Lei Peifan caused a shock at the Scottish Open as the rank outsider lifted the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
The world number 84 became the lowest-ranked player to secure a snooker ranking title in 31 years with victory over fellow countryman Wu Yize at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank, shocking the world number 27 9-5 in an attritional final. Hailing the shock result, Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds said: “He [Peifan] stood up the best, played brilliantly and played some good safety shots. He’s more streetwise than his age would suggest that he is, a brilliant potter and with a great temperament. It’s a big surprise, 31 years since anyone ranked lower than him won and that was Dave Harold. We’re going to see more of this now. We think we know what the story is and someone tells us we don’t know anything about it. Sport is like that.”
Analysing the reasons for the shock, Foulds meanwhile pinpointed a flaw in Wu Yize’s game that led to his defeat, saying: “The gap between Yize’s very best, which is sensational, and the bottom rung of his game is quite a wide one. He’s lost a couple of first rounders and when he’s not good he doesn’t win. It’s not always what your best game is, it’s how far your standard drops below that. But he’s a fabulous player.”
Peifan had already caused a shock at the semi-final stage of the Open after an incredible comeback against Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen in a game where he had been 5-2 behind at one stage, with former pro Alan McManus saying: “It’s incredible to think that less than 24 hours ago he was 5-2 down to Mark Allen in the semis. What chance at all did he have of standing there with that trophy? He’s proved us all wrong, because we all thought he couldn’t do the comeback against Mark Allen and then proved us all wrong again today.
“It wasn’t a vintage performance, but finals are all about winning ultimately. And he’s done that. Coming into this final we all thought Wu Yize would win this, but the most important that believed he could win was Lie Piefan himself.”