On Yee Completes British Open Hat-Trick!
OnYee Ng has defeated Bai Yulu 4-2 to win the Landywood British Open title for the third successive year at the Landywood Snooker Club, Walsall, England.
The Hong Kong China ace becomes only the fifth player to have won the British Open on three or more occasions and moves to 24 career titles in total, closing to within two of Karen Corr who currently stands fourth on the overall list.
Victory against reigning world champion Bai will also see Ng climb one place to second in the latest world rankings and also represents her first win against the Chinese star on the World Women’s Snooker Tour.
It was a weekend to remember for the 35-year-old, who defeated Scotland’s Deborah Fladgate and world number six Narucha Phoemphul to reach the semi-final, before she took down England’s Rebecca Kenna 4-0 with a tournament high break of 104 to reach her fifth world ranking event final from six appearances so far this season.
Awaiting her would be 2023 champion Bai, who defeated Selina Dean, So Man Yan and most notably record six-time champion Reanne Evans in the semi-finals to also reach her fifth final of the campaign to date.
Having previously defeated Ng in the finals of the UK Championship, Niche Cues Open and WSF Women’s Championship, it was Bai Yulu who made the stronger start with a break of 67 to take the opener, before Ng claimed a tactical second frame on the black and added the third with a match-high break of 85 to lead 2-1.
Although Bai would level the match up at 2-2 with a break of 45, Ng was not to be denied a memorable victory against the world number one with further breaks of 38 and a composed 66 in what would be the final frame of the match to secure a 4-2 success.
Earlier in the day, fifth ranked Rebecca Kenna ended the run of Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut at the quarter-final stage with a 3-1 win, while Selina Dean and debutant Natasha Kent also reached the last 16 for the first time.
Phoemphul, Davidson Claim Side Titles
There were further victories this season for Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul and England’s Tessa Davidson in the Under-21 and Seniors side-tournaments respectively.
For 20-year-old Phoemphul, wins against Daisy May Oliver and Zoe Killington earned her a fifth Under-21 title of the campaign and seventh overall. The Thai player has now won more junior titles than any other player in Tour history, except for all-time leader Hannah Jones who claimed an incredible 20 titles early in her career.
For the second successive year at Landywood, Tessa Davidson claimed victories in both the Seniors and Challenge Cup tournaments, with victories against Natasha Kent and Anna Prisjažņuka respectively.
A 2-0 success against Scotland’s Kent in the Seniors earned an unprecedented 14th consecutive title and landmark 20th overall for Davidson, which sees her move to within three of all-time record holder Jenny Poulter and further underline her status as the runaway Seniors number one.
In the Challenge Cup tournament, played under the 6-Red format, Davidson defeated Paulina Delega, Zoe Killington, Daisy Oliver and finally Anna Prisjažņuka 2-1 to claim the double for a second year in a row.
The Tour continues with the World Women’s Snooker Championship, which will run from 12-19 May in Dongguan Changping, China. Entry for the prestigious event will open shortly.
