Snooker: World Number 81 Jordan Brown Stuns Ronnie O’Sullivan to Win Welsh Open Final

The 33-year-old was 750/1 to win the tournament before it began and becomes the first Northern Irishman to taste success in Wales.

Jordan Brown was on the verge of quitting snooker completely and was doing shift work at a petrol station five years ago, but on Sunday evening he defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan in a 9–8 final frame victory at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, securing his first world ranking title.

Brown had beaten the likes of Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby on his way to the final, but few predicted he would deliver an upset in the final against a player of O’Sullivan’s calibre. He would prove them wrong, however.

The Northern Irishman was outstanding in his semi-final, thrashing Stephen Maguire 6–1, whilst posting breaks of 135 and 113 and he started in a blistering fashion against O’Sullivan, storming into a 4–1 lead in the first session of the day.

The Englishman responded rapidly, though and put together impressive breaks of 135 and 121, but crucially, Brown won the last session of the day, meaning he went into the evening session with a 5–3 lead.

In what was a gripping contest, O’Sullivan then took control of the match, winning the first three frames of the evening session, before Brown battled back to take a 7–6 lead.

O’Sullivan would not lie down, though and took the next frame, before Brown re-took the lead again. It was now 8–7 and the Northern Irishman could sense victory.

The six-time World Champion had other ideas and hit a break of 119, his third century of the match and it looked as though he had the momentum going into the final frame, but Brown, ranked number 81 in the world, came marching back, showing calmness and composure to claim the Ray Reardon trophy in Wales and a £70,000 cheque for winning the tournament.

In doing so, he became the fourth Northern Irishman to win a ranking tournament in the sport, joining the list of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor and Mark Allen, as well as being the lowest-ranked player to win a ranked title since Dave Harold won the Asia Open, in 1993.

Brown also leapt 36 places, from 81 to 45 in the world rankings following his stunning triumph over O’Sullivan.

In an emotional victory, which was played without fans in Wales due to coronavirus restrictions, Brown said: “It feels unbelievable, and it’s not going to sink in for a while. I have always believed in myself, but I just never thought this would happen.

“I knew my game was good enough, because whenever you’re in and scoring, taking your chances, it doesn’t matter who is in the other chair.

“If I’d played Ronnie instead of the table I think I’d have got beaten today — he’s so good. He can bully and steamroll over you, so I just had to stick to my guns and do what I had to do.”

He was also commended highly by his opponent for the way he performed in the final.

O’Sullivan said: “You’re not a bad player if you beat Selby and Maguire, so I knew he would be comfortable on the big stage and I’m not surprised.”