The battle for the Stephen Hendry Trophy went down to a dramatic climax as Cao Yupeng and Neil Robertson produced one of the most nerve-wracking finals in recent memory before the Australian triumphed 9-8 to win the Scottish Open title at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow last night.
Despite starting his week with stunning 147 break and seeing off the challenges of experienced tournament winners Tom Ford, Ricky Walden and Judd Trump, China’s Cao started the final as a huge underdog but he defied that billing right from the off.
World No 20 Robertson was left in his chair for much of the opening exchanges, with the man from Guangzhou barely putting a foot wrong as he stormed into a 3-1 lead.
Breaks of 82, 72 and 70 were crucial in establishing that lead – both men were confident coming into the match but Cao looked more so initially in the tournament climax, taking a considered approach but potting some outstanding long-pots.
The 27-year-old Cao is 47 places lower than Robertson in the world rankings but that gap is certain to close considerably with the Chinese cueman displaying the kind of class all week that cannot be temporary, in his first ranking final. The Australian former world No 1 got things back to 3-2 but it was a brief respite as Cao relentlessly fired in back to back half-century breaks to give himself a 5-3 lead at the end of the first session.
After the interval, the man known as the Melbourne machine stroked in the highest break of the final a superb 132 in frame 10 to keep Cao within his sights and in the process offering a hint of a comeback.
But Robertson’s occasional brilliance was no match for Cao’s consistency as he took over once again, building the lead to 8-4 and minutes away from a first ever ranking title.
But once again the pendulum swung and nerves suddenly attacked Cao as he feathered more shots in the would-be decider than he had all match. The 2010 world champion sensed his opponents’ nerves and offered him only tricky shots, the tactic seeing him get back to 8-7.
In frame 16 Cao looked to have regained his composure, but watched his tournament-winning black rattle over the pocket, leaving Robertson an easy pot as the game went to a decider. And it was the former world champion who pounced on a missed red to the right centre pocket and stroked in a frame winning break of 59 to claim a memorable victory.