World No. 76 Martin O'Donnell'Donnell scored 126 points in a single stroke in the tiebreaker to defeat Elliot Slessor 6-5 to reach the ranking final for the first time.
O'Donnell reached the final in a high-quality semifinal where he will face Gary Wilson in the final meeting on Sunday night. He has already set a new career best by knocking out world champion Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals, and now he has a chance to fight for the Ray Reardon Trophy (Players Championship) and the £80,000 championship prize!
It was a twist of fortune for a player who was relegated from the Tour in 2022 and spent a season in the amateur scene, when he must have wondered if he would return to the professional ranks. The Bedfordshire star regained his professional credentials through the Q Tour in 2023 and is now the best moment of his career since 2012.
O'Donnell is likely to continue the Welsh title that Jordan Brown, Joe Perry and Robert Milkins have won over the past three years. The win would also put O'Donnell in the top 16 of the year's rankings and a chance to play in the Players Championship, which will take place next week.
Slessor, ranked 50th, also hopes of reaching the ranking finals for the first time, has now lost all three of his semi-finals. Srice shot four 50+ shots in the tournament, but afterwards admitted his safety was "embarrassing."
After sharing the first two innings, O'Donnell led by 78 points. He missed a tricky red ball when he led 52-0 in the fourth game and Slessor punished him with 82 clearances. After the break, O'Donnell hit a shot of 61 to regain the lead, but he had a clear good chance in the sixth game, but he made a mistake at 47 points, and Slessor hit a single 55 to tie the score 3-3.
O'Donnell went down 0-40 to win the next game with 88 points, then won the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. Slessor closed the gap with 95 points, and after his opponent missed the regular black ball 11-0 in the 10th game, he won the 10th game with a single stroke of 65 points to enter the deciding game. The tiebreaker began with a cautious safety round, with a mistake by Slessor leaving the red ball in the middle pocket, and O'Donnell blasted a 126 to end the match.