Few were winning bets after Xiao Guodong defeated Si Jiahui on Saturday to claim the Wuhan Open title, but what can we expect from the pair in a surprise finale?
With the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen withdrawing and Mark Selby surprisingly losing in qualifying in Wuhan looked like an open draw, but the line-up for the final was nonetheless a shock.
Si is a young star in the sport, but has only played in one final, while Xiao has reached two ranking finals in his 17-year career. Neither man had been successful in their previous appearances.
The more experienced fighter was crowned champion, and Xiao gained a big advantage and then put on a fierce fight to win 10-7, lift the trophy and claim the top prize of £140,000.
With a major title under his belt for the first time in his career, can we expect more from the 35-year-old?
Xiao has long been part of a group of players who are usually ranked between 20th and 40th in the world, sometimes reaching the quarterfinals or semifinals, but few have made headlines.
These guys don't get a lot of recognition, but they are really great players when it comes to maintaining this level in the world rankings. All they need is to gain a little self-confidence or take advantage of a rare opportunity to take the next step in their career.
Xiao took advantage of this opportunity in Wuhan, scoring great victories in the shorter format matches against Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy earlier in the week, then taking advantage of the experience advantage he had over Long Zehuang and Si in the semi-finals and final .
He will now have the confidence and belief that comes with this success and will be able to build on it as victory earns him a place in this season's invitational series.
I'm talking to Subway earlier this year Xiao explained some of the many challenges faced by Chinese players moving to the UK to compete on the mainly UK-based World Snooker Tour.
While his biggest moment has now come in his home country, the triumph could help him finally become fully established on the main tour and feature more regularly in the later stages of events.
In February, he told Metro: “I'm still learning. My highest ranking is 19th. I still have a chance to make the top 16, I know I can do it.
He has now reached that peak, climbing to No. 18 in the world with the Elite 16 in his sights, and at 35 years old he has plenty of time to climb those rankings.
Si is already in the top 16, which may not have been enough on Saturday, but his performances throughout the week have only cemented many people's high expectations for him.
“This title belongs to me for now, but there will be plenty of opportunities in the future,” Xiao said of his defeated foe.
In the semi-finals, Si faced probably the most difficult task in sports, a clash with world number one Judd Trump, and he passed this test with flying colors.
The 22-year-old won 6-2, scoring 147 points with breaks of 144, 108, 81, 71 and 61.
Trump didn't hold back in his praise, saying: “It's definitely the best performance I've had against me. Apart from maybe John Higgins and Ronnie's odd performance, the game is as good as it gets.
From what I've seen, he's within a mile of anyone his age or within five years of him. It's hard to keep playing like that, but it shows that he has something in him.
“Now people have seen it and there will be a lot more pressure on him to win the world championships and win the events.”
The world number one knows all about this pressure and Si shouldn't be expected to become a Trump-style winning machine any time soon, but his progress continues to be very encouraging and his attitude towards continuous learning is good.
“I was a little nervous in the final, but I don't regret it. I played well enough. It's a bit of a shame, but it's okay. I'll come back next time and I'm going to win my first title,” he said.
“The Masters is a chance to play against 16 of the best players and it's a great opportunity to learn from them. Gaining such experiences will be very helpful for me in the future.
The setbacks don't seem to be slowing him down much, which should be a good sign for the upcoming tournaments, and he'll be very confident with his victory over Trump.
His previous path to the ranking finals ended with him being beaten by an ace at last year's German Masters, and when asked who he wanted to play against in the Crucible this year, he wanted to get along with him again.
“I just want to learn from the best,” he said in Sheffield. “I want a rematch with Judd Trump because I lost the final in Berlin, so I want to get another best result of 19 to learn more from him.”
It was also encouraging on Si's part that he didn't even rate his hugely impressive performance against Trump as perfect, knowing he could improve his safe game.
“I would give myself nine out of 10 points for my performance, with one point deducted for my safety,” he said. “Luck was on my side and I'm really happy I was able to get to 147 pounds.”
Si added to this a memorable victory over Trump another spectacular win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in Saudi Arabia this season but his next challenge, as with almost every player, is consistency.
He defeated the best in this campaign, but also lost to teenagers Gong Chenzhi and Iulian Boiko.
Si will also be busy this season with invitational tournaments, including his first visit to the Masters at Alexandra Palace, and if he can overcome his nerves and consistently find the best stuff, he has a chance to win everything he enters.
Next up for both players is the Northern Ireland Open, which starts on Sunday in Belfast, with Xiao facing Jimmy Robertson in the first match and Si facing Tian Pengfei.
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