Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee in sensational Eden Women’s Masters snooker triumph, beats Reanne Evans 4-3 in final after two battling comebacks
- The former world number one fights back from 3-1 down in the final after needing three snookers in the semi-final decider against Rebecca Kenna
- It was Ng’s first tournament on the World Women’s Tour since her victory at the Belgian Open in early 2020
Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee staged two sensational comebacks to make a triumphant return to the World Women’s Snooker Tour by lifting the Eden Masters in Brighton on Monday morning (Hong Kong time).
The three-time world champion fought back from a 3-1 deficit to beat England’s top-ranked Reanne Evans 4-3 in a tension-filled final at the Frames Sports Bar, having earlier staged a similar rally to overcome another Englishwoman, Rebecca Kenna, in the semi-finals – needing and succeeding in finding three snookers in the deciding frame to win the match.
It was Ng’s first title on the tour since her Belgian Open victory in early 2020 and comes after a series of defeats against the top men’s players on the main professional World Snooker circuit.
“If you believe it you can achieve it, that is my slogan,” Ng told the Post. “Both the semi-final and final, I was 3-1 down and I just kept on fighting.
“Especially in the semi-finals, I made breaks of 58 and 100 to force a decider. And I needed three snookers in the last frame of the semi-finals. I still find it quite unbelievable to win while I need three snookers.
“While I was 3-1 down in the final I just kept on believing. Because I did that in the semi-finals so I believed I could do that again.”
She finally left Hong Kong in the summer and has been playing in qualifying events on the main tour and failing to make headway against the leading men’s players.
“This is another solid result for On-yee and once again confirming that she is one of the most consistent female players in the world,” Wayne Griffiths, the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s head snooker coach, said.
“Having been training and competing almost exclusively with men for the past six months or more, this was always going to be a test. Back to playing on club tables on the WWS tour provided a different type of challenge, but typical of On-yee she has risen to meet the challenge, with some hard-fought victories against very good players along the way.”
Griffiths added: “There is no doubt that playing on the men’s tour will continue to help On-yee’s and Reanne’s game to get stronger. They are both a great advert for the ladies game and for snooker in general. Hopefully this win will give On-yee more confidence to take back to the men’s events in the Scottish Open in early December.”
After overwhelming Evans in the first frame of the final, the Hong Kong star suddenly found herself 3-1 down against the 12-time world champion and seemingly heading towards defeat.
But she fought back fiercely with breaks of 23 and a match-high 49 to pull one frame back and then took advantage of a missed pink by Evans in a closely fought sixth to level the scores.
A break of 48 provided the platform for a relatively straight forward win in the seventh frame and a memorable victory.
