GARY WILSON DEFENDED STEPHEN HENDRY TROPHY BY DOING THIS…

the first session of the Scottish Open final against Noppon Saengkham, Gary Wilson put on a powerful show. On Sunday night, he repeated that performance at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh to secure victory and successfully defend the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Wilson entered the competition in bad shape, but he turned things around over the week and was a deserving winner.

Gary Wilson defeated Noppon Saengkham 9–5 to win the Scottish Open and retain his title, building on his outstanding play in the afternoon session.

Wilson fell out of the picture and turned in a string of subpar performances after winning the Scottish Open a year ago. He began the week ranked 60th on the one-year list.

Wilson expressed anxiety about his form before he travelled to Edinburgh for his championship defence and mentioned struggling with the yips, but as the week went on, Wilson’s form seemed to improve at the Meadowbank Sports Centre.

After the first session of Sunday’s final, he blasted into a 6-2 lead; if a surprising missed red had not occurred in the last frame, the score would have been 7-1.

Wilson may have spent several hours brooding about the red that was overlooked. If he did, it was evident as he started the evening’s first frame with a magnificent long red and quickly overcame an 81-break break to increase his advantage to five frames.

Little was wrong with Noppon’s afternoon session total of 132, as he demonstrated his continued form by quickly reaching his eighth century of the week to win the tenth frame.

Noppon had no choice but to come out and play with aggression. In the last over, he gave Wilson something to consider for the first time after breaking 100 in the tenth.

Wilson appeared to be tense after missing a red to the centre early in the 12th, but Noppon quickly returned the table.

Wilson restored his four-frame advantage, moved within one frame of the lead, then produced an outstanding break of 51 to divide the mini-session. Wilson hammered in an exquisite plant with space between two reds.
Both players entered the frame after it was resumed a few times, but they both erred in position and made dubious shots.

The 13th ultimately came down to a fight on the colours, which Noppon won when he set up a cunning snooker move behind the blue. Wilson gave up a free ball the second time, failed to break away, and his opponent converted to preserve the tie.

Wilson may have been uneasy about missing a couple of opportunities in the 13th, but he dismissed it by opening the 14th with a magnificent long red.

He scored thirty-one before scurrying for safety, only to knock in Noppon’s long red. Wilson appeared a bit uneasy in his chair, but when Noppon missed a red to left middle, he sprang out of it.

On this occasion, Wilson held his nerve as a break of 53 ensured he joined elite company of Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Mark Allen in defending a Home Nations title.

WILSON WELL CLEAR AFTER FIRST SESSION OF FINAL

The defending champion appeared to be in control of the Scottish Open final, trailing Gary Wilson 6-2 going into the evening session.

Noppon defeated John Higgins in the semifinals, making an impression on route to the championship match. Throughout the most of the competition, Wilson’s play had been inconsistent as he attempted to retain his title. He had been harsh with his extension, biting his cue in annoyance, and displaying emotional instability.

In addition, he had been candid about his battles with the “yips” while winning every game in Edinburgh.

Wilson seemed unaffected in the opening frame, though, with a fluid 90 seeing him take the frame, and an excellent long pot helped him kick off the second as he built a break of 62. When Noppon came back to the table, he could not score another point before Wilson returned to wrap things up.

In the third frame, just four behind, Noppon missed a routine red to the top-right as he looked to finally get some points on the board and gave Wilson the chance to move 46-0 up, before getting another chance and putting the frame beyond the Thai competitor.

In the fourth frame, the pressure was on Noppon to get on the scoreboard, and grab a frame before the mid-session interval. He was at last able to battle through 69-7 to give himself a boost ahead of the remaining period.

Only a miss on a long red stopped Wilson from reaching a century for the first time in the match, cutting short his 79 break from a difficult spread of balls after the restart, and he re-established his three-frame lead.