Thepchaiya Un-Nooh can delight the local fans in Thailand on Saturday if he can down Ding Junhui in the final of the Six Reds World Championship after coming through a dramatic semi-final on Friday.
The Thai star was struggling against Hossein Vafaei, with the Iranian 5-2 and then 6-4 ahead in a race to seven frames, but kept battling in front of a delighted crowd in Pathum Thani.
Thepchaiya forced a decider, which brought about a huge cheer from the Thai crowd, then he dominated the final frame to win 7-6 and reach the final of the event for a third time.
The man known as F1 won this tournament back in 2015 and aims to lift the trophy again, in front of his family and friends.
The title would mean a lot to Thepchayia, as would the top prize of just over £100,000, which would be the biggest financial prize of his career so far.
‘I am so relieved,’ he said after reaching the final. ‘When I was 6-4 down I was not feeling good. I just looked at my family to give me some power, some energy. He missed in the last frame and I got the first chance. It is a good game to win.
‘I’m very glad to play among them (Thai fans), including my family. This is a very rare chance to get into the final of a big event in Thailand. I will do my best in the final now.
‘The fans helped me a lot. They were with me on every shot and that gave me energy to pot the balls. Hopefully tomorrow there will be even more of them.
‘It will be a huge moment tomorrow. It has been eight years since I won the trophy in this event. I’ve been waiting for a very long time to win the Six Red again. It would be great if I can lift the trophy.’
Ding Junhui will be looking to spoil the party for the local fans on Saturday after he beat Tom Ford 7-4 in the second semi-final, with much less drama than the first.
Ding has plenty of pedigree in this tournament as well, winning it in 2016 and reaching the final in 2018, where he lost to Kyren Wilson.
He has been impressive in the knockout stages, seeing off Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stuart Bingham, so while Thepchaiya will have all the support, he might well need it.
The final will be over a best of 15 frames, live on Eurosport starting at 8am UK time, with the winner taking away just over £100,000 and the runner-up just over £31,000.
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