The 2022 United States National Snooker Championship final at Ox Billiards in Seattle will be between Steven Wong, appearing in his first final, and the experienced former champion Raymond Fung.

The last time Wong played in this event in 2019 he was a losing quarterfinalist, and in that time the Californian has been working hard on his game that is now starting to bear fruit. This has been reflected in his level of play in this Championship which has steadiliy improved since he came in second place in Group E.

Wong had two hard fought closely contested match wins in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, and he came into the semifinals against an opponent in Dharma Hemnani who had been cruising to victory in all his matches.

Given performances, many would have put Hemnani as favorite to win this tie with his attractive long flowing cue action style, but Wong countered that perfectly and went into a 3-1 advantage over the player from New Jersey.

The miss rule would then play a huge factor in this match, as toward the end of the frame five Wong found it difficult to escape from a snooker, resulting in a number of misses which meant that he required snookers and went on to lose the frame.

However there was a complete reversal in the sixth frame when Wong trapped Hemnani on the yellow ball, and it was his turn to keep missing until he required a snooker. It is an unfortunate way to ultimately decide the result of a match, but the rule played a pivotal role in deciding this match as Wong secured his place in the final with a 4-2 success.

Raymond Fung has insured that this year's final will be an East versus West Coast battle on the baize, as the number two seed player from New York City again just showed the immense fighting qualities he possesses in this sport.

This will be his fourth appearance in a Championship final, having won the event on that single occasion in 2017 which was a dream come true for him. In addition to the finals he has played in, he was also the runner-up in the 2004 Championship which was played using a group format.

Fung's semifinal opponent Jacky Wei had shocked the defending champion Ahmed Aly Elsayed on the opening day of the Championship, after he recorded a 2-1 defeat and went on to win Group A. He then come through to the last-4 pretty comfortably, and started this tie very well as he took an early 2-0 advantage.

Years of experience of being in this situation though helped Fung claw his way back into the match to level at 2-2, and fortune was on his side in frame five as he fluked the last pink to go into a 3-2 lead.

The pressure of this match was hindering Wei's natural flair for the game, but he did manage to scrap out winning frame six to level at 3-3. Though when he was faced with an opportunity to clinch the match in the final frame, the nerves got the better of him on the final colors which presented an opportunity for Fung. He cooly potted brown, blue and then the pink and gave relieved fist pump to celebrate a fantastic 4-3 victory.

For all the group match results and final placings, please visit Cloud Snooker:
» 2022 United States National Snooker on Cloud Snooker

The semifinal results as follows:

Semifinals (Best-of-7 frames)
Match ID
SF-1	Jacky Wei (California)	3 - 4	Raymond Fung (New York)
SF-2	Dharma Hemnani (New Jersey)	2 - 4	Steven Wong (California)

The final draw as follows:

Final (Best-of-9 frames)
Match ID
F	Raymond Fung (New York) 2	vs.	Steven Wong (California)

With the Wei vs. Fung semifinal overruning, the final is now scheduled to commence at 4:15pm PDT (7:15pm EDT).

For live coverage from Ox Billiards in Seattle, click on the following links:
» Live streaming coverage courtesy of the Ox Billiards YouTube Channel
» Live scoring from Cloud Snooker