WALL OF FAME PICTURE IS A JOR-DROPPER

JORDAN BROWN has earned something money cannot buy for his breakthrough success – a place on the Wall Of Fame in his Antrim club.

The 33-year-old from Northern Ireland honoured the finest traditions of Alex Higgins (below) and Dennis Taylor by stunning Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Welsh Open final.

Brown began the tournament as a 750-1 rank outsider but a scarcely believable 9-8 victory at Celtic Manor over reigning and six-time world champion O’Sullivan will see him shoot up the rankings from No.81.

It goes down in folklore as one of snooker’s greatest shocks, and the £70,000 prize and entries to this week’s Players Championship and the Champion of Champions are lifechanging for Brown (above). By winning a first ranking title, Brown has also delighted good friend, longtime practice partner and regular mentor Mark Allen.

Former Masters champion Allen was always telling Brown to believe in himself as he fell off the tour in 2010, and then ditched practice for the pub before an epiphany around five years ago.

Compatriot Allen said: “We have recently moved the club in Antrim to new premises and we have a lot of nice pictures up on the walls.

“There are ones of Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor and then all the canvasses of the top-16 players from the World Championship.

“As a bit of a joke we put this big canvas of me overlooking Jordan’s table so he has to see it every day.

“But I can see now the joke is on me and we are going to have get a nice big one of Jordan up in there too, maybe with his new trophy.”

Brown, who has been at the club on and off since the age of 12, was working in a petrol station doing shifts from 5.30am during his eight years off the tour until getting his place back in 2018.

He said: “This has given me a big boost for the future, I have made a mark on the snooker world now and hopefully it can only lead to bigger and better things.

“A few years ago having always been a good practiser I stopped, I was just too lazy to get out and do it.

“I told myself I really had to give it at least a decent go.”