Kyren Wilson v Shaun Murphy: Welsh Open 2020 Final preview – Warrior and Magician vie for glory
Murphy and Wilson go head-to-head (Photo by PA Images)
A new champion will be crowned at the 2020 Welsh Open in Cardiff on Sunday as Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy collide in a fascinating final.
The 29th edition of the prestigious ranking tournament has seen the cream rise to the top, with two top 16 stars set to face off for the £70,000 title at the Motorpoint Arena.
For Murphy, this marks his second appearance in a Welsh Open final, 14 years after finishing runner-up to Stephen Lee in Newport.
The former World Champion has won through to his third ranking final of the season as he bids to follow up his success at the China Championship by claiming a ninth career ranking title.
World number ten Murphy, runner-up in this season’s International Championship, held his nerve in a late-night decider to deny Yan Bingtao in the Semi-Finals.
He began his run with a whitewash of veteran Darren Morgan by edging out Alfie Burden 4-3 and thrashing Ben Woollaston and Dominic Dale 4-1.
Murphy then knocked out world number one and reigning World Champion Judd Trump in the Quarter-Finals before an epic five-hour marathon 6-5 win over Yan.
Wilson, meanwhile, has banished his previously poor record in this prestigious event, progressing beyond the Fourth Round stage for the first time in seven attempts.
The world number eight is through to his first ranking final of the season and seventh in total since bagging his first major at the 2015 Shanghai Masters.
Wilson came through a last-frame decider against Jackson Page in Round One before overcoming Liam Highfield 4-2 and Martin O’Donnell 4-0.
The Kettering ace then dispatched Ding Junhui 4-2 in the Last 16 before pulling off a sensational 5-0 whitewash of man of the moment Neil Robertson in the Quarter-Finals.
He then recovered from 4-2 and 5-4 down to edge out four-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in a thrilling Semi-Final decider.
Wilson has won each of his last two ranking event finals but is aiming to end a run of three straight defeats to ‘The Magician’ in all competitions.
The 2020 Welsh Open final gets underway from 1pm GMT for a total of eight frames before being played to a finish over the best of 17 from 7pm.