On December 17, 2023, Beijing time, the Snooker Scottish Open ended the semi-final competition, and the two semi-finals were very exciting. China's Zhou Yuelong led 5-3 at one point, and the tiebreaker was nine points higher, but he missed a good opportunity and was defeated by defending champion Gary Wilson and went out 5-6. In addition, Thailand's Sankham eliminated world champion Higgins 6-3 and advanced to the final in an upset, bursting into tears on the spot.
In this year's Scottish Open, upsets have become the main theme, and the players who finally entered the semi-finals are Gary Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Sancam and Higgins, which is not too luxurious in the top four lineup, Higgins is experienced, the highest ranked, and of course the number one favorite to win the championship. However, Higgins' form is not as good as before, and his stability has declined significantly, so Zhou Yuelong ushered in a good opportunity to compete for the first championship in the ranking competition.
Zhou Yuelong faced defending champion Gary Wilson in the semifinals, Zhou Yuelong still quickly entered the game, scoring 106 points in a single stroke in the second game, and he won two games in a row after 2-2 to lead 4-2. In the eighth game, Zhou Yuelong scored 77 points in a single stroke and got the match point 5-3, which should be a very big advantage. However, Gary Wilson showed his strength after that, and he scored 122 and 54 points in a row to drag the match into a tiebreaker.
The two competed fiercely in the tiebreaker, Zhou Yuelong scored 69 points in a single stroke and took the lead in overscoring, he exceeded 9 points, and waved his fist on the spot to celebrate. But Gary Wilson did not give up, and then continued to make wonderful snooker, dragging the game into the battle for black. Zhou Yuelong lost the long black ball at the last moment and missed the opportunity, and Gary Wilson beat Zhou Yuelong 79-72 to advance to the finals 6-5. It can be said that this is a super reversal, and Zhou Yuelong missed the opportunity.
Gary Wilson will face Thailand's Sankham for the title, who won five games in a row after 1-3 to eliminate Higgins 6-3 and reach the final of the ranking tournament for the first time in his career. In fact, Higgins started well, scoring 130 points and 92 points in a row, but unfortunately he missed the opportunity to score 53 points in a single stroke in the fifth game, and then his state began to decline.
Before the game, most Chinese fans were optimistic that Zhou Yuelong and Higgins would meet in the final, but they didn't expect that in the end it would be Gary Wilson and Sancam who competed for the championship. For Zhou Yuelong, the final is close but he missed the opportunity, or he needs to adjust his mentality, I hope this loss will not affect the future games, and I hope he can make a comeback and continue to impact his first ranking championship!