournament. For other people to say it is lovely, but you have to back it up.
“I couldn’t have wished for a better time to do it with my daughter turning one yesterday. My coach Linda’s family live 20 minutes from here and my partner Lucy has been an absolute godsend. To be standing here with the trophy is for all of those guys.
“For the first two months when I turned professional I thought this day would happen, then I found out everyone is amazing and I wasn’t very good back then. Back in those days I had my old coach, God rest his soul Gary Morris, he always told me I was good enough. A few months before he passed away I managed to win the Shoot Out and bring that trophy to him. I’d like to think he’s looking down on me.”
Chang said: “I didn’t think I could make it this far or be in this final. I’m happy because I’ve made huge progress. I must thank my parents. They have put in a lot of effort to make me a professional. Tonight wasn’t my night and Chris played very well. I couldn’t leave him any chances.”
Ronnie O'Sullivan 