Jordan Brown has revealed he expected to beat six-times world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Welsh Open final in February despite being ranked as a 750-1 outsider.
Occupying 81st spot in the world rankings, Northern Irishman Brown became the lowest ranked winner of a ranking tournament since world number 93 Dave Harold’s 1993 Asia Open triumph with a 9-8 victory over O’Sullivan from 6-5 behind.
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The man dubbed ‘The Antrim Ferrari’ admits the outcome came as a surprise to everybody but him after edging out Mark Selby 5-4 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Maguire 6-4 in the semi-finals in Milton Keynes.
“It was a David and Goliath contest. I was fully aware of the form Ronnie carried into that final,” said Brown. “He only dropped two frames and was playing amazing snooker.
“He was playing like he was practising in the club, but I was like a kid on Christmas morning. It was a dream come true.
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“A lot of players would have been happy to reach the final and so was I, but I just woke up and believed I could win.
“Apart from my family and coach, I was probably the only person that thought I could win. I had a good feeling about that day.
“I thought: ‘I’ve come this far, there is no reason why I can’t have one big push to go one step further’.
“It turned out to be a great final and I played some of the best snooker of my career.
It was so unexpected, but probably expected within myself because my form was really good going into the final.
O’Sullivan made breaks of 135, 121, 119, 74, 68, 61 and 58 but still lost as Brown compiled 107, 78, 58, 56 and a closing 74 to claim his maiden ranking title in his first professional meeting with the Essex player.
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“You shouldn’t have any doubts in your mind. If the chance comes along, you don’t think you are going to miss. I think that is the attitude I had in the final frame.
“Once I had the chance, I just braced myself. I gave every shot 100 percent and never thought about the occasion or playing Ronnie.
“You can’t allow that to enter your head. It was just a relief to make that 74 break to get over the line.”
Brown returns to action when he faces Ashley Carty in the qualifying round of the English Open between September 17-22 in Barnsley.
He is due to face British Open finalist Gary Wilson in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast next month.
The Northern Ireland Open is the third ranking event of the season and is LIVE on Eurosport and Quest between October 9-17 as part of the Home Nations Series including the English Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open
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Source: Euro Sports
