TAIYUAN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's dark horse Noppon Saengkham continued his impressive run at the 2026 World Snooker Tour China Open as he defeated China's Zhou Yuelong to reach the final here on Saturday.
In the afternoon session, Zhou fell 2-0 behind before capitalizing on an attacking error by Saengkham in the third frame to pull one back. Both players made mistakes early in the fourth frame, but Zhou regained his composure and won the frame to level the match.
The two players remained closely matched in the following frames, with Zhou trailing 4-2 after the sixth. They then exchanged frames, leaving Saengkham one frame away from victory.
In the crucial ninth frame, Zhou produced a frame-winning break of 99 points to cut the deficit to 5-4. He continued to show resilience in the 10th frame, coming from behind to level the match at 5-5.
In the deciding frame, Saengkham launched an aggressive attack to seize control. He compiled a frame-winning break of 134 points, the only century of the match, to secure victory.
"Zhou Yuelong is an excellent player, but I also performed well in this tournament, especially in the way I was able to adjust myself quickly whenever I made mistakes," Saengkham said after the match.
"I was under pressure today, so I made a lot of mistakes and didn't play very well at the beginning," Zhou said after the match. "Although no Chinese player has reached the final this time, everyone has made progress. For me, being able to perform well when I'm under pressure, keep fighting when I'm behind is a great lesson."
The other semifinal between England's Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham will be held in the evening. ■
