She may not be No 1 in the rankings now, after losing the No 1 ranking spot to Ng On Yee, but Reanne Evans was No 1 in the British Open in Stourbridge over the weekend at the Stourbridge Institute, UK.

Evans, 32, the pride of Dudley, dropped only one frame from the last 16 stage to claim the British Open title against Thailand's rising female teenage star Nutcharut Wongharuthai.

Wongharuthai defeated the World Women's No 1 Hong Kong's Ng On Yee in the semi-final but was no match for Reanne in the final 3 - 0.

It was an impressive weekend from Evans as well, who racked a couple of tons in the high breaks - a 103 and 102 earlier on in the tournament.

The win is her second win of the season as the female tour gets ready for the World Women's Snooker Championship in Malta next month.

Snooker's Greatest Female Rivalry

Last season the World Championships were held in Singapore, but now heads to Malta.

The 11-times World Champion goes into the Worlds next month with confidence and with high hopes of being able to do another qualifying stint at the World Championship qualifiers in Sheffield.

Last season she had the tremendous win over Finland's Robin Hull in the first round of the qualifiers at Ponds Forge.

On Yee's claiming of the No 1 spot for the first time cements a rivalry that will continue as long as these two forces in Women's snooker continue to dominate their field.

The On Yee and Evans rivalry is the female equivalent of the O'Sullivan/Selby rivalry for the men.

It was a great first time final for the teenage Thai Nutcharut, who can take the positives of defeating On Yee in the semi-finals on route to the final.

Speaking to World Ladies Snooker, former female World Champion Mandy Fisher told WLBS: "It's a brilliant achievement for On Yee to become World No 1 for the first time ever. She works so hard on her game and since joining our tour seven years ago, her determination and desire to improve have always stood out."

Fisher won a title back in 1984.

On Yee won her second World title last season narrowly defeating the Indian Vidya Pillai in a thrilling deciding frame 6 - 5.

The World Women's Championship covers from the 14th to the 17th March and is to be run along with the new WSF Amateur Championships.

Rising Stars

There were also great wins in the Challenge Cup and U-21s as Emma Parker claimed another title in the Challenge Cup 3 - 1 against Shannon Metcalf.

Parker is one of a number of rising female stars that within a few years could well be challenging for top titles and giving the likes of Evans and On Yee a run for their money.

The female tour is growing and it's important that the women are given every opportunity to gain experience should some of them wish to go on to the main tour of 128, which is a male dominated snooker tour.
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