Mark Allen will face Ryan Day in the 2022 British Open final on Sunday at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The pair emerged from contrasting semi-final encounters on Saturday to reach the £100,000 title-deciding contest.
The in-form Allen hammered Noppon Saengkham with a comfortable 6-1 display in which he compiled breaks of 133, 76, 64, 56, and a pair of 69s.
Day, by contrast, needed all eleven frames to fight his way past Robbie Williams in what was a turgid affair where sizable contributions were at a premium.
Such is the strength in depth on the Main Tour that rarely is there a ranking event final these days in which there appears to be such a clear favourite and underdog.
Yet that certainly appears to be the case for the 2022 British Open final.
Player Profiles:
Mark Allen
Ryan Day
With three ranking titles to his name, Day may boast a significant amount of experience at this stage of a tournament.
But he is playing nowhere near his best snooker and has relied somewhat on a relatively kind random draw to reach this point.
On the other hand, Allen has represented the standout player of the tournament, with notable defeats of Judd Trump and Mark Selby preceding his thrashing of Saengkham.
The Northern Irishman seems to already be reaping the benefits of a healthier lifestyle during the summer months that led to his considerable weight loss.
Allen, a former Masters champion and world number four, has generally been regarded as an underachiever in his career given his talent.
But here is an opportunity to land what would be a seventh ranking crown and one of his most impressive triumphs.
Day, of course, has the pedigree to rise to the occasion too, but he’ll likely have to up his game to a level he hasn’t produced so far this week.
Another factor in Allen’s favour is the head-to-head, which he leads 14-10 from their prior meetings in all competitions – although they haven’t crossed paths since 2017.
Welshman Day’s best hope is probably to try and turn the game into a tactical affair, and one that can upset his opponent’s rhythm.
Should Allen’s heavy scoring continue in the same manner as in the previous rounds, there should really be only one outcome.
Live coverage of the 2022 British Open final is on ITV Sport, with more options available to watch from around the world.
Click here to view the draw (times in CET)
Featured photo credit: WST
Take out meetings of best of 5 or less and the head-to-head is 12-5 in favour of Allen, with two of Day’s wins all the way back in 2006.
I agree pretty much with everything you’ve said about the likely outcome today and why Allen should win a 15th career title in Milton Keynes. What the event needs after a slightly disappointing semi-final Saturday is a final that is something like their classic 2009 Crucible quarter-final when Allen beat Day 13-11.
Day has a better century ratio than his compatriot Mark Williams.