On March 6, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker Welsh Open ended the semi-final competition. Trump won three straight sets with a 3-5 deficit to eliminate Hussein Wafi 6-5 to reach the ranking finals for the first time this season. Trump's good friend Lisowski also faced a 3-5 deficit, and he also dragged the game into the decider, but unfortunately reversed the defeat and went out 5-6, and the winning Joe Perry and Trump will compete for the title.
The significance of this competition is extraordinary, first of all, the various masters compete for the qualification of the Tour Championship, Hussein Wafi, who reached the final four, surpassed Yan Bingtao and ranked in the top eight in the single-season ranking list, if he reaches the final, it will expand the lead, and if he wins the championship, he will basically lock in a place.
Secondly, the World Championships are getting closer and closer, the battle for seed seats is becoming more and more intense, Lisovsky returns to the top 16 with the top four seats in this competition, Yan Bingtao is temporarily squeezed out of the top 16, if Lisovsky reaches the final or even wins the championship, he will completely throw yan Bingtao away. Therefore, although there are no Chinese players participating in these two semi-finals, they are particularly important for Yan Bingtao.
Hussein Wafi led 3-1, 5-3, but failed to seize the opportunity, and finally lost three consecutive sets, losing 5-6 to Trump and missing the final. In the single-season ranking list, Hussein Wafi is 6500 pounds ahead of Yan Bingtao, who is still likely to overtake his opponents through the next competition and strive to qualify for the Tour Championship.
In another semi-final, the post-90s star Lisovsky fell behind 0-3, 3-5 respectively, and he scored 71 and 123 points in a desperate situation, dragging the game into the decider. Unfortunately, he failed to replicate the feat of reversing Ali Carter in the previous round, nor was he able to win three consecutive sets like his good friend Trump, and after losing the decider 7-81, Lisovsky lost 5-6 to Joe Perry and missed Trump. The results of these two semi-finals are good news for Yan Bingtao.
On the world ranking list, Lisovsky temporarily ranked 14th, and the advantage ahead of Yan Bingtao was not too big. For Yan Bingtao, although the short-term goal is to compete for a place in the Tour Championship, considering that Trump has also caught up, it is becoming more and more difficult for Yan Bingtao to compete for the top eight places in a single season, and the more realistic goal is to ensure the seeding of the World Championships, hoping that he can achieve good results in the next competition.
The Welsh Open final will be played between Trump and Joe Perry, the match will be played in 19 rounds, 10-win system, divided into two time periods, namely 21:00 Beijing time on March 6 and 3:00 a.m. the next day, can Trump win the first ranking championship of the season? Let's wait and see!