The 2025 Welsh Open remaining shall be contested between Mark Selby and Stephen Maguire on the Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Sunday.
The pair emerged from their respective semi-final encounters on Saturday to maneuver one step nearer to touchdown the £100,000 prime prize.
Selby gained the final 4 frames to beat Luca Brecel 6-3 whereas Maguire edged a detailed battle with Ali Carter by a two-frame margin.
For Maguire, it takes the Scot by way of to a rating occasion remaining for the primary time since 2020 when he gained that yr’s Tour Championship.
It has been a protracted interval within the doldrums for a fierce competitor who was as soon as extensively thought to be among the many easiest within the sport.
Maguire, a former UK champion and a six-time rating occasion winner, as soon as reached as excessive as quantity two on this planet rankings.
However whereas the Glaswegian was a daily presence on the enterprise finish of tournaments within the first half of his profession, consistency and type have usually been missing throughout the final decade or so.
Few would have predicted the 43 year-old’s outstanding run this week in Wales, the place by reaching the ultimate he has assured himself a ticket to Hong Kong for the upcoming World Grand Prix by way of the one-year rating listing.
Earlier than all that, Maguire will in fact be hoping to make a protracted overdue return to the winners’ enclosure at an occasion he beforehand gained again in 2013.
Welsh Open roll of honour
| Yr | Champion | Yr | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Stephen Hendry | 1993 | Ken Doherty |
| 1994 | Steve Davis | 1995 | Steve Davis |
| 1996 | Mark Williams | 1997 | Stephen Hendry |
| 1998 | Paul Hunter | 1999 | Mark Williams |
| 2000 | John Higgins | 2001 | Ken Doherty |
| 2002 | Paul Hunter | 2003 | Stephen Hendry |
| 2004 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | 2005 | Ronnie O’Sullivan |
| 2006 | Stephen Lee | 2007 | Neil Robertson |
| 2008 | Mark Selby | 2009 | Ali Carter |
| 2010 | John Higgins | 2011 | John Higgins |
| 2012 | Ding Junhui | 2013 | Stephen Maguire |
| 2014 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | 2015 | John Higgins |
| 2016 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | 2017 | Stuart Bingham |
| 2018 | John Higgins | 2019 | Neil Robertson |
| 2020 | Shaun Murphy | 2021 | Jordan Brown |
| 2022 | Joe Perry | 2023 | Robert Milkins |
| 2024 | Gary Wilson | 2025 | ? |
Selby, however, boasts silverware from this month already having acquired his fingers on the Championship League Snooker invitational trophy a few weeks in the past.
The 41 year-old additionally gained the British Open earlier within the marketing campaign, a triumph that prolonged his profession tally in rating occasions to 23.
Selby will undoubtedly start the 2025 Welsh Open remaining because the favorite, however he seemed susceptible halfway by way of his last-four conflict with Brecel earlier than being gifted alternatives to settle once more.
Maguire gained’t quit possibilities as readily because the Belgian, however he might do with growing his scoring energy which hasn’t been firing all through the week in any respect.
Selby and Maguire have a protracted historical past of taking part in one another, and they’ll have even crossed paths means again of their beginner days throughout the Nineteen Nineties.
On the World Snooker Tour, their head-to-head document is nearly degree with Selby on 16 wins towards Maguire’s 15 in all competitions.
Regardless of their lengthy tenures on the prime of the game, nonetheless, this match will symbolize their first in an enormous remaining.
It guarantees to be an exhilarating climax to the 2024/25 season’s concluding Dwelling Nations occasion, the place the Ray Reardon Trophy shall be lifted for the primary time because the six-time world champion’s passing final July.
The 2025 Welsh Open remaining is on Sunday, February sixteenth with the periods for the best-of-17 showdown commencing at 1pm and 7pm UTC.
Featured images credit score: WST
