World Champion Kyren Wilson is through to the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open final for the first time in his career, after scoring a hard fought 6-4 win over Pang Junxu at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
The Warrior captured a maiden Crucible crown back in May, following a momentous 18-14 win over Jak Jones at the Theatre of Dreams. His first season as World Champion has got off to a tremendous start, having already secured silverware at the Xi’an Grand Prix with a win over world number one Judd Trump.
Tomorrow’s final will see Wilson pitted against either Trump or Elliot Slessor, who do battle in this evening’s second semi-final. The title match will be contested over the best of 17 frames, with a top prize of £100,000 and the Alex Higgins Trophy on the line.
Victory tomorrow would see Wilson become only the sixth first time World Champion to win multiple titles in the following campaign. Trump, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, John Higgins and Mark Selby achieved the feat before him.
Pang will have to wait for a maiden ranking title. He was runner-up to Selby in the 2023 WST Classic, but is yet to taste silverware as a professional.
A superb break of 110 got Wilson off to the perfect start this afternoon. Pang restored parity with 83 in the second, but further contributions of 77 and 46 helped Wilson make it 3-1 heading into the mid-session.
When they returned, the fifth came down to the final two balls, but a risky double attempt on the pink from Englishman Wilson went array and Pang stepped in to deposit it and pull within one at 3-2.
The next frame saw Pang end up in a difficult snooker on the last red. The Chinese cueman failed to hit it three times, leaving himself only able to tie. He was unable to turn the frame around and fell 4-2 behind.
Pang embarked on a maximum attempt in the seventh, with balls in promising positions in the early stages, but a missed black off the spot on 49 allowed Wilson to ruthlessly punish with 72 and make it 5-2.
With his opponent on the verge of victory, Pang dug deep and claimed the next two frames to stay in contention, but a crucial run of 83 saw Wilson over the line a 6-4 victor.
“I wouldn’t say I made glaring errors for him to come back, just the odd little shot you knew would be a match winner. They went awry and I just had to make sure I kept calm. It was just about staying in the present and making sure that I took the next opportunity,” said 32-year-old Wilson.
“Pang is a methodical player. He puts an awful lot of feathers in on every shot. You almost get zoned out on his technique, but he doesn’t make many mistakes. I knew I had to be clinical from the off.
“You never want to fall over the line and it sends a message to your opponents you can handle anything thrown at you. To get through with a one visit frame is good for the crowd to see as well.
“I showed a little bit of emotion at the end, because I’ve never managed to make the one table setup here at the Waterfront. As soon as I walked out today I thought, wow, what a an arena and what a crowd. This is definitely one of the best venues I’ve ever played in. I was desperate to make the final so I’m delighted to do that.”