Mighty Mink Wins in Sydney!
World number one Mink Nutcharut has defeated Ng On Yee 4-3 following a thrilling final match to win the 2024 Australian Women’s Snooker Open for a second time at Mounties, Sydney.
Five years on from claiming her first ever title on the World Women’s Snooker (WWS) Tour, Mink repeated her success against friend and rival Ng with a dramatic black ball success to lift her first crown since the Belgian Open back in January.
Her eighth success overall, the victory sees the Thai star join Ng as a multiple Australian Open champion and consolidate her position at the top of the world rankings.
It was to prove a hard fought final day as having secured her place in the semi-finals with wins against Dianne Spring and Jessica Woods following the group stages, Mink was to face a stern test from Mongolia’s Narantuya Bayarsaikhan in the last four.
The world number 19 – who was competing in a ranking semi-final for the first time having defeated Yee Ting Cheung 3-2 in the quarter-finals – would lead Mink throughout their contest and was one ball away from securing a maiden final in the sixth frame.
Mink, however, was able to win a black-ball battle to force a last frame decider, during which she produced her best snooker of the match to ultimately prevail and reach her first final of the season.
There she would face world number two Ng On Yee, who had made serene progress to the final without the loss of a single frame and had notably top scored with a stunning break of 133 during the round robin group stages against Australia’s Christine Firth.
The title match would prove to be another match full of drama as the first four frames were shared, Mink scoring breaks of 50 and 43, with Ng compiling runs of 52 and 57 during the second frame.
From that point on the final would become a tense affair as both players saw the winning line, Mink first moving to within one of victory by winning a 50 minute long fifth frame, before Ng returned the favour in frame six to force a final frame decider.
Both players would ultimately have their chances, Ng unfortunate to pot a red from the blue during a composed first scoring visit, before the contest eventually came down to the final black to decide the champion. While both players would have opportunities, it was Mink who would sink the winning ball to seal her second victory in Australia and lift the Clive Edwards Memorial Cup.
The dramatic final was a fitting end to a week to remember in Sydney which saw a record 27 entries contest the main title at Mounties. As well as victory for top ranked Mink, the event also saw notable runs for Narantuya Bayarsaikhan and Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul, who both reached their maiden ranking event semi-finals, with several further players also breaking new ground at the tournament.
The Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals saw Australia’s Kathy Blunden claim victory with a 2-0 success against China’s Shuangyu Jia.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to another hugely successful event. This includes our partners at the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council, led by President Alex Render, Tournament Director Frank Dewens and Head of Referees Gary Knight, as well as our host Mounties and event sponsor The Snooker Shop.
The 2024/25 season continues with the Women’s Snooker Masters from 22-24 November 2024 at Frames Sports Bar, Couldson, England. Enter now via WPBSA SnookerScores.
