Snooker star Ng On-yee stuns world champion Nutcharut Wongharuthai, but falls short in UK Women’s Championship final
- Ng beats world champion for second time this year, but loses in the final against Reanne Evans
- Ng will now turn her attention to the British Open where she meets Irish star Ken Doherty in the qualification rounds
Hong Kong snooker star Ng On-yee is hunting for her first mixed-gender professional win of the new season, after cruising past reigning world champion Nutcharut ‘Mink’ Wongharuthai at the UK Women’s Championship semi-finals last weekend.
The UK Championship marked the start of the 2022-23 season, where Ng defeated the top Thai contender 4-0 in the last four. before falling to British world No 1 Reanne Evans 3-4 in the final.
The 160-minute marathon against Evans saw the world’s top two players go head to head, with world No 2 and four-time UK champion Ng taking an early 3-2 lead before Evans fought back in the last two frames to secure the trophy.
“The final was a very close match,” Wayne Griffiths, Ng’s coach, said. “On-yee was never behind during the match, but gave Reanne a good chance early in the decider and this proved to be the difference.”
Griffiths said had Ng had put on a “world-class performance” and to beat the world champion 4-0 was “exceptional”.
Ng showed her strong performance on the first day of the competition when she made four breaks of 80 or more against various opponents, three of which came in the opening rounds and one in the quarter-finals, when she beat compatriot Ho Yee-ki 3-1 with a high break of 97 in the first frame.
This is not the first time Ng has beaten Mink. In April, Ng got the better of the her younger opponent to win the Winchester Women’s Open snooker tournament with a decisive 4-0 victory.
