It may have been a week of thrills and spills in Cardiff with shocks at almost every corner but we’re down to the final and it will be contested by two of the world’s top 16.
John Higgins will take on Barry Hawkins for a chance to be crowned Welsh Open champion; proving that in the end the cream usually rises.
This week has certainly given some of the sport’s lesser-known stars a chance to compete in the limelight and show what they’re capable of but in the end it is two proven winners who are the last men standing.
Victory today would mean very different things for both players.
It’s been widely publicised this week that Higgins not only has an opportunity to become the outright record holder of the Welsh Open but can also take his impressive career tally of ranking wins up to a milestone 30; a feat only two other players have reached in the game.
Higgins came past a gritty Gary Wilson last night with breaks of 99 and 106 to seal a 6-2 win and although wasn’t at his very best showed all his experience to get the job done and knows exactly what it takes to convert it to silverware
For Barry, this is his sixth ranking event final and a chance to win his fourth title. It comes in a season where he has rarely, if ever, hit top form and would signify a timely return to winning ways in time for the World Championship where he has so regularly done well in recent years reaching the one-table setup in four of his last five visits.
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Hawkins hadn’t gone past the last 16 of an event until this week and told the press that since his brother-in-law committed suicide last April, he has struggled to keep his mind on his snooker given the suffering of himself and his family.
For those reasons, it’s fantastic to see Barry doing what he does best again. He’s played some excellent snooker this week and booked his place in the final after surviving a late rally to beat Noppon Saengkham 6-4 in the semi-finals.
This final promises to be toughly contested with such a career highlight at stake for Higgins and Barry looking to grasp what would without doubt be an emotional win.
If we look at the head-to-head record, Higgins comes out largely on top with six ranking match wins to Hawkins’ one. Their two most important meetings have been at the World Championship where Higgins won 17-8 in last year’s semi-final and 10-6 in the 2010 first round.
