World number 76 Martin O'Donnell reached his first ranking event final by making a tremendous break of 126 in the deciding frame to beat Elliot Slessor 6-5 at the BetVictor Welsh Open.
A high-quality semi-final in Llandudno went down to the wire, and it was O'Donnell who finished the contest in style to set up a final clash with John Higgins or Gary Wilson on Sunday. Having knocked out World Champion Luca Brecel on Friday night, O'Donnell was able to keep his career-best run going and now has the chance to play for the Ray Reardon Trophy and £80,000 top prize.
It's some shift in fortunes for a player who was relegated from the tour in 2022 and spent a season on the amateur scene, when he must have wondered whether he would ever return to the pro ranks. The Bedfordshire-based cueman regained his card via Q Tour in 2023 and is now playing the best snooker of a career which started in 2012.
O'Donnell could continue the sequence of surprise winners of a title which has been captured by Jordan Brown, Joe Perry and Robert Milkins over the last three years. Victory would also vault O'Donnell into the top 16 of the one-year ranking list and earn him a place at next week's Johnstone's Paint Players Championship in Telford.
Slessor, ranked 50th, was also aiming to reach his first ranking final, but has now lost all three of the semi-finals he has contested. The Gateshead potter made four breaks over 50 in the match, but admitted afterwards his safety was "embarrassing."
After sharing the first two frames, O'Donnell took the lead with a break of 78. He led 52-0 in the fourth when he missed a tricky red to a top corner, and Slessor punished him with an 82 clearance. After the interval, a run of 61 helped O'Donnell regain the lead, and he had a clear chance in the sixth but ran out of position on 47, letting Slessor in for an excellent 55 for 3-3.
O'Donnell came from 40-0 down to take the next with an 88, then got the better of frame eight for 5-3. Back came Slessor with 95 to close the gap, and he took the tenth with a break of 65 after his opponent had missed a routine black at 11-0. The decider began with a cagey bout of safety, resolved by an error from Slessor, leaving a red over a centre pocket, and that proved his last shot.
"It feels amazing," said O'Donnell. "You find out about yourself in those situations. Elliot put me under a lot of pressure from 5-3. So I'm really pleased with that break in the decider. It means everything to reach my first final. There have been some dark times in the last few years. My fiancée Anna and kids have picked me up and got me through those dark days.
"When you're off tour you find out whether you have still got the stomach for it. It feels like a long way back, because the amateur game is very competitive, you are not guaranteed to get back on. I got a new cue which made a difference, and also got back with my coach Ian McCulloch who really helps me on the mental side. I worked on myself every day because I wanted to make sure my head was right for the time when I got back on the tour.
"Anna has seen me crying my eyes out at night, not knowing what to do. I don't want to be a player who can't let the game go, but I have never felt as if I was finished with snooker. I still have business to take care of, and hopefully than will start tomorrow."
Slessor said: "I didn't play well enough, I was useless for most of the game. My safety was shocking, embarrassing. You can't give that many chances away against someone as good as him. I left a red over the pocket at the end, and Martin made a great break so he deserved to win. I have played some good stuff this week but it's very disappointing to play like that in the semis. It's absolutely sickening."