Liang Wenbo wins inaugural English Open

Liang Wenbo has won his first ranking title in the inaugural English Open, defeating Judd Trump 9-6 in the final.

He became only the fourth Asian player to win a ranking title after James Wattana, Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, and just the second from mainland China (after Ding). For Trump, hopes of a back-to-back ranking win after his success in the European Masters were not to be. The match was a high-quality one throughout, in which both men exhibited top match play and internal grit.

Liang immediately got off to a strong start, establishing a 2-0 lead with two successive breaks of 95. It set the tone, for a match in which the Chinese player was never behind. Trump responded in the third frame after Liang failed to capitalise on a brilliant long red, and then he levelled for 2-2 at the interval.

The Chinese player responded as he’d started, with breaks of 76 and 92 once again establishing his two-frame buffer. Both men had chances in frame seven, and Trump eventually managed to force a respot on the black – he played a good shot, but Liang went for an ambitious double and got it. Trump was definitely going to be behind going into the evening session, but would it be by two or four? The answer, two, after a 52 break made it 5-3.

It’s good to have another winner from China

– Judd Trump

Trump came out fighting in the evening, producing the only century of the match with a superb 132 break. Liang responded with breaks of 84 and 98, and then frame 12 came down to a battle on the last two reds. Trump needed to win it to stay in the match, and he did, seizing on a missed Liang long pot to make it 7-5 at the final interval. The Englishman made a 50 break, and then he established a strong lead in frame 14 – Liang came to an awkward table, and produced a fantastic clearance of 62 to move within one of victory. The final frame was tense, as Liang wasted his two early scoring chances, but after Trump left a red in the jaws of a pocket, it was all Liang needed to clear the table and secure the title.

After the match, Liang said: “I’m very happy. In the last two frames I concentrated on every shot and made two good breaks. Snooker is a very difficult game but if you don’t enjoy it, you don’t play well. Judd put me under pressure but to go 8-6 ahead gave me more confidence.

“I have to say thank you to Ronnie O’Sullivan because I practise with him and eat with him every day. I have learned a lot from him over the past two years and he’s my best friend. Yesterday he told me to look back at my UK Championship final last year and see what I could learn from it. I knew I needed to be more calm and controlled this time.

“I’m going to forget about this victory now and keep going in the next one. I always learn from every experience.”

Trump said: “I was chasing him throughout the day but I should have made it 7-7 and if I had done that it might have been a different result. I should have turned the screw and grabbed control of the match. I felt a bit of pressure and I was taking too much time, when I should have just got on with it.

“Liang was playing with freedom and his long potting was unbelievable. It’s good to have another winner from China.

“I’m annoyed not to get back-to-back ranking titles but winning 14 matches in a row has given me confidence and I will try to start a new run now. When you lose a final it gives you another kick because you don’t want to feel like that again. It’s a good time to be in form with so many tournaments coming up.”

As a result of the win, Liang picks up the first prize of £70,000, the Steve Davis trophy, and a spot in this year’s Champion of Champions, where he is due to play Mark Selby. If he wins all the other Home Nation Series events – the Northern Irish Open, the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open – he will also pick up a £1 million bonus prize.