Barry Hawkins and Jack Lisowski will contest the 2026 Welsh Open final on Sunday at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno.
The English duo emerged from tight semi-final encounters on the penultimate day to sustain their respective challenges for the £100,000 top prize.
Hawkins first held off a fight back from Wu Yize to eventually get over the line with a 6-4 scoreline against the International Championship winner.
Later on Saturday evening, Lisowski prevailed from a titanic and topsy-turvy tussle with John Higgins, producing a brilliant break under pressure in the deciding frame to clinch victory.
The contribution would have been good under normal circumstances, but it was made even more special considering its ramifications in the Home Nations Series overall.
That’s because by reaching the Welsh Open final and guaranteeing himself the runner-up prize, Lisowski has accumulated enough prize money across the series to top the Home Nations rankings and pocket the £150,000 jackpot bonus.
The 34 year-old will quickly set his sights on adding a second ranking title to the Northern Ireland Open crown that he won earlier in the season.
That victory in Belfast ended a long hoodoo in ranking event finals where he had previously played and lost in all six that he had contested.
His first seven finals had seen him face all-time greats on each occasion – four times playing close friend Judd Trump, twice against Neil Robertson, and a single defeat to Mark Selby.
This title-deciding affair will mark the first time that Lisowski can go into the showdown while not necessarily feeling like the overwhelming underdog.
Hawkins, of course, is a formidable opponent who has plenty of experience at this stage of tournaments as well.
But while perhaps not quite on the same levels as Lisowski, Hawkins too has his personal demons from finals to face.
The Hawk is a respectable four-time ranking event champion, but the 46 year-old has lost in nine finals at this level – including at both the World and UK Championships.
Add two losses in finals of the Masters to that and Hawkins is the only player in history to lose all three Triple Crown showdowns for glory without ever having got his name onto one of the trophies.
While Lisowski still has plenty of time on his side to sort out the underwhelming stats of his career, Hawkins knows that his time is running out.
He has, however, managed to defy back issues this week to go all the way to his first ranking final in over a year.
Success on Sunday for either will have important consequences on a range of fronts, meanwhile.
Not only are they hoping to lift the Ray Reardon Trophy aloft, but the champion’s cheque will be crucial in their efforts to qualify for the 12-strong Tour Championship.
Victory for Lisowski would also take the Cheltenham cueist into the top 16 in the provisional Race to the Crucible rankings at the expense of Ding Junhui.
Hawkins leads the pair’s overall head-to-head 7-4, winning their most recent bout 6-4 at the International Championship.
They have never faced each other in a match of this magnitude, so it’s difficult to say whether one has the edge or not over the other.
What their respective histories in finals would suggest is that we could be in for a compelling climax full of twists and turns.
The 2026 Welsh Open final takes place over 17 frames on Sunday, March 1st, with sessions commencing at 13:00 and 19:00 GMT.
Featured photos credit: WST
