Mark Williams and Ali Carter will contest the 2026 English Open final at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday.
The pair emerged from contrasting semi-final encounters on the penultimate day to sustain their aspirations of raising the Steve Davis Trophy aloft.
Carter first reached the title-deciding showdown with a strong display to beat Ding Junhui 6-2 – the Captain making breaks of 119, 90, 77, 76, and 74.
Later, Williams produced a remarkable comeback from 5-1 behind to stun Shaun Murphy in a deciding-frame success.
Aged 51, the Welshman remains on course to break his own record as the oldest ranking event winner in the sport’s history.
Williams was aged 50 years and 206 days when he memorably claimed the Xi’an Grand Prix in October, 2025, but he could add almost a full year to the target he set with a 28th career ranking glory on Sunday.
The three-time world champion’s form has been inconsistent over the last couple of years.
But in contrast to his Class of ’92 peers Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins, Williams doesn’t really let the bad days bother him.
That kind of nonchalant attitude makes these seemingly random visits to the business end of big tournaments less surprising, and it also substantiates claims that Williams will outlast both O’Sullivan and Higgins as a main-tour competitor.
The current world number nine is chasing a first Home Nations Series event since the Northern Ireland Open way back in 2017.
Carter, meanwhile, is hoping to win a tournament on the series for the first time in his career.
The 47 year-old’s maiden ranking success did materialise at the Welsh Open in 2009, but that was seven years before the Home Nations Series was formed.
Like Williams, Carter’s consistency is not what it once was, but he proved against Ding in particular that he can still produce the goods on his day.
The former world number two had dropped down to 25 in the latest rankings update, but the positions around that section of the list are so cramped that he is already provisionally back up to number 17 through reaching the final.
Should he claim a seventh ranking title and collect the £100,000 top prize, Carter would rejoin the top 16.
That would be especially good timing considering an automatic spot at the UK Championship and invitations to the Masters are not long from being decided.
Of course, that won’t be the primary objective with silverware up for grabs on Sunday.
Williams and Carter share an even head-to-head record from their battles in all competitions, with the former winning 20 to the challenger’s 19.
Carter, who will likely begin the affair as the underdog even though he arguably played much better in the semi-finals, has actually beaten Williams the last three times they have played.
This will represent their first ranking event final against one another, but with a combined age of almost 100, there will be no shortage of experience on show.
The 2026 English Open final takes place over 17 frames with sessions commencing at 13:00 and 19:00 BST.
Featured photo credit: WST
Could be a record for the oldest combined age for a major final.
Williams victory in the 2017 Northern Ireland Open final is the only time either had featured in a Home Nations final. Williams featuring in a 45th ranking final and Carter a 15th.
The level from Carter after the interval today was excellent. He basically didn’t miss a ball in live play and recorded a tally in excess of 400 unanswered points.