Snooker's China Open sensation Noppon Saengkham reached the final in the first semi-final against China's Zhou Yuelong.
Thailand's Noppon Saengkham has made
snooker's China Open final by defeating China's own Zhou Yuelong 6-5 after a gruelling decider battle.
Taking the match clock all the way over 4 hours, this titanic tussle had all the drama one could ask for, but finally Saengkham put it to bed with a beautiful 134-point break.
- At 5-5 I still believed that I could do it. I just wanted one opportunity. Since 5-3 I didn't make many mistakes, Saengkham told WST after the match.
Saengkham's road to the final has been impressive. The Thai has taken down
Judd Trump,
Ronnie O'Sullivan,
Shaun Murphy and now Zhou.
His opponent in the final will come from the second semi-final, where old heads and former world champs Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham go head-to-head. That match goes ahead at 12:30 UK time.
Saengkham has a chance to make history on Sunday, as he'd only become the third player from his country to win a ranking tournament title. Only
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (one ranking title) and
James Wattana (three titles) have managed this before.
Whether he takes the trophy home or not, this will be Noppon's biggest paycheck of his career. The winner of the China Open pockets himself a tidy 250 000 pounds, while even the other finalist will get to enjoy £100 000.
- This is one of the biggest tournaments, and for the first time I'll be making 100 000 pounds - maybe even 250 000. This is really big for me. Maybe I'll be able to buy a house from the UK. Tomorrow is my big day, it would be a big dream for me.
Saengkhamilla on sunnuntaina mahdollisuus tehdä historiaa, sillä voittaessaan hän olisi vasta kolmas thai-pelaaja, joka on voittanut snookerin ranking-turnauksen. Aiemmin tässä ovat onnistuneet
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (yksi ranking-voitto) ja
James Wattana (kolme voittoa).
Saengkham acknowledged that the biggest match of his career will also bring some nerves.
- I need to get a solid start, because I will be nervous. I need to be able to hold myself together.
Source:
WST 
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