NI’S Jordan stuns O’sullivan to land his first major title
■ Antrim potter Brown joins greats in thrilling £70,000 Welsh Open victory
JORDAN Brown pulled off one of the biggest shocks in snooker history last night by beating Ronnie O’sullivan in a deciding frame to become the new Welsh Open champion.
The world No.81 from Antrim produced a nerveless display to triumph 9-8 against the six-time world champion and become the fourth Northern Ireland man to win a ranking title, following in the footsteps of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor and Mark Allen.
A break of 74 in the decider sealed the Ray Reardon Trophy and £70,000 for a player who had never been beyond the last eight in a ranking event before this week.
Brown, known as the ‘Antrim Ferrari’ was working in a petrol station three years ago and arrived in Newport as a 750-1 shot.
But the 33-year-old grew in belief as his run carried on, knocking out top 10 players Mark Selby and Stephen Maguire, and peaked at the perfect time to deny the Rocket a record-equalling fifth Welsh Open title.
“I’m absolutely speechless,” he said. “I always believed in myself and it’s a dream come true.
“I would say to anyone – never give up. I’ve shown this week that anything is possible.”
Strong starts have been a feature of Brown’s run to the final and he quickly settled any nerves by taking a 2-0 lead, claiming the second frame with a visit of 58 after O’sullivan had missed a presentable pink to the middle pocket.
The Rocket halved the deficit with more than a touch of fortune, benefiting from a fluked red at a vital time, but Brown hit back to take a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval.
The 33-year-old continued from where he left off when the players returned, compiling the first century of the match from either player to move into a scarcely believable three-frame advantage.
O’sullivan responded with consecutive centuries, the first of which was an immaculate 135 clearance that had at one stage looked like it could become a maximum.
WITH Brown’s lead cut to 4-3, the final frame of the session took on vital importance and both players knew it, with safety the order of the day in the longest frame of the afternoon.
The Antrim ace took his chances when they came to reach the break at 5-3 up and leave the match beautifully poised.
O’sullivan improved in the early part of the evening session and having edged a cagey opener to move within one, reeled off consecutive breaks of 68 and 61 to take the lead for the first time.
The Rocket on a roll is an imposing prospect but Brown hit back admirably, getting the better of a tense exchange on the colours to restore parity before a visit of 49 moved him in front once more.
A missed pink from O’sullivan at 7-7 proved pivotal, with the Rocket visibly showing his frustration as his break ended at 25 and Brown took advantage to move a frame away.
An O’sullivan century set up a decider but the Portrush-based potter – who had come through four such situations on his way to the final – held his nerve once more to seal an historic triumph.
The Antrim Ferrari can now celebrate becoming the lowest-placed player to win a ranking title since Dave Harold’s Asian Open victory in 1993 and will head to this week’s Players Championship full of confidence. Brown had shown a glimpse of the form that would sweep him to the final when he reached his first career quarter-final at the German Masters last month.
But few could have anticipated his week at Celtic Manor, in which he won four consecutive matches in final-frame deciders, culminating in seeing off Mark Selby in the quarter-finals, before sweeping aside Stephen Maguire 6-1 in the last four.
Seemingly impervious to nerves, Brown built a 4-1 lead against O’sullivan, who only managed to haul back the first session deficit to 5-3 on the back of two consecutive centuries.
Brown, who had scored a century of his own earlier in the match, came under inevitable pressure from the favourite at the start of the concluding session, and breaks of 68 and 61 sent O’sullivan into the lead for the first time in the match at 6-5.
Unruffled, Brown took the next two to move two frames from victory at 7-6, and although O’sullivan levelled again, the world champion showed frustration when over-cutting a simple pink in the next, and Brown’s brilliant 56 clearance to blue took him within one frame of the title and the £70,000 winner’s cheque.
Beaten O’sullivan, who had opened the scoring with what would be his only point of the deciding frame in rather fortuitous fashion, couldn’t begrudge his opponent the win.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of that today,” he said. “I loved playing Jordan. He’s a great guy, he really is. I’m so happy for him to win. I fluked a red in that last frame and I could see the disappointment in his face. What a horrible way if I had won it (like that). I’m so happy for him. He’s such a lovely guy and a fantastic player as well. You don’t beat guys like Selby (if you’re not).
“And I played alright today. Not many people beat me when I play alright so he’s a proper player. It’s fantastic for Jordan. It’s his night and you couldn’t be happier for him. It’s been great.”
The Welsh Open was live on Eurosport, Eurosport app and streamed on discovery+