The final of the Northern Ireland Open is sure to provide a couple of wonderful stories no matter who wins the two session, best of 17 frame contest. Yan Bingtao will take on Mark Williams for the title in a potentially fascinating conclusion to the event.
Bingtao will be looking for his first major title in this final and while Williams is a much more seasoned winner he has not won a title in the UK for 14 years and has an ideal chance to get that monkey off his back as well as secure his spots in all the huge events for the remainder of the season.
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Yan Bingtao
The 17-year-old Chinese star will be the youngest ever ranking event winner if he can come through this final. We should not be surprised that he has made it this far. He has been threatening it for a while and finally the door has opened for him. For someone so young his temperament is outstanding. The quality of his game was a given.
Bingtao breezed through the early stages of the tournament and has beaten some good players in the middle to latter stages. He ended the run of Mark King, Ryan Day and Robert Milkins before powering past his fellow Chinese player Lu Haotian in the semi-final. The appearance is that he is getting stronger with each match.
Mark Williams
The Welsh Potting Machine has been equally as impressive in getting to this final, if not more so. He has only dropped six frames in the entire tournament to date and while you can point out that he hasn’t faced anyone in the top 20 in the world so far, nobody can dispute the style and quality in which he has demolished those he has faced.
Williams has scored well when the chances have come his way and he has earned his chances with some excellent safety play. He has already won the Six Red World Championship this year which has undoubtedly given him confidence. The most remarkable thing about his run this week is that he has done it while his wife has been ill at home.
Head to Head
These two have met two times although one of them was in the six red sphere which Bingtao won. Their only 15 red contest came in the European Masters earlier this season and Williams won 4-1 on that occasion. This will be Bingtao’s first major final as opposed to Williams who has been in the biggest matches in the sport multiple times.
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Betting
This should be a good final but if Mark Williams can keep his mind on the job I think he will have too much for the Chinese star. He is actually a bad match up for Bingtao because his safety game is right up there and when the chances come along he is really scoring. His laid back approach means he won’t melt in this final too.
Bingtao struggled in the International Championship semi-final which was over two sessions and this same 17 frame distance and if Williams can get himself in front early on and keep everything tight we could see Bingtao try to force the pace and come unstuck again. I’ll go with experience in this final which is very much Williams.
Tips
WON – Back M.Williams to beat Y.Bingtao for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with Betfair
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