LIANG Wenbo clinched his maiden ranking event title and remains in the hunt for a £1m bonus after beating Judd Trump in the inaugural English Open final on Sunday evening.
Having won last week’s European Masters in Romania, Trump was a heavy favourite heading into the final at EventCity, Manchester but Liang held his nerve superbly to triumph 9-6.
The Chinese cueman sealed the win with a break of 39, leaping in the air and fist-pumping with delight at the moment of victory.
The English Open was the first of four events making up the new Home Nations Series – which will also see competitions in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff – with a bonus of £1m being awarded to any man who can win all four.
While that feat remains unlikely, Liang pockets £70,000 for his success this week and can now call himself a ranking event winner after narrowly missing out at the 2009 Shanghai Masters and 2015 UK Championship.
Liang could hardly have got off to a better start in his third ranking event final as a pair of composed 95 breaks indicated no sign of nerves and he took a well-deserved 2-0 lead.
But Trump – a six-time ranking winner – battled back before the mid-session interval, a break of 54 in frame four the highlight as he levelled proceedings at 2-2.
In his last ranking final, the 2015 UK Championship, the Chinese star fell behind early and could never get back on terms as Australia’s Neil Robertson emerged a 10-5 winner.
However, this time around he guaranteed a lead heading into the evening session by reeling off the first three frames after the interval as he almost moved out of sight.
And although the Englishman ‘s gutsy knock of 52 narrowed the deficit to 5-3, Liang knew he required just four more frames in the evening session to lift the Steve Davis trophy.
Trump needed a fast start upon resumption and, with a majestic break of 132, he got exactly that.
But the world No.20 again dug deep to respond – posting contributions of 84 and 98 to move 7-4 ahead before his opponent notched two half-centuries to narrow the gap to a single frame once again.
Liang’s knock of 62 in frame 14 left him needing just one more for victory at 8-6 and, when Trump left a red in the jaws of the pocket in the next, the 29-year-old needed no further invitation as he sealed the deal 9-6 with a knock of 39.
The charismatic potter received the trophy from the man it was named after, Steve Davis, and rises to No.12 in the world rankings.
Watch the English Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.
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