The second winner of the Wuhan Open will be crowned on Saturday and we are guaranteed the first home champion in the event as two Chinese players face off for the title when Si Jiahui goes up against his compatriot Xiao Guodong over the best of 19 frames.
Both men were impressive in their semi-final victories which offers up hope for a great final but there is sure to be plenty of tension and no doubt drama as the two men battle it out for a first major title in their careers.
Si Jiahui
I think it was always a case of when Si Jiahui would win a major title for the first time rather than if he would win one and the answer could very well come our way on Saturday as the Chinese star looks to take the next step in his career having previously reached the final of the German Masters at the beginning of the year. That followed on from reaching the last four of the World Championship in 2023 so the 22-year-old has been trending in the right direction and the next step is to lift some silverware.
Si will go into this match as a favourite having seen off Zhang Anda and Judd Trump in the last two rounds, the latter of which he dispatched with breaks of 144 and 147 along the way in what was one of the performances of the season so far. The question will be whether he can back up that standard in the biggest match of his career to date but if he can then he is entitled to think that this will be the day he wins a title for the first time. Whatever happens in this final Si is guaranteed a place in the top 16 but he’ll rise into the top 10 in the world rankings if he wins this match.
Xiao Guodong
This offers up the chance for Xiao Guodong to win the first title of his career as well. Much like his opponent here, he has also been to a major final. His came against Ding Junhui in the Shanghai Masters final in 2013 where he went down 10-6 and he’ll be aiming to avoid a repeat of losing in front of a home crowd to a fellow Chinese player. You wouldn’t say that Guodong was teetering on the edge of winning a title but the way he has played this week it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if he wins this final.
If Xiao can win this match he would move into the top 20 in the world rankings and would have every chance of qualifying for the UK Championship automatically and The Masters in the coming weeks not to mention the Champion of Champions spot that comes with winning this title. He has won his quarter final being dominant from the front and then his semi-final from a mile back so there isn’t a situation which should concern him in this final but how he will react if and when the finish line comes remains to be seen.
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Head-to-head
These two have met twice away from the Shootout in their career and it is Si Jiahui who has won both of them. He leads 9-3 in the frame count in those two matches, both of which have come over the last two years. This will be the first time that they have met in China though and therefore it will be a maiden battle in this tournament. It will also be the first time the pair have faced each other in a final and the first time they have met in a multi-session match so quite how much we can use history in this final remains to be seen.
Betting
I think this is the time for Si Jiahui. He was always a tournament winner in waiting as opposed to Xiao Guodong who was always a very steady player. To be fair to Xiao he has played some really decent stuff this week and taken out some big players but in the semi-final he started very nervy and scrappy and was a little lucky that his inexperienced opponent saw the winning line a little early. I don’t see Si Jiahui starting this final slowly or worrying when the finish line comes.
This is the first final of this kind for Guodong for 11 years so he is entitled to feel the nerves and the pressure because chances like this clearly don’t come along for him every day whereas Si knows that if this one were to pass him by the next chance to win a tournament won’t be far away. He looks very confident to me though and I think his time is here. He has an opponent who he knows and who he has twice beaten and one I expect him to pull away from the longer this one goes on.
Tips
Back S.Jiahui (-1.5 frames) to beat X.Guodong for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with Boylesports
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