Welsh Open 2024: Gary Wilson ends Martin O’Donnell’s dream of a maiden ranking title to secure hard-fought triumph
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Updated 18/02/2024 at 23:53 GMT
Gary Wilson prevailed over Martin O’Donnell to clinch the 2024 Welsh Open title. It was a hard-fought battle at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno but it was the Scottish Open champion who did enough to seal victory and lift the Ray Reardon Trophy. Stream top snooker action, including the Welsh Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
‘Back to his old self’ – Wilson returns to form with century break
Gary Wilson beat Martin O’Donnell 9-4 to win the 2024 Welsh Open and lift his second ranking title of the season.
Four half-century breaks gave Wilson, who made a 147 in beating John Higgins in the semi-finals, a 6-2 advantage to start the evening session but he was made to work hard for his victory by his compatriot.
It was a first ranking final for O’Donnell and he appeared to struggle with the magnitude of the occasion but battled all the way to the finish in Llandudno.
Although he came up short, O’Donnell can be buoyed by his run in Wales, which included claiming the scalp of world champion Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals.
But the glory belonged to Wilson, who has now won three ranking events in the last 15 months.
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‘Never expected another one to come along so soon’ – Wilson delighted to add Welsh Open to CV
"What a mad few months I’ve had to be honest," Wilson said. "Having won the Scottish, I feel like I belong in these kinds of situations but I never really expected another one to come so soon.
"I’m really happy and want to say congratulations to Martin. He’s had a great tournament, battled really hard today and showed his class around the table.
"It was a bit of a scrappy game but you’ve just got to battle on and that’s all I tried to do."
The opening frame of the evening was re-racked after Wilson left a red hanging over a corner pocket and it was O’Donnell who had the first meaningful chance.
Just like in the afternoon session, though, the 37-year-old was unable to put more than a handful of points on the board as things quickly turned scrappy.
But the ‘Minister of Defence’ had the upper hand in the safety battle and carved out another couple opportunities to get over the line to reduce his arrears to 6-3.
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'How much more can you do?' - Animated Wilson can’t believe his misfortune as red drops in
Some bad luck befell Wilson in the next when a red went in-off after he potted the blue, but O’Donnell missed a straightforward red that proved costly. Wilson returned to make the first century of the match and restore his four-frame cushion.
A plant in the 11th frame got Wilson up and running as he closed ominously on the winning line but his attempt to split the pack went wrong and handed O’Donnell a reprieve.
Continuing the theme of the match, he needed more than one bite at the cherry, but a break of 85 got him back within three again at 7-4 down.
The final frame before the mid-session interval was a 43-minute marathon and turned chaotic early, with reds scattered awkwardly before Wilson finally scored the first point.
A superb pot with the rest at 30 kept the break going as the Scottish Open champion slowly cleaned up the table before he missed a simple pink to the middle on 43.
O’Donnell made 28 in response to get back into it but a moment of madness on the green when down to the colours allowed Wilson off the hook to move 8-4 clear going in at the interval.
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‘What on earth is he doing?’ – O’Donnell’s shot choice leaves Eurosport commentators baffled
Wilson had the first chance of the 13th frame but missed the pink into the middle and then let another opportunity slip when he overcut a red into the bottom corner.
But with O’Donnell unable to punish his errors, Wilson returned to seal the win at the third time of asking to cap off a memorable week.
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