Gary Wilson delighted Sporting Life followers by bossing the final of the Welsh Open to land his third ranking title on Sunday.
Back-to-back winner of the Scottish Open over the past two seasons, each time comfortably, Wilson added the Welsh equivalent to his collection by thumping maiden finalist Martin O'Donnell 9-4.
Wilson's dream week had already featured the 199th 147 break in snooker history in a semi-final win against John Higgins, and he swept aside any concerns of a hangover by taking the first four frames against O'Donnell.
Breaks of 98, 52 and 55 were enough to build a healthy lead over a nervy opponent and Wilson was 6-1 clear before O'Donnell started to look competitive and reduced that gap to 6-3.
Wilson responded with the sole century of the final to restore his comfortable cushion and went on to win convincingly, landing the money for those who followed Richard Mann's pre-tournament preview.
GARY WILSON IS THE BETVICTOR WELSH OPEN CHAMPION! #WelshOpen 🏴 | @BetVictor pic.twitter.com/EvOwYKdHyx
— WST (@WeAreWST) February 18, 2024
"I started well and wanted to boss the game," Wilson told WST.
"It didn't pan out that way and I had to grind it out and stay solid. I have had a lot of lows over the years and that makes me determined to win in these kind of games, I knew I just had to get to get it done.
"My safety was good and I kept my head. I have played well in spells this week though the ongoing challenge is always to play better on the big stage. I want to win more, I will keep trying and hopefully I have got many years left.
"All credit to Martin because he has had a lot of lows too and I know how that feels. He is resilient and keeps coming back for more."
Pencampwr 👑🏴#WelshOpen | @Gary_Wilson11 | @BetVictor pic.twitter.com/XIlhBWTBNP
— WST (@WeAreWST) February 18, 2024
O'Donnell said: "I have played some great snooker this week so to play like that today and not make it difficult for him is disappointing Gary still had to pot the balls but he had plenty in the tank.
"I felt ok at the start but then started missing too many easy balls and got tense. I will learn from today and hopefully there are good things coming for me.
"I played really well in all my matches apart from today. There are ups and downs in this game and you just have to keep going. I believe I'll be back in these kind of situations."
