NG ON YEE of Hong Kong sprang a surprise by beating ten times champion Reanne Evans on her way to claiming the women’s world title at the Northern Snooker centre in Leeds on Tuesday.
Yee beat Evans 4-2 in the semi-finals before completing a 6-2 defeat of Emma Bonney in the final. It ends Evans’s long reign as queen of the ladies game and comes after she competed in the Betfred World Championship as a wildcard.
Amid much media scrutiny, Evans had acquitted herself well, running Ken Doherty close before losing 10-8.
She was widely expected to win her 11th world title but after topping her group for the loss of only one frame and led Yee 2-1 in their semi-final but failed to win another frame.
Yee, coached by Wayne Griffiths, son of Terry, becomes the first non-British player to win the title.
The highest break in the final was just 32, with Yee’s best effort a 29. She compiled a run of 55 against Evans in the last four.
Evans made the tournament’s only recorded century, a run of exactly 100.
Jasmine Bolsover, a 15 year-old from Woking, won the under 21 titles, the doubles alongside Evans and the plate competition.