Gary Wilson has won the Welsh Open title after beating Martin O’Donnell 9-4 in an unexpected final in Llandudno.
It is the second ranking title of the season for the Tyneside Terror after he retained the Scottish Open in December, making it three in his career so far.
Wilson enjoyed a superb run through the field in Llandudno, beating the likes of Jack Lisowski, Rob Milkins, Anthony McGill and John Higgins to reach the final, making a 147 in the semis against Higgins along the way.
The final was not a classic, with neither Wilson nor O’Donnell hitting the heights they had reached earlier in the week.
O’Donnell was playing in his first final as a professional, with the world number 76 picking up huge wins on his run in Wales, most notably over Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals.
The Minister of Defence showed flashes, with breaks of 92, 85 and 66, but Wilson made four half-centuries and a break of 100 along the way and was comfortably the better player.
‘What a mad few months I’ve had, to be honest,’ said Wilson. ‘Having won the Scottish I feel like I belong in these kind of situations, but I never really expected another one to come so soon. Really happy with getting another one on the board. Congratulations to Martin, he’s had a great tournament and battled really hard today.
‘Yesterday was a lot better, I started off ok today as well, felt decent early on but lost my cue action completely the last few frames. Don’t know why, little bit worrying, but you go through ups and downs all the time, just happy to get over the line and get another tournament.’
The 38-year-old is enjoying a purple patch after waiting so many years for his first title in Edinburgh and he paid an emotional tribute to his former coach who died in 2021.
‘You go through a lot of years of struggling and have a lot more downs than you have ups, I’m just grateful I’ve had quite a few ups recently. It’s been amazing lately.
‘If I’m going to mention something. Stan Chambers. I mentioned him the first tournament I won. I’m not doing too bad Stan, am I, I’m getting there for you mate. Trying my best.’
O’Donnell was frustrated that he could not find the kind of form that saw him beat Brecel and then Elliot Slessor in the semis, but has had comfortably the best week of his career, only returning to the tour this season after dropping off.
‘Gary’s class. He’s won a few ranking events now,’ said the 37-year-old. ‘It’s a bit disappointing obviously, I’ve played some great snooker this week, some of my best. To play like that and not really make it difficult for him is disappointing.
‘I’ll learn from today, there’s good things coming for me. I’ll keep my chin up and hopefully be better next time.
‘I am [proud] but at the end of the day we want the silverware. Once I take a few days to reflect on this week, I’ve played really well this week in all my matches apart from today, so apologies guys.
‘It’s a big taste [of finals], I definitely want to come back, I’ve got some unfinished business after today’s performance. This is Gary’s moment, congratulations to him and his family.’
Wilson, who only last week said he was struggling to enjoy the game, is not surprised to be lifting more silverware, having established himself as a winner and a fixture at the top of the sport.
‘The first one was kind of one and done because I knew deep down I didn’t do it properly,’ he said of his 2022 Scottish Open title. ‘It felt like, not a fluke, because I know how good I can be, but I wasn’t feeling like I was that player, the first one.
‘The last Scottish I felt a bit more like a player, things were coming together, so it’s not a surprise to me anymore, doing this kind of thing. It’s just trying to be consistent and be as solid as I can even if I’m struggling. My B game is a bit better.’
Wilson pockets £80,000 for claiming the title and climbs to a career high of number 12 in the world rankings.
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