Stuart Bingham ends Joe O'Connor's run in the Welsh Open to set up final with Neil Robertson
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 17/02/19 12:55pm
Joe O'Connor's run in the Welsh Open was brought to an emphatic end as Stuart Bingham booked his place in Sunday's final, where he will face Australian Neil Robertson.
O'Connor had never previously gone beyond the last 32 of any ranking event before this week but claimed upset wins over three world top-10 players to reach the semi-finals in Cardiff.
Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui and defending champion John Higgins had all been sent packing by O'Connor but the 23-year-old from Leicester succumbed to a 6-2 defeat to Bingham on Saturday afternoon.
The pair traded the opening two frames before breaks of 107, 100, 104 and 125 carried the 2015 world champion to the brink of victory.
A break of 67 in the eighth frame was enough for the world No 12 to seal a 6-2 win.
Saturday's evening match proved a one-sided affair as Robertson swept past Iran's Hossein Vafaei 6-0.
The Australian never looked back after opening with a 103 clearance against Vafaei, who had knocked out world No 1 Mark Selby earlier in the tournament.
World No 10 Robertson also chalked up a break of 140 in the fourth frame, before runs of 66 and 83 delivered an impressive victory.
Watch the Mosconi Cup in 2019 when it returns to the Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, live on Sky Sports from November 25-29. Don't forget to follow us skysports.com/more-sports, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysnooker for news, reports and expert analysis.
