SNOOKER
Ratchapol just misses out on final spot after defeat
Hanif Hassan
Ricky Walden and Stuart Bingham will meet in an all-English final of the SangSom 6-red Snooker International today after Walden edged out home favourite Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (James Wattana) last night at the Montien Riverside Hotel.
Ratchapol pegged the score back to 5-5 lead after a rollercoaster 10th frame, which he seemed to have fluffed after a foul on the blue when opting for a long red.
That let world number 35 Walden right back into it but an unexpected miss on the black handed the initiative back to the Thai, who kept his cool to take the frame 44-23 in a real see-saw battle.
There was little to separate the pair and everything ended up hinging on the final frame of this best-of-13 tussle with the score tied at 6-6.
It was a fitting way to end a close contest but Walden finished on top with a 42-0 score to book today's final showdown with Bingham.
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| Ratchapol lines up a shot at the Montien Riverside Hotel. — HANIF HASSAN |
World number 21 Bingham defeated compatriot and world No 34 Michael Holt 7-3 earlier in the day.
Bingham, who had only made it to the knockout stages of the tournament after finishing fourth in Group E, recovered dramatically to record some impressive victories late in the event. He was in complete control of his semi-final.
Bingham, a former world amateur champion, produced breaks of 63, 59 and 50 and also snookered his opponent time and again during the encounter to make things difficult.
Holt did the early legwork to cruise to a 2-1 advantage, but from that point on, it was Bingham's show.
The world No 21 walked away with five frames in a row to grab a massive 6-2 lead. Though Holt was able to steal the 10th frame, Bingham had little problem in wrapping up the match in the next.
Earlier in the quarter-finals, Ratchapol did well to edge Nigel Bond, the world No 23, 7-6 in a marathon that kept the crowd engrossed in the match for more than two hours.
Walden had moved into the semi-finals after scoring a 7-5 victory over compatriot Jimmy Michie, while Bingham handed a 7-3 loss to Martin Gould of England.
Holt was the one who delivered a blow to the Thai hopes of having more than the singular presence of Ratchapol in the last four stage.
Holt registered a comfortable 7-4 victory over Noppadon Noppachorn, a former world amateur champion who had been in brilliant form, in the quarter-finals.
Today's best-of-15 frames final will be televised live on NBT (Channel 11) and TrueSport 3 at 3pm.
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