SCOTTISH OPEN 2023: GARY WILSON HOLDS FIRM TO BEAT NOPPON SAENGKHAM AND DEFEND STEPHEN HENDRY TROPHY……

In the first session of the Scottish Open final against Noppon Saengkham, Gary Wilson put on a powerful show. On Sunday night, he repeated that performance at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh to secure victory and successfully defend the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Wilson entered the tournament in poor form, but he turned things around during the week and was a deserving winner.

Gary Wilson defeated Noppon Saengkham 9–5 to win the Scottish Open and retain his title, building on his outstanding play in the afternoon session.
Wilson fell out of the picture and turned in a string of subpar performances after winning the Scottish Open a year ago. He began the week ranked 60th on the one-year list.

Wilson expressed concern about his form when he traveled to Edinburgh for his title defense and mentioned struggling with the yips, but as the week went on, Wilson’s form seemed to improve at the Meadowbank Sports Centre.

After the first session of Sunday’s final, he blasted into a 6-2 lead; if a surprising missed red had not occurred in the last frame, the score would have been 7-1.
Wilson could have spent several hours brooding over the red that was missed. If he did, it was evident as he started the evening’s first frame with a magnificent long red and quickly overcame an 81-break break to increase his lead to five frames.
Little was wrong with Noppon’s afternoon session total of 132, as he demonstrated his continued form by quickly reaching his eighth century of the week to win the tenth frame.

Noppon had no choice but to come out and play with aggression. In the last over, he gave Wilson something to consider for the first time after breaking 100 in the tenth.

Wilson appeared to be tense after missing a red to the middle early in the 12th, but Noppon quickly returned the table.
Wilson restored his four-frame lead, moved within one frame of the lead, and produced an outstanding break of 51 to split the mini-session. Wilson knocked in an excellent plant with distance between two reds.
Both players got in the frame a few times after play resumed, but each time they erred in position or chose a questionable shot, suggesting that tension was building.

The 13th ultimately came down to a fight on the colours, which Noppon won when he set up a cunning snooker move behind the blue. Wilson gave up a free ball the second time, failed to break free, and his opponent converted to preserve the tie.

Wilson could have felt uneasy about missing a couple of opportunities in the 13th, but he dismissed it by opening the 14th with a fine long red.
He scored thirty-one before scurrying for safety, only to knock in Noppon’s long red. Wilson appeared a little uneasy in his chair, but when Noppon missed a red to left middle, he jumped out of it.
This time, Wilson remained composed as a break of 53 guaranteed that he would join the exclusive group of players that includes Judd Trump, Mark Selby, and Mark Allen in defending a Home Nations title.
Wilson, following the first session of the final.

The defending champion appeared to be in control of the Scottish Open final, trailing Gary Wilson 6-2 going into the evening session.
Noppon defeated John Higgins in the semifinals, making an impression en route to the championship match. Throughout the majority of the competition, Wilson’s play had been inconsistent as he attempted to retain his title. He had been rough with his extension, biting his cue in annoyance, and displaying emotional instability.
In addition, he had been candid about his battles with the “yips” while winning every game in Edinburgh.

Wilson, however, appeared unfazed in the first frame, winning it with a smooth 90, and starting the second with a strong long pot helped him build a break of 62. Noppon was unable to score another point before Wilson returned to finish things off at the table.
Noppon was trailing 4–0 in the third frame when he missed a routine red to the top-right, which allowed Wilson to go ahead 4–0. Wilson then had another opportunity and won the frame against the Thai opponent.
Noppon was under pressure to get on the scoreboard in the fourth frame and win a frame before the mid-session break. He.

Wilson had taken 79 off a challenging ball spread after the restart, but only a miss on a long red prevented him from becoming the first player in the match to reach a century. Wilson then restored his three-frame lead.
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In the subsequent frame, he eliminated his opponent and an intruding insect with a swat, showing no signs of weakness.

Wilson attempted to make a second century, but his effort of 78 was insufficient to extend his lead. As a result, Noppon was under pressure to continue the match into the second session this evening.
Wilson rattled the corners of the bottom-right pocket, allowing Wilson to return in to reach 61, but he threatened to do just that with a break of 30 before he needed the rest to reach over the bunched reds.
Then, Wilson missed a red that would have gone into the middle-left, giving Noppon the opportunity to reclaim the frame.

Noppon completed the comeback to win the final frame 73-61 by clearing the remaining balls to land on the blue, then precisely moving the ball up to the pink, high up the table.
When the two came back in the evening, Noppon gave himself a slim chance of surviving at 6-2.
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