Kyren Wilson reached the final of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open for the second time by beating Sam Craigie 6-5 in an incredible finish to their semi-final in Belfast.
Craigie will be devastated to have missed chances to reach his first ranking final, and experience eventually paid off for Wilson as he came from 5-3 down to take the last three frames. Nerves affected both players in a thrilling decider but 2024 World Champion Wilson cleared from yellow to pink to reach his 19th ranking final.
On Sunday he’ll face Mark Williams or Jak Jones, with first to nine frames to lift the Alex Higgins Trophy and win £100,000. Wilson will be aiming for an 11th ranking title, which would put him 12th on his own on the all-time list ahead of Jimmy White, and it would be his first ranking crown since the Players Championship 19 months ago.
Since then, the 34-year-old Englishman has won huge invitation titles at the Shanghai Masters and the Masters, but those did not count towards his ranking tally and on the projected list for qualification for the 2027 World Championship he remains outside the top 16. However, victory tomorrow would boost his position and set him on track for a guaranteed Crucible berth.
Breaks of 54 and 95 gave Wilson an early 2-0 lead, then world number 72 Craigie pulled one back with a 78 in frame three. Wilson’s 98 made it 3-1 at the interval but he made a series of errors over the next four frames as underdog Craigie took control. Notably in the sixth, Wilson missed a short-range red to a top corner on 51 and his opponent later punished him with a 56 clearance, and further runs of 55 and 100 from Craigie left him on the verge of victory at 5-3.
A run of 60 helped world number nine Wilson pull one back, then in frame ten Craigie had the balls at his mercy but on 28 he went in-off after potting the blue and flicking off another red, handing his opponent the chance to make 56 for 5-5.
Tyneside’s 32-year-old Craigie, playing the biggest frame of a pro career which started in 2011, had a scoring chance after a huge fluke on the blue and made 49 before missing a tough long red. Wilson’s clearance attempt ended when the pink hit the near jaw of a centre pocket, but Craigie then failed to clip the last red into a baulk corner. Still the momentum swung back and forth as Wilson missed the yellow to centre, then Craigie’s effort from long range was several inches wide. Finally, Wilson settled the result with a gritty clearance.
“I’m relieved and delighted, I wanted to be part of the showpiece final,” said Wilson, who beat Judd Trump in the final here two years ago. “The venue here is fantastic when it gets to one table, and if I’d gone out in the semis, it would have been bittersweet with how well I’ve played this week.
“I’m proud of the way I managed to bounce back from 5-3. The ranking points are very top-heavy in terms of money, so if you can get to the final, the bonuses that come with it are massive. And obviously it’s another opportunity to win a big tournament.
“Maybe Sam went a little bit too aggressive towards the end. He took a red on down the cushion, which was very high tariff, and it gave me the chance to get back into the frame.
“It would be lovely to have my family here tomorrow. We’ve just got to rely on the storm not to ruin that, but we’ll see. If I play Jak, it’s a repeat of the 2024 world final, my biggest ever success, so that would be great. On the other hand, you’ve got an all-time legend in Mark Williams who I really look up to. He’s such a great ambassador for snooker. He does it in his own unique way, which is fascinating, and I would love to play him in the final.”
Jak Jones came from 4-1 down to beat Mark Williams 6-5 in an enthralling semi-final at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, setting up a repeat of the 2024 Crucible final against Kyren Wilson.
On a day of high drama at the Waterfront Hall, with both matches going to the last few balls, Jones enjoyed an unlikely fight-back against three-time World Champion Williams, who had earlier missed a routine yellow on the brink of a 5-1 lead. Chasing a third ranking title of what has been a breakthrough season, Jones is through to face Wilson who earlier edged out Sam Craigie 6-5.
First to nine frames on Sunday will lift the Alex Higgins Trophy and earn £100,000. When the pair met in the World Championship final two years ago, Wilson raced into a 7-0 lead and eventually won 18-14, so this time Jones will be determined to compete from the start. The 33-year-old Welshman had never won a ranking title coming into this season but landed the Championship League in July then added the British Open in September.
He is into his fourth ranking final and is sure to jump at least six places from his current position of 24th in the world; victory would leave him well placed to qualify automatically for both the UK Championship and the Masters.
Veteran 51-year-old Williams missed out on a second ranking final of the season, having finished runner-up to Ali Carter at the BetVictor English Open, and the chance to extend his record as the oldest ever winner of a ranking title, set a year ago at the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Jones took the opening frame with a break of 87 and he had first chance in the next but made just 12 before missing a difficult plant on a red to a top corner. Williams compiled runs of 24 and 48 for 1-1 then took the lead with a break of 78. In frame four, Jones was on 8 when a red to top corner went awry, and his opponent responded with 49 and 29 to go 3-1 up at the interval.
World number eight Williams extended his advantage with a break of 96, and he looked set to go 5-1 ahead until he missed the yellow to a baulk corner leading 50-31 in frame six. Jones made a superb clearance, including a tough black to the same corner, to raise his hopes of a recovery. A run of 59 put Jones in charge of the seventh, and he sealed it by potting the final brown after his opponent had gained the two snookers he needed. Runs of 38 and 37 in the next brought Jones back to all square at 4-4.
In frame nine, Jones trailed 39-21 when he missed an awkward pink to a top corner, handing Williams an opening to regain the lead. Jones responded with a run of 89 for 5-5, and had a chance to clear from 44-0 down in the decider but ran out of position on 37. A safety exchange on the last red was resolved when Jones fluked it to a top corner, but he then missed the brown with the rest leading 58-44. Williams went full-blooded for a double on the brown to a baulk corner, failing by a tiny margin, and this time Jones potted the balls he needed.
“It was a crazy game, I missed so many balls, I played terrible,” insisted Cwmbran’s Jones. “Mark missed a couple at the wrong time for him, but he was the best player in the match. I just managed to stick in there and twitch my way to the final.
“My arm was just a nightmare. In such a big match, in such an arena, it’s not a good place to be but I tried not to give up completely. I used to play badly and lose, so to be playing badly and winning against the best players in the world is a step in the right direction. Hopefully I can get on the practice table in the morning and give Kyren a bit of a game.
“I haven’t really seen a lot of Kyren, but I’ve heard he’s playing really well. He’s back in form, probably playing the best out of anyone this week. Kyren in form is as difficult as it gets. I’ll feel different mentally going into the final, definitely. Now that I’ve won tournaments, I have got that belief. I don’t want to be losing in finals, so hopefully I can just play better.“
Both reports are comprehensive enough. You will find more details about the frame scores on snooker.org, as always.
The first semi-final was a very high quality and high scoring affair: between them Kyren and Sam scored no less than 10 breaks over 50. Somehow, I suppose, experience eventually aided Kyren to prevail. Sam at his best, is very, very good and extremely dangerous. Those who have watched him play over the years know that. But, that isn’t really reflected by his results over his career so far. The reason is that, although he’s only 32 years old, Sam has suffered a severe chronic neck and shoulder injury, including a slipped C5/6 cervical disc that required anterior cervical disc replacement surgery in July 2024. He deserves every credit for his perseverance despite the painful health issues he went through.