Barry Hawkins and Jack Lisowski will face each other today in the final of the 2026 Welsh Open in Llandudno. Here is how we got there after yesterday’s semi-finals.
Barry Hawkins remained on course for a fifth ranking title as he survived a Wu Yize charge to win 6-4 and reach the final of the BetVictor Welsh Open in Llandudno.
Wu stormed back from 4-1 down to 4-4 and looked sure to go ahead but a missed black on a break of 59 proved the key moment of the contest, as Hawkins regained the initiative and took the last two frames. The 46-year-old Londoner is into a 13th ranking final and has the chance to win a first title since the 2023 European Masters. In Sunday’s best-of-17 final he will meet John Higgins or Jack Lisowski for the Ray Reardon Trophy and a top prize of £100,000.
Before this week it had been a season of few highlights for world number 14 Hawkins as he had failed to reach a semi-final. And his chances looked slim when he arrived in North Wales as a back injury left him on the brink of pulling out. He battled through the pain in an opening 4-3 win over David Lilley, and went on to knock out Mark Williams and Neil Robertson in a superb run. He is into the Welsh Open final for the second time, having lost the first 9-7 to Higgins in 2018.
Guaranteed £45,000, Hawkins has already moved from 15th to 13th on the Sportsbet.io One Year rankings, and victory tomorrow would almost certainly earn him a place in the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship in Manchester in four weeks time.
Former Crucible finalist Hawkins dominated a scrappy opening frame and he led 53-0 in the next when he went in-off attempting safety, and China’s 22-year-old Wu punished him with a fine 73 clearance. In frame three, Wu trailed 42-18 when he missed a tough black to a baulk corner, letting Hawkins in for a run of 42 to regain the lead. The Englishman went on to make breaks of 72 and 66 to stretch his lead to 4-1.
Early in frame six, Hawkins miscued in trying to pot a red with the rest, and Wu’s run of 83 gave him a foothold. Just 18 minutes later the tie was in the balance as Wu fired breaks of 74 and 122 for 4-4. Frame nine was reracked after a long stalemate, then Wu converted a long red and looked in full control until his surprising miss on a routine black on 59. Hawkins ran out of position on 37, but later converted a long pot on the yellow and cleared for 5-4. The next was a fragmented affair but Wu failed to pot a ball and runs of 24 and 25 helped Hawkins crawl over the winning line.
“Wu threw everything at me from 4-1,” said Hawkins, who was runner-up in the UK Championship and German Masters last season. “I played well up to 4-1, then when I miscued with the rest, that sparked him into life. I was just sitting in my seat, he was potting unbelievable balls and didn’t look like missing. He looks amazing when he starts doing that, the way he hits the ball.
“To get the chance at 4-4 when he missed the black from nowhere, that was a relief, and winning that frame settled me down. I felt good today, it would be nice to knock a few centuries in, hopefully I can do that in the final. It would be brilliant to win, that’s what we are all trying to do from the start of the season. If you get the chance you have to try to grab it with both hands. I have been trying hard and knocking on the door for a while, I came so close last year.”
Wu, who won his first ranking title at the International Championship earlier this season, said: “It doesn’t feel great because I had a clear chance to go 5–4 up. In the frames I won, I played very well and scored heavily, my scoring was really strong. It was just in the ninth frame, there was a black ball where I lost my concentration for a moment and made a mistake, which gave my opponent the chance to come back to the table.
“Maybe it was down to some small details and certain key shots. Sometimes I didn’t fully think things through before getting down on the shot, so that’s something I’ll need to adjust and improve going forward. Overall I performed pretty well this week. Today there are some regrets, of course, but that’s sport – when you make mistakes, you have to pay the price.“
Jack Lisowski made one of the best breaks of his career in the deciding frame to beat John Higgins 6-5 and reach the final of the BetVictor Welsh Open – a result which also earned him a huge £150,000 bonus.
The bonus goes to the player earning the most money across the four BetVictor Home Nations Series events and Mark Allen had been in pole position since winning the BetVictor English Open last September. Lisowski had to reach the final this week in Llandudno to overtake Allen and he did so tonight in the most dramatic fashion, capping off a tremendous contest with a match-winning visit reminiscent of Alex Higgins’ famous semi-final break at the 1982 World Championship.
It’s the biggest pay-day of Lisowski’s career, eclipsing the £100,000 he banked by capturing his first ranking crown at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in October. And he has another crucial fixture to look forward to on Sunday as he faces Barry Hawkins over 17 frames for the Ray Reardon Trophy and the chance to double his tally of titles in a breakthrough season.
BetVictor Series Bonus Winners 2020 Judd Trump 2021 Judd Trump 2022 John Higgins 2023 Robert Milkins 2024 Judd Trump 2025 Neil Robertson 2026 Jack Lisowski
Gloucestershire’s 34-year-old Lisowski is into his eighth ranking final and victory tomorrow would have significant spin offs as it could potentially earn him places at the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship in Manchester and the World Championship at the Crucible.
Higgins – who misses another chance to become the oldest ever ranking event winner – dominated the opening frame, then Lisowski got the better of a 30-minute second, resolving a battle on the colours with an excellent long pot on the blue. A break of 73 saw Higgins regain the lead and in the fourth he trailed 45-32 when he trapped his opponent in a snooker on the final yellow, and from the chance that followed he cleared for 3-1.
After the interval, Lisowski moved up a gear with rapid breaks of 95, 79 and 138, winning three frames in just 30 minutes to lead 4-3. Back came Higgins with a run of 82 and he led 21-0 in the next when he ran out of position and missed a risky long blue, and Lisowski capitalised with 58 which proved enough for 5-4. A run of 49 helped give Higgins the tenth for 5-5.
In the decider, Lisowski converted a red to a centre pocket to earn a scoring chance, then executed a series of difficult pots to keep the break going, the cue ball roving around the table. Eventually he found position and went on to make a fabulous 78 before receiving the BetVictor Series trophy.
“It feels amazing, what a match and what a frame,” said world number 22 Lisowski. “That’s probably as much pressure as I am ever going to experience, and to make a break like that – it’s the most satisfying frame I have ever played. I am proud of myself and looking forward to tomorrow now. I just kept potting and going for my shots. I have been so tense all day, thinking about the bonus. Now that is all released.
“I whacked my tip at the interval and tried to make it harder. I had no rhythm and the balls were going messy. I knew I had to attack, that’s the only way I can play, then they all started going in. It was an incredible game to be a part of, I really enjoyed it. It’s very special for me because John Higgins was my idol, I’ll never forget this match.
“It’s going to be hard to reset for tomorrow. I’ll have to calm down and get to sleep, otherwise I won’t be the same player. It would mean everything to win another title. I have been very poor in the last few tournaments, I lost some confidence and then the intensity wasn’t there in practice. I have learned that and it could be a big lesson for me.“
Again, with only one match by session to report on, WST’s pieces are exhaustive enough. I haven’t much to add regarding the matches themselves.
Barry Hawkins’ maturity and experience made the difference in the first match, as both players acknowledged. I’m certain that Wu will learn from this and that we will see a lot more of him for many years to come. Meanwhile. I’m happy for Barry. He’s a very very good player, one that would certainly have won more titles in any other era: he had to cope with that “infernal trio” – Ronnie, John Higgins and Willo – through his entire career so far. He’s also a kind and lovely man who is, maybe, too humble for his own good at times.
I’m delighted that Jack managed to beat John Higgins. Based on talent only, Jack has “underperformed” in his career so far. There were a number of reasons for that. He suffered serious health issues as we all know. Also, somehow, he was always in Judd Trump’s shadow as they “grew up” in the sports together. John Higgins may not be 100% the player he once was, he is still a very top player, and still has the nous and the will to win that makes him so hard to beat.
I like both finalists, and will be happy for the winner and sorry for the loser, no matter who wins today.
Also, I’m glad that this stupid bonus story is over and we won’t be told about it at every occasion … until next year. I’m glad it went to Jack … it had to go to someone anyway.
