Gary Wilson retained his maiden ranking event title by defeating Noppon Saengkham 9-5 in the Scottish Open final in Edinburgh.
Wilson, who defeated Joe O'Connor 9-2 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre 12 months ago to finally break his duck at the age of 37, was always in control against the Thailand ace and opened up a 6-2 advantage after the first session.
Saengkham showed some resistance during the evening with superb back-to-back breaks of 132 and 97 but despite clawing his way back to 8-5 down, Wilson finished the job to seal his second ranking title.
It didn't look like he'd be in this position a day earlier when he trailed Zhou Yuelong 5-2 in the semi-finals and then needed three snookers in a deciding frame before triumphing on a respotted black but now he joins an elite group of three players who retain their maiden ranking crown - John Parrott and Mark Allen being the others.
"I was absolutely nowhere for quite a while, and I didn't expect anything," said Wilson after getting his hands on the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
“There’s not many people who can say they’ve won more than one (ranking title), so I’m proud and happy that I’m a multiple event winner."
Saengkham can be proud of his efforts having reached a maiden ranking final after defeating John Higgins on Saturday.
Gary Wilson has done it 🙌
— Eurosport (@eurosport) December 17, 2023
A 9-5 victory over Noppon Saengkham secures the Scottish Open title 🙌
Just the third player to successfully retain his maiden ranking event title.#ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/JHzlBIo0W2
John Parrott
— Eurosport (@eurosport) December 17, 2023
Mark Allen
Gary Wilson
The only three players to successfully defend their maiden ranking title 🏆🏆#ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/M0Cd2mxqOV

