Eight Consecutive Frames! Snooker Scottish Open Report: Chang Bingyu Lost 2-9 to Wakelin, Finishing as Runner-up

On December 22nd Beijing time, the Snooker Scottish Open final was in full swing, featuring a showdown between Chinese post-2000s rising star Chang Bingyu and Wakelin. The contest ended with Chang Bingyu delivering a subpar performance, suffering an 8-frame losing streak and losing 2-9 to Wakelin, resulting in a harsh loss due to his youthful inexperience!

Chang Bingyu is one of our promising young players from the post-2000 generation. Despite a two-year suspension, he quickly returned to professional competition and currently ranks 70th. Unexpectedly, he exploded into form at this Scottish Open, becoming a dark horse by defeating several strong contenders such as Maguire, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Selby, and Mark Allen to reach the final. His opponent in the final was Wakelin, ranked 17th but with top-16 caliber skills—a tough competitor. Reaching the final itself proves his strength, making it very challenging for Chang Bingyu to claim the championship. The two had no prior head-to-head record, and the biggest gap was that this was Chang Bingyu’s first ranking final, so his experience was clearly inferior to Wakelin’s multiple ranking final appearances!

After the match started, Wakelin came out fully prepared, taking the lead with a 73-point break in the first frame. Chang Bingyu responded with scattered points to even the score in the second frame, then surged with a century break to win the third frame and take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth frame, Chang Bingyu failed to overturn the deficit. After that, the match became one-sided; Chang Bingyu made numerous errors gifting Wakelin opportunities. His safety play and positioning were mediocre, applying no pressure on Wakelin. As a result, Wakelin naturally played excellently, his accuracy unstoppable, delivering a lightning-fast streak of 8 consecutive frames to crush Chang Bingyu 9-2 and claim the championship in a commanding victory!

From this match, Chang Bingyu performed very poorly, far below the level he showed when eliminating strong opponents earlier. It seems he struggles in true high-pressure battles, with a clear lack of final experience, and most importantly, weak safety and shot-making skills. However, reaching his first final and finishing runner-up is still acceptable. Meanwhile, Wakelin earned £100,000 in prize money, secured his second career ranking title, and returned to the world’s top 16 rankings!

Written by / Sports Novel