Mark Allen won a match at Alexandra Palace for the first time since he lifted the trophy in 2018, coming from 3-1 down beat John Higgins 6-5 in the opening round of the MrQ Masters.
Fourth seed Allen won four frames in a row to lead 5-3, before being hauled back to 5-5. He had lost three matches 6-5 in the first round of this event since his 2018 triumph, but this time the Pistol came out on top thanks to a delightful break of 86 in the decider.
The 37-year-old Northern Irishman was Player of the Season in 2022/23 and picked up that momentum before Christmas, winning the Champion of Champions and the Shoot Out, so comes into 2024 with a winning mentality and determination to add to his silverware collection. Allen will face Mark Selby or Robert Milkins in the quarter-finals on Friday evening.
Higgins was making an incredible 30th consecutive appearance in this event – a record – and has lifted the trophy twice but has now lost in the first round on 15 occasions – also a record. It is hard to imagine the Masters without the Scottish legend in the field but he could face a battle to remain among the world’s top 16 as he currently sits 20th in the provisional end of season rankings.
After sharing the first two frames, Higgins compiled breaks of 83 and 80 to go 3-1 ahead. He led 43-0 in frame five when he missed a mid-range red to a top corner, and that proved a turning point as Allen battled back to take it for 3-2.
The key moment of frame six was Higgins’ miss on the final brown when he trailed 53-54, allowing his opponent to level the match. Again in the seventh Higgins had chances, but a missed long red when he led 45-21 handed Allen the table for a run of 58 to take the lead.
Growing in confidence, Allen compiled the highest break of the match, 123, to go 5-3 up. Higgins then regained the initiative and made 58 and 61 to recover to 5-5. But he had only one half-chance at a red in the decider, missing it from distance. Allen converted an excellent pot to centre and that set up his winning break.
Allen said: “I was edgy all day but then 5-5 was the calmest I felt. I didn’t do a lot wrong from 5-3, so I had to regroup mentally and wait for a chance. For most of the match we both missed balls and made mistakes. I went to the practice room at the interval just to get the feel of balls going into pockets. John then had chances in the next two frames, it was important to get back to 3-3.
“This was a big hurdle for me to get over, having lost all of my first round games since I won it. The positive I can take from today is how good I felt in the last frame.“
Higgins added: “From 3-1 up I didn’t capitalise on my chances. You don’t usually get that many chances against Mark. If you don’t commit to shots then it comes back to bite you. Every credit to Mark because he potted a great red to the middle in the last frame and showed his bottle.”
Mark Selby scored just his second MrQ Masters match win in five years, thrashing Robert Milkins 6-1 to make the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.
The Jester from Leicester is a three-time winner of the event, having lifted the famous Paul Hunter Trophy in 2008, 2010 and 2013. He was also runner-up in 2014, but the years which followed have seen Selby struggle in snooker’s biggest invitational tournament. He’s not been beyond the quarters in his last nine attempts.
If four-time World Champion Selby is to make the semi-finals this year, he will have to get past last season’s Player of the Year Mark Allen. Selby and Allen could hardly be closer matched in the head-to-heads, which stand at 8-8 with eight of those encounters coming down to deciding frames.
Defeat for Milkins means a disappointing return to the Masters stage. It was the first time he’d appeared at Alexandra Palace in nine years. He’s still seeking a first Masters match win, having lost against Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2014 and Neil Robertson in 2015.
Selby controlled the opener this evening, before firing in a superb 119 to take the second. It was soon 3-0 after the 22-time ranking event winner made a frame winning 53 in the third.
Both players spurned straightforward reds in the next. Selby swiped the air with frustration after a disturbance from backstage during his shot and Milkins dropped his cue to the floor after failing to step in. Eventually Selby stepped up with 63 to make it 4-0 at the mid-session.
When play resumed Milkins showed a glimpse of what he can do with a fine 88 to reduce his arrears. However, Selby forced himself over the line with breaks of 70 and 74 to wrap up a one-sided victory.
“He’s not been here for nine years, so it is tough to come back into that dragon’s den. He had a good chance in the first frame after I missed an easy black. If he wins the frame there he settles and it is a totally different game. Thankfully he missed, I settled first and managed to kick on from then. “
Mark Selby
Number Five Seed
Selby added: “Mark (Allen) is a class act. He’s very similar to myself. He doesn’t give you too much, his safety game is very good and he scores as well as anyone when he’s on it. I’m expecting a really tough match.
“When you’ve been doing it for so long, you still feel nervous at the start and the end, in between you block it all out. It is easier to do that more than people who haven’t been doing it for that long. Me and Mark have been batting for years and years.”
SELBY ON ROUTINE VICTORY
John Higgins has a rather poor record at the Masters. for a player of his caliber. In the past, he said that, unlike most other top layers, he didn’t like the conference centre. For him, it was too big, and the crowd too boisterous. Maybe he feels the same about Alexandra palace. Mark Allen beat himyesterday, but wasn’t really convincing either.
Mark Selby, on the other hand, played extremely well. It probably helped him that his opponent struggled so much. Mark was never really put under pressure.
We had a dramatic afternoon yesterday at Alexandra Palace as Judd Trump beat Kyren Wilson in a deciding frame. Both layers dominated the match in spells of several frames. Kyren, I feel, was the better player overall but, of course only the final result matters.
Defending champion Judd Trump narrowly avoided a first round exit at the MrQ Masters, making a tremendous clearance in the deciding frame to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5.
Wilson came from 5-3 down to 5-5 then had a golden opportunity to knock out the number one seed, but ran out of position in the decider on a break of 51. Trump rose to the occasion by clearing the table with 65 to set up a quarter-final with Ali Carter.
Trump first won this event in 2019 and doubled his tally of Masters crowns last year, and he rode his luck, beating Ryan Day 6-5 and Barry Hawkins 6-5 in the first two rounds as his opponents failed to take match-winning chances. It was a similar story today as he was well below his best, but found an extra gear when it mattered most.
He has been the player of the season so far, winning three ranking titles in October, and is now looking to become only the seventh player to win the Masters on more than two occasions.
Breaks of 65 and 76 gave Wilson the first two frames. Trump had a chance to take the third from 32-0 behind, but missed a difficult pot on the penultimate red on 58. Wilson punished him by converting a clever cross double to a centre pocket and clearing for 3-0. Runs of 52, 101 and 83 helped Trump battle back to 3-3.
Frames seven and eight both came down to the colours, and on both occasions Wilson botched a safety shot on the green, handing his opponent the chance to go 5-3 up. Wilson raised his hopes of a fight-back by coming from 35-4 down to win frame nine. In the tenth, Trump led 53-8 when he was unlucky to run out of position, and that proved costly as Wilson later converted a fantastic long red to a baulk corner to set up an excellent 58 clearance for 5-5.
Wilson had first chance in the decider and made 51 before playing a loose positional shot then missing a tricky red to centre, which he had played a shot-to-nothing, but in fact left a narrow gap which allowed Trump to pot the same red. The Bristol cueman went on to clear the table to reach the quarter-finals of this event for the eighth time..
Trump said: “It was a strange match, it wasn’t the highest standard. I was fighting at 3-0 down. At 5-4 I played a bad positional shot and Kyren made an unbelievable clearance. Then he got control of the decider and I thought he would finish it off. I felt I was on my way home. He took a bit of a risk on the red he went for, but he was unlucky to leave the gap.
“I felt nervy from the start and my cue ball control wasn’t good. Under pressure in the clearance at the end, I shortened my backswing, it was more of a ‘stab’ but that helped with my position. I felt I wasn’t going to miss unless I had a big twitch.
“My game is good, I just wasn’t relaxed today and I struggled. At this event I just don’t want to go out in the first round. It was amazing to play in front of these fans.”
Wilson added: “In the last frame (on 51) I tried to play a soft cannon, maybe I should have played a different shot. Then I went for the red to middle and didn’t think I could leave it if I missed. Every credit to Judd, he made a great clearance and showed what a champion he is. I am gutted because this event is the future of snooker, I had my two boys here today and hopefully they learned a lot just by watching the game.”
I would like to fully understand what Kyren means when he said that this event is the future of snooker. Yes, the Masters is a big celebration of the sport, with just one table and the best players in front of a big crowd, in a big city with outstanding media coverage. Yes, this is what any sport needs for its promotion, but it can’t be done with 128 players at the venue obviously and the young talents also need to be showcased. I know that I may sound like a broken record, but this could be done provided that WST walks away from the money list, and from a rigid ranking system altogether, and adopts a rating system that will provide the required flexibility.
The evening match went as I expected. The solid Barry Hawkins beat an erratic Neil Robertson
Barry Hawkins saw off stoic resistance from Neil Robertson to win 6-3 and book a MrQ Masters quarter-final showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan at Alexandra Palace.
Victory hands Hawkins revenge for his 10-4 defeat at the hands of Australia’s Robertson in the 2022 Masters final. It sets up a repeat of the 2016 final with O’Sullivan, which he lost 10-1.
The Londoner has enjoyed a brilliant campaign so far, having already registered silverware at the European Masters last August. Hawkins scored a brilliant 9-6 win over player of the season so far Judd Trump to capture the title and win ranking silverware for the first time since 2017.
By contrast Robertson has endured one of his worst seasons in years and finds his place in the world’s top 16 under threat. He currently sits in 32nd position in the provisional end of season rankings. The 2010 World Champion hasn’t been past the last 32 in ranking competition so far this term.
The opening frames this evening were fiercely contested and lasted over an hour, before the pair emerged level at 1-1. Hawkins halted the fragmented nature of the game in the third with a break of 96 to take the lead, before adding the fourth to make it 3-1 at the mid-session.
When play resumed world number 15 Hawkins made it 4-1, but at that point 23-time ranking event winner Robertson summoned a comeback charge. Back-to-back century runs of 117 and 110 saw him surge back into contention at 4-3.
However, that rally was soon snuffed out by the Hawk, who composed contributions of 69 and 57 to get himself over the line and into the last eight.
Hawkins said: “It didn’t come easily tonight and everything was a bit of a struggle. I tried my hardest and that is all you can do out there really. He responded well to make back-to-back centuries and go 4-3. It was important to win that next frame, I was pleased to get that one.
“The occasion out there and the crowd gets you bang up for it and gets you more focussed. I enjoy playing out there a bit more than other smaller events.
“It is going to be unbelievable. Any time you play Ronnie is a big occasion, but even more so in this place. It is going to be electric and I’m really looking forward to it.”
It’s been a trend all season for Robertson. He’s still making centuries but can’t win closer frames. The trip to Australia, and meeting his family, doesn’t seem to have changed anything when it comes to his game and his form.
Barry Hawkins is never easy to beat. Ronnie has a good record against him but he will really need to be on his game to win this one.
The first day at the 2024 Masters was a bit disappointing in that both matches were pretty one-sided.
In the afternoon match, Luca Brecel was very poor as he has been all season so far. No matter how gifted you are you don’t get away with partying for over half a year and not putting the work in. Going by his post-match interview, Luca is well aware of that now, but will he be able to turn it around and save his season? I’m not sure.
In the evening match, Zhang appeared to be a bit overawed by the Ally Pally atmosphere, or conditions1. He played nowhere near his best, he struggled to close frames out, and Shaun duly took advantage. In fact there were three centuries in that match – it wasn’t a bad standard at all – and Zhang scored two of them but he couldn’t win the closer frames.
Jack Lisowski put on a stunning display to beat World Champion Luca Brecel 6-2 in the first round of the MrQ Masters, despite branding the event as the scariest to play in.
Lisowski came into the 2023 running of the Masters having never won a match at the iconic Alexandra Palace. He suffered defeats in his first three appearances, at the hands of Ding Junhui, Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Last year the Gloucester scored momentous wins over John Higgins and Hossein Vafaei to make the semi-finals and rectify that, but suffered a crushing 6-0 defeat at the hands of Mark Williams.
Seeded in 16th position, Lisowski had a nervous wait to secure his place at the Masters. He had to rely on results at the MrQ UK Championship to go his way to secure his berth, having been dumped out in the first round 6-4 at the hands of Jamie Jones.
This afternoon’s victory sets up a quarter-final clash with either 2015 winner Shaun Murphy or International Champion Zhang Anda, who contest this evening’s first round tie.
Defeat sees Crucible king Brecel continue his difficult first season as World Champion. His first event of the season saw him make the final of the invitational Shanghai Masters, where he was runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan, but since then he has failed to go beyond the last 16.
Lisowski came flying out of the traps this afternoon and breaks of 70, 100, 96 and 69 saw him take the first four frames in just 49 minutes ahead of the mid-session interval.
When play resumed the Belgian Bullet showed signs of resistance, making breaks of 80 and 72, to cut his arrears in half and make it 4-2. That resistance was short lived and runs of 63 and 68 saw Lisowski wrap up victory.
“I got very nervous coming into it. For me it is the scariest tournament to play in. I started well and it turns into a great place to play. Then you can start enjoying it.“
Jack Lisowski – 16th Seed
“I felt really good after the first frame. I settled and felt like I was concentrating really well. He is the World Champion, so I couldn’t relax at any point. I tried to keep my concentration and intensity to get over the line,” added 32-year-old Lisowski.
“That’s what you play for. When you are getting beat, like I had a stinker at the UK Championship and lost qualifiers. It gets you down. Today was such a big occasion. I don’t know what I’d have done if I lost that game. I was really thinking that I wanted to win it.”
“It was terrible. If I keep playing like this then you will see me in 2025 Q School,” said a frustrated Brecel.
“I can recapture the form and I know I will, but at the moment it is just not good enough. Jack is a good player and I am happy for him.”
World number six Shaun Murphy defeated debutant Zhang Anda 6-2 to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with Jack Lisowski at the MrQ Masters in London.
The Magician is competing in the Masters for the 20th time in his career this week. It is an event which Murphy holds fond memories of having completed the Triple Crown with victory at Alexandra Palace in 2015. The Englishman had already won the World Championship in 2005 and the UK Championship in 2008.
By contrast, Zhang was making his maiden appearance at the Masters this evening. The Chinese cueman, who first turned professional in 2009, earned a spot in the top 16 by winning his first ranking title at the International Championship earlier this season.
Murphy now faces a blockbuster meeting with Lisowski, who has beaten him in their last three meetings. The pair will cross cues on Thursday evening.
A fiercely contested first three frames of the evening saw Murphy establish a 2-1 advantage. The last before the mid-session looked to be going the way of Zhang, when he moved 61-0 ahead. However, Murphy pulled off a superb clearance of 65 to steal on the black. After depositing the final ball, he clenched his fist before exiting the arena 3-1 up.
When play resumed it was soon 4-1, courtesy of a run of 86 from Murphy. Zhang reduced his arrears by taking the sixth, but breaks of 71 and 89 saw Murphy over the line for an impressive victory. Afterwards he admitted that stealing the fourth frame was a key moment.
Murphy said: “He had to think about it for 20 minutes. If we rolled straight into frame five and racked the balls up, it perhaps wouldn’t have left the same kind of mark. Those types of frame losses leave marks and scars. To then have to sit in his dressing room thinking about it and rueing that mistake is tough.
“He’s been one of the best players of all season. I thought that I had my work cut out here. If I didn’t play properly, he would have turned me over. With that in mind I’ve worked very hard in the background, I’ve not told anyone about it, I was delighted to see that come out there.
“The ladies and gentleman who have a ticket for Thursday night are in for a treat. Neither of us pull our punches. I don’t think it will take very long, whoever wins, and Jack is showing how much talent he has. He is ready to win big. This could be his week. I hope not, but I am going to give it everything I’ve got.”
MURPHY EASES PAST ZHANG
It’s often very humid and rather cold in the arena, and noisy too. It’s a huge hall and it “echoes” easily. ↩︎
After narrowly avoiding relegation in Group One of the 2024 BetVictor Championship League Invitational, Chris Wakelin returned as the winner of Group Two, sealing a spot in March’s Winners’ Group …
Wakelin beat local favourite Mark Selby 3-2 in the final in Leicester as he made a fine start to 2024, having enjoyed the best year of his career so far in 2023.
Selby, Wakelin, Kyren Wilson and Ali Carter all won four matches out of six in the group phase, to progress to the semi-finals. Wakelin then edged out Wilson 3-2 while Selby made two centuries in a 3-1 success against Carter. The first four frames of the final were shared, before Wakelin finished in style with a break of 110 in the decider.
He said: “It was a tough match against Mark, but when my chance came in the decider, I took it. I’ve had had time off over Christmas and you can see it in my game – my long game is nowhere near where I’d like it to be and my safety was poor. Sometimes you get away with it but you’ve still got to pot the balls.
“There was a couple times today when I didn’t even think I was going to get out of the group stages, but a couple of big clearances got me into the semis and gave me a free run.
“Every event is a bonus. Compared to where I was 12 months ago, I wouldn’t have dreamt of qualifying for this tournament in the first place. It’s a prestigious event and the winner gets through to the Champion of Champions. Winning takes a lot, especially up against the field we had today – all in the top 16 and well-established winners. To come through, I’m delighted.”
Wakelin joins Stuart Bingham in the Winners’ Group on March 1st-2nd. Selby, Gary Wilson, Kyren Wilson and Ali Carter will return to join Barry Hawkins, Tom Ford and Neil Robertson in Group 3 at the Morningside Arena, Leicester on February 5th.
In other news …
WST has completely revamped their site and the news scoring system is finally ready. It’s too early to have a definite opinion on it all. The site looks nice enough, as does the scoring system, although I preferred the old one simply because the presentation was more compact, which matters when we have many matches underway concurrently.
Yushan in China’s Jiangxi Province will host the World Open in March 2024, with an array of snooker’s greatest names to contest the world ranking event.
The tournament will run from March 18 to 24 and will be the fourth WST event staged in China during the 2023/24 season, following September’s Shanghai Masters, October’s Wuhan Open and November’s International Championship in Tianjin.
The following matches will be held over to Yushan:
Judd Trump v Rory Thor Sanderson Lam v wild card Zhang Anda v Allan Taylor Matthew Selt v winner of a match in Yushan between two wild cards Ding Junhui v Zak Surety Jordan Brown v wild card Luca Brecel v Manasawin Phetmalaikul
All other first round matches will be played at the qualifiers in Barnsley running from January 22 to 24. Notable matches include:
Kyren Wilson v Jimmy White Mark Selby v Xing Zihao Si Jiahui v Stan Moody John Higgins v Ross Muir Mark Allen v Andres Petrov Ronnie O’Sullivan v Alfie Burden Michael White v Stephen Hendry Shaun Murphy v Mohamed Ibrahim Neil Robertson v Victor Sarkis
Yushan was the tournament’s home from 2016 to 2019. Trump is the most recent winner of the title, beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the final in 2019. WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are delighted to join forces with Star Xingpai, Yushan Municipal Government and CBSA to stage the World Open in Yushan in 2024.
“Snooker’s future in China is bright and this is just the beginning. The World Open is a fantastic tournament in an outstanding location which has particular significance for snooker as it is the home of Star Xing Pai and the world’s first Billiard Sports City. I have no doubt that all of the biggest stars will keenly anticipate the chance to return to Yushan in 2024.”
Because Judd Trump is the defending champion and Luca Brecel is the World champion, as well as the new rules regarding held-over matches, Ronnie will have to qualify for this event. Those new rules were put into place to make sure that the top Chinese players would be at the venue. That’s only fair and certainly commercially sensible. Will Ronnie go and play in qualifiers? I’d say probably, because he loves to play in China and his sponsors will probably want him there. Am I certain? No, of course not.
Giants of the baize including Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy local favourite Mark Selby and defending champion Mark Allen will be in action at the World Grand Prix at the Morningside Arena in Leicester in January.
The prestigious event, with a field of only the best 32 players from the one-year ranking list, will run from January 15 to 21.
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Player of the season so far Judd Trump gets the tournament underway on the evening of Monday January 15 in a clash with Jamie Jones. The opening round will also see blockbuster battles including John Higgins taking on Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen facing Jack Lisowski.
The full first round schedule is:
Monday January 15
7pm Judd Trump v Jamie Jones Chris Wakelin v Lyu Haotian Followed by Mark Selby v Yuan Sijun Ali Carter v Wu Yize
Tuesday January 16
1pm John Higgins v Shaun Murphy Stephen Maguire v Zhou Yuelong Followed by Gary Wilson v David Gilbert Hossein Vafaei v Matthew Selt
7pm Mark Williams v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Tom Ford v Jordan Brown Followed by Ronnie O’Sullivan v Pang Junxu Barry Hawkins v Cao Yupeng
Wednesday January 17
1pm Ding Junhui v Ricky Walden Noppon Saengkham v Xiao Guodong Followed by Mark Allen v Jack Lisowski Zhang Anda v Dominic Dale
The World Grand Prix is the first of three events in the 2024 Players Series, to be followed by the Players Championship in Telford in February and the Tour Championship at Manchester Central in April.
Following the massive success of the MrQ UK Championship, World Snooker Tour (WST) is pleased to announce MrQ as the new Lead Partner of The Masters, the sport’s greatest invitation event, to be contested by the best 16 players on the planet.
The MrQ Masters will run from January 7 to 14 at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London. Celebrating the 50th staging of this historic tournament, which was first held in 1975, WST is delighted to join forces with MrQ.com for one of the outstanding events of the global tour.
Popular UK-based online casino MrQ launched in 2018 and established a modern, easy to use platform to provide a fun and transparent customer experience.
MrQ’s first partnership with snooker came at the recent UK Championship in York. The event achieved tremendous viewing figures, with a peak audience of 2.6 million for the final on BBC, and a cumulative audience of 14.3 million across the event on BBC and UK Eurosport.
MrQ has now grasped the opportunity to join forces with WST again for another of snooker’s Triple Crown Series. The MrQ Masters will bring packed crowds to Alexandra Palace, with all standard tickets for the 2,000-seat arena sold out weeks in advance.
Judd Trump will defend the title, in a field full of giants of the baize including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Luca Brecel, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Allen and many more.
MrQ’s Head of Acquisition James Booth said: “We were elated by the success of the MrQ UK Championship, we had not fully appreciated snooker’s vast reach and popularity, in terms of its live and television audience. We look forward to seeing this partnership taken to the next level at the MrQ Masters in London.
“We’re particularly excited about getting involved with the fan experience at Ally Pally, renowned as the best of its kind on the snooker circuit, including interactive games. As always we’ll be bringing an extra element of fun for fans coming for a great day out.”
WST’s Chief Commercial Officer Peter Wright said: “We’re delighted to develop this relationship with MrQ, our lead partner for two of the three Triple Crown events this season. Clearly they were amazed by the incredible atmosphere at the UK Championship and the exceptional data that came out of the event, so naturally they were very motivated to extend their relationship with a rapidly growing sport.
“We can now look forward to the MrQ Masters, which in recent years has increased its appeal to become one of the hottest tickets across London. We look forward to working with the MrQ team on this elite event.”
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I can’t say I’m thrilled… you know my thoughts about bookies and betting in general. It’s a plague…
The 2024 Championship League Snooker line-up has been revealed on the event site.
This line-up will certainly change, it always does. As it stand Ronnie has entered the event, but in the last Group , Group 7.
This event is not everybody’s cup of tea (coffee for me, please) but I like it because the players usually play with a lot of freedom and it’s often very pleasant to watch.
The defending champion, Gary Wilson beat Noppen Saengkham by 9-5 yesterday evening to become the 2023 Scottish Open Champion again and win the second ranking title of his career. It is a remarkable feat: since the game was opened in 1991, only once had a “first time” champion defended his title: Mark Allen when he won the Haikou World Open in 2012 and 2013.
Gary Wilson defeated Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham 9-5 to win the BetVictor Scottish Open for a second year in a row and retain the Stephen Hendry Trophy in Edinburgh.
The Wallsend cueman dramatically lifted a maiden ranking title here in Edinburgh 12 months ago. On that occasion Wilson thrashed Joe O’Connor 9-2 to claim the title. Despite the resounding nature of his maiden triumph it came after 18 years of toil as a professional, two final defeats and three semi-final losses.
The year which followed saw Wilson fail to capitalise on the momentum acquired from his breakthrough victory. However, Edinburgh will be a city which is forever embedded in the Englishman’s snooker psyche, with the Scottish capital once again providing the venue for a moment of glory. Wilson openly admitted to struggles with his form in the early stages this week, but battled through to the final where he showed his class.
The semi-finals saw Wilson come back from the dead to earn his place in the title match. He required three snookers in the deciding frame against Zhou Yuelong, but forced a re-spotted black and eventually deposited it to clinch the most dramatic of 6-5 victories. A more comfortable performance today saw him take full advantage and capture his second ranking title and the £80,000 top prize.
Saengkham tastes defeat in his maiden ranking final appearance. However, he can reflect on a week which has seen him finally break through the semi-final barrier at the fifth time of asking. He defeated the likes of Ali Carter and John Higgins on the way to the final and takes home the runner-up cheque of £35,000.
The afternoon session saw Wilson establish a commanding advantage, moving 6-2 ahead coming into tonight’s finale. When play got underway run of 81 extended the gap to five frames, before Saengkham came firing back with breaks of 132 and 97 to stay in contention at 7-4. However, Wilson crucially took the last before the mid-session to leave himself needing just a solitary frame for victory at 8-4.
After the break it was Saengkham who edged a tight 13th to remain in it, but it was a short lived reprieve. Wilson composed a match winning 53 in the next to get over the line and clinch the title.
“This game is crazy. I was absolutely nowhere for quite a while and didn’t expect anything this week. Slowly but surely I found a little bit and a little bit more, to the point where I am actually quite proud of myself for the final. I’ve wanted to play in a final again and play in a solid way like I used to play when I was younger. I felt like I played that way,” said 38-year-old Wilson.
“I was so relieved just to get one (a first ranking event victory) and I thought that whatever happened after that I didn’t care. I managed to eventually get one. Even after that I was struggling loads and I just managed to find a little bit of a game out of nowhere.
“There is something about certain places, where you feel comfortable and happy. I felt like that last year and I feel like that again this year. It didn’t seem like a year. It seemed like a few months.
“I want to say all credit to Noppon. He’s put on an absolutely incredible performance. I know it is his first final. I remember my first final and I was absolutely nowhere. To pot the balls he does is unbelievable. You can’t leave the white anywhere but the cushion or he is just going to slam a long ball in every time.”
Saengkham said: “I have to give all of the credit to Gary. In the first session he was very strong. He scored very heavily and he controlled everything with the safety game. I had so much pressure because he didn’t miss and was very good.
“I promise I will be back one day. I have to say thanks to all of the fans. Thank you.”
Noppon struggled badly in the first session. That was maybe to be expected as it was his first ever final. But he made it a game in the second session to the delight of the crowd.
Both finalists were credits to their sport and deserve a lot of praise. Both were well supported by the Scottish fans who were very fair and well behaved all tournament.
This victory brings Gary to number 17 in the current rankings, with his spot in the World Grand Prix guaranteed as well. More importantly maybe, it makes him provisionally ranked 13th in the “Crucible” seedings with a cushion of 25500 points on Bary Hawkins who is now 17th.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 