Chang Bingyu beats Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach Wuhan Open final

Chang Bingyu reached the Wuhan Open final with a 6-3 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan on Friday, ending the seven-time world champion’s run at the ranking event in China. Sky Sports reported that Chang took advantage of an uneven display from O’Sullivan to secure his place in Saturday’s title match.

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The opening frame was closely contested, but Chang won it before adding a break of 73 to establish a 2-0 lead. O’Sullivan responded with a frame-winning 82 in the third and then took the fourth to draw level at 2-2 by the mid-session interval.

Chang regained control when play resumed. O’Sullivan had opportunities in both of the next two frames but missed blacks from the spot, allowing his opponent to move 4-2 ahead. O’Sullivan reduced the deficit by winning the seventh frame, but further safety and positional mistakes helped Chang claim the next two and complete the 6-3 result.

The win continued a notable week for Chang. In the quarter-finals, he defeated world number one Judd Trump 5-1 and closed that match with a break of 132, according to Xinhua’s report carried by the Chinese Olympic Committee. O’Sullivan had advanced by beating Mark Selby 5-3, making breaks of 80 and 129 in the final two frames.

After the semi-final, O’Sullivan said he remained committed to playing for another 18 months and wanted to give himself time to improve his form. Sky Sports reported that the 50-year-old said he did not want to end his career with performances of that standard. He has not won a ranking title since January 2024 and had been seeking his second tour final of 2026.

For Chang, the victory earned a place in the best-of-19-frame final at the Optics Valley Gymnasium in Wuhan. The other semi-final featured defending champion Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong, with the tournament’s second finalist still to be determined at the time of reporting. The champion is due to receive £175,000, while the runner-up is set to earn £75,000.