The final of the Scottish Open takes place over two sessions of play inside the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh on Sunday as Joe O’Connor goes up against Gary Wilson for the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
Someone will win their first ranking event title in this final and will enjoy all the benefits which come with it such as their tour status being sorted for a couple of years as well as entry into the Champion of Champions next year.
Joe O’Connor
Sometimes we get to a final and there is a debate about who the player of the week has been. There is no doubt this week. It has been Joe O’Connor. The Leicester potter has made it through to his first major final and he definitely deserves to be here because he has beaten Zhao Xintong, Ding Junhui, Mark Williams, Ricky Walden and Neil Robertson along the way. They are all top 16 players either currently or in the past so his run has been remarkable.
O’Connor has had a good mix of solid tactical play and decent scoring when the chance has presented itself. There were doubts heading into the semi-final that he might struggle in the occasion with it having only been his second ranking event match of that stage of a tournament but it was completely the opposite. He thrived and the longer it went on the better he got. He is entitled to feel very confident about his chances here.
Gary Wilson
If it is a surprise that Joe O’Connor made it through to the final, it is less of a shock that Gary Wilson is here. This will be his third ranking final and his second in as many seasons. He is yet to win a title though and you sense he will be under a little more pressure in this final, not just because he has passed a couple of previous chances up but also because he is the favourite to win the final which always brings extra pressure with it.
Wilson has beaten some decent opponents this week as well. He took care of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Kyren Wilson on his way to the final and even Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the form he was in wasn’t the easiest clash in the final four. Wilson hasn’t always played his best stuff this week but when he has been asked questions by his opponent he has often come up with the goods. The last six frames against Un-Nooh was some of the best snooker of the tournament.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Head-to-head
Quite remarkably given how long these two have been on the tour, this will be the first time they have faced each other in a match of any kind. They happen to be doing it on what is the biggest day of their careers.
Betting
I think this could be a good final between two players who have played well this week. The rankings and what they have achieved in their careers to date would probably tell us that Gary Wilson is the most likely winner here but he is more than capable of beating himself if things start to go wrong and I don’t expect that to be the case with Joe O’Connor. I happen to like the fact that O’Connor has no previous battle scars when it comes to finals as well.
If there is a concern for O’Connor it would be that his semi-final was pretty hard fought but he isn’t a player who isn’t used to getting involved in battles so I’m not convinced that is a massive issue. Wilson played really well in the semi-final and if he has that form he could be dangerous but even after that match he was talking himself down in his interview. If he falls behind in this final I just wonder what he’ll have to come back with. I don’t have that issue with O’Connor so at odds against I’ll take him to land his first title.
Tips
Back J.O’Connor to beat G.Wilson for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
