Underdog Lei Lands Maiden Crown
12/16/2024 05:43 AM
World number 84 Lei Peifan created history in the first ever final between two players born in the 21st century, beating fellow Chinese 21-year-old Wu Yize 9-5 to win the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Outsider Lei becomes the highest ranked player to win a tournament since 1993. Dave Harold was world number 93 when he won the Asian Open that year.
Incredibly, Lei had never been beyond the last 16 of a ranking tournament prior to this week. He's overcome a world class list of opponents to make it to the final, defeating Hossein Vafaei, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham, Tom Ford and Mark Allen.
Lei's prize for victory is £100,000, which will see him leap to 43rd position in the Johnstone's Paint World Rankings.
He heads into the BetVictor Welsh Open next year trailing Neil Robertson by £8,600 in the BetVictor Series standings. Whoever tops the list after the Welsh Open will scoop a bumper £150,000 bonus.
Earlier this year Lei wasn't even a professional player, having lost his status twice previously. He regained his place on the professional circuit by winning the Asia Pacific Championship in March, beating Australia's Vinnie Calabrese 6-5 in the final.
At 42, the aggregate age of today's finalists was the lowest in a ranking event title match since 1998. Paul Hunter (19) defeated John Higgins (22) to capture the Welsh Open crown on that occasion.
Defeat sees Wu fall short in his second final of the campaign. He was also runner-up to Neil Robertson at the BetVictor English Open. However, he will emerge from the week ranked 25th in the world.
Lei came out of the afternoon session with a 5-3 advantage. That gap was closed when Wu took the opener this evening, but Lei quickly responded with 70 in the tenth to make it 6-4.
A tightly contested 11th frame then went the way of Lei after 35 minutes of play. The 12th came down to the green, where Wu missed an opportunity to the top left. That afforded Lei the chance to clear to the pink and move one away from glory at 8-4.
Wu provided resistance by taking the next, but a break of 62 saw Lei hold his nerve and get over the line for a momentous victory.
Lei said “”Honestly, it feels so unexpected to win the title. I initially just wanted to better my previous best result, which was the last 16. Reaching that stage already felt satisfying, so I played with no pressure and didn't overthink things.”
Lei added: “The final frame was tough mentally. I kept picturing myself winning the title if I made the next shot, but I tried to stay calm and prepare myself for each shot.
“Coming back to the professional circuit this year, my goal was just to keep my place on the tour. I’ve already been relegated twice before. I didn't expect this result at all and it came so fast. It shows that hard work pays off and I'll keep working hard to win more titles in the future.
“Wu Yize and I have been good friends for ten years. This was our first time playing each other. Meeting in a ranking final made it even more special.
“Seeing the players I practise with achieve such great results has been a huge inspiration for me. It reminded me that with enough effort, I can achieve great things too.”
Wu said: “This week I think I performed well overall, but not in this final match. I don't know what happened. It felt like I was playing without any touch or rhythm. I didn't really put much pressure on myself, but maybe I was a bit nervous in the first four frames. I tried to adjust later on, but it still didn't feel right.
“Thanks to everyone for your support. Maybe my performance this time was a bit disappointing, but I won't let it crush me. I believe I'll have many more opportunities in the future and I'm confident I can win a title.”
The post Underdog Lei Lands Maiden Crown appeared first on WPBSA.
