Scottish Open 2023: Zhou Yuelong foils Stuart Bingham comeback to advance, Gary Wilson whitewashes Chris Wakelin
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Updated 15/12/2023 at 18:16 GMT
At 4-1 down, it looked as though Stuart Bingham would exit the Scottish Open with a heavy defeat, but instead he bowed out with his head held high after fighting back to 4-4 before Zhou snatched the decider. The Chinese player moves into the semi-finals, where he will play Gary Wilson. Defeat for Bingham means he misses out on a spot at the World Grand Prix.
'All of a sudden he can't miss' - Bingham lights up Scottish Open with 142 clearance
Video credit: TNT Sports
Zhou Yuelong overcame Stuart Bingham in a 5-4 thriller to move into the semi-finals of the Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
The Chinese player looked on course for a straightforward victory when he led 4-1, but Bingham fought back to draw level at 4-4 to take the race to five to a dramatic decider.
However, Zhou rediscovered the fine form that helped him to a three-frame lead to close out the match and finally book his spot in the last four.
Zhou was in the mood from the off as he made a century in the opening frame.
The three-time ranking finalist looked to be back in business in frame two until he ran out of position after a break of 35. A safety exchange was ended when Bingham found an excellent red to the middle pocket and proceeded to knock in 77 and level the scores.
The third frame looked to be following in the same fashion as Zhou built what looked to be a healthy lead but again allowed his opponent a way back in. This time, however, Zhou executed the better safety plan and eventually made sure of the frame with a 35 clearance.
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'Oh no!' - Bingham joy turns to despair as terrific plant leads to missed blue
Video credit: TNT Sports
It was developing into a war of attrition and an error-strewn fourth frame was edged by Zhou. Both players struggled but Bingham made the more costly mistakes and Zhou was able to pull away at 3-1.
In what was a microcosm of his performance, Bingham executed an excellent plant before proceeding to miss a comparatively simple blue. It was another error he was made to pay for as Zhou forged an impressive break to move to within a frame of victory.
Bingham reminded everyone of his ability with a supreme century - his fifth in the tournament - and a total clearance of 142 to come back to 4-2.
Against the odds, the Englishman put together clearances of 71 and 72 to complete his recovery to 4-4.
However, his efforts would be too little too late as 25-year-old Zhou wrapped up the match with a break of 70.
Victory for the 21st-ranked player earns him a semi-final clash with Gary Wilson for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Defeat for Bingham means he won’t appear at the World Grand Prix.
Wilson whitewashes Wakelin to keep title defence alive
Gary Wilson talked about suffering from the yips following his win over Joe O’Connor.
Since then, he has barely missed a beat as, after powering past Rory Thor in the round of 16, the defending champion crushed Chris Wakelin to storm into the semi-finals.
Wakelin arrived in decent form, but made a couple of early mistakes and they proved costly as Wilson grew into the game.
Wilson took frames one and two with runs of 68 and 96 respectively, and followed up with a break of 118 in the third for the 1000th century of the 2023/24 season.
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‘Brilliant snooker’ - Wilson makes 1000th century of 2023/24 season at Scottish Open
Video credit: TNT Sports
Wilson extended his lead to four with a knock of 68, and closed out the 5-0 whitewash in the frame after the interval.
It was a case of Wilson pouncing on a Wakelin error in the fifth, as the latter knocked in a superb starter red but ran out of position on 47 and missed a tough recovery pot.
Wilson came to the table for an easy starter, and raced through a break of 82 to keep his chances of defending the title alive with an 11th win in a row at the Meadowbank Sports Centre.
“It was nice to play pretty good for a change,” Wilson told Eurosport. “It was a long time coming.
“I have been working and working and working to try and find something, and something came out there.
“That’s how I know I can play and it is so frustrating.
“I have not been playing very well at all. I had a bad start to the season and it was just nice to find something and play how I know I can.”
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