Welsh Open Final - Session 1

Before the match began, this was going to be the true David and Goliath story of the snooker world.

The 44-year-old world number 3, The Rocket – Ronnie O’Sullivan – who turned professional in 1992 and has 37 major ranking event victories including 6 times world champion), 3 – minor ranking titles and 33 non-ranking. He holds a record of one thousand and eighty-nine career century breaks (1,089), and 15, 147 maximum breaks to his name.

The 33-year-old rookie from Antrim in Northern Ireland, Jordan Brown known as the Antrim Ferrari had first turned professional 2009. The break-through came in the 2015/16 season, when he qualified for his first ever ranking tournament, which was the UK Championship where he lost in round one 6 – 1 to Stuart Bingham where he complied a half century of 50. His debut in the Welsh open came in the same season, this time he fell victim of a whitewash in the first round to Stuart Carrington by 4 – 0. Through the 2016/17 season he had only qualified for one ranking event (the Northern Ireland Open) where he progressed to the 2^nd round, he beat Ben Woollaston 4 – 2 in the first round but lost 4 – 2 to Kyren Wilson. Brown highest in that tournament was 102 in the first round. The next tournament was the again NIO (The Northern Ireland Open) he got whitewashed in the first round to Mei Xiwen from China.

The 2018/19 season started well he had qualified to play in the English Open for the first time, he beat Andrew Higginson in round one 4 – 2, in the 2^nd defeated Jimmy Robertson 4 – 3, but lost out in the 3^rd round to Stephen Maguire. He highest break was 82 in round two. He had a two-year before he made his highest-ranking finish, he progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the German Masters. He beat Graeme Dott 5 – 2 in the opening round, then defeated Jamie O’Neill in the 2^nd and then lost to Barry Hawkins.

 

Sunday 21 February 2021

Session One - 

Report Written By Graeme Drayton from The 15 Red Podcast team 

Best of 17 Frames (1st to 9 frames)

Referee – Ben Williams

Jordan Brown v Ronnie O’Sullivan 4 – 1 – First Interval (3 – 1)

Highest Breaks 

Brown - 107 (Frame 5)

O'Sullivan - 135 (Frame 6) & 107 (Frame 7)

Head-to-head score - 0 – 0

Jordan Brown came into the arena at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales to play the biggest match of his career so far and the best player in the world.

Frame 1, Jordan Brown broke off his ever final. He left an early chance for the rocket, but O’Sullivan missed the long red into left corner. The red was left over the green pocket, Brown took it on with rest and made a good positive start with a 16 break. He ran out of position while trying to get onto the black and played the cue-ball back into baulk off the blue. It was O’Sullivan made an unforced error giving away 4 points after playing safe, the cue-ball dropped into green pocket. Brown with ball in hand, had a chance with a long red which he missed into the left corner pocket, and he did what he had probably told himself not to do which was gift O’Sullivan a chance, but had not yet settled and only made a 14. Brown’s made an error with a safety shot as hit the black and left O’Sullivan another red into left corner. With black and pink out of commission, the rocket had to keep playing up the blue, after potting a red into the left middle, the cue-ball finished virtually on top of the blue, O’Sullivan attempted it into the yellow pocket, which he missed. Brown was showing signs of nerves as then he missed a red into right corner. O’Sullivan again gave away a 4-point foul as the cue-ball went into the left middle, and after Brown’s safety, O’Sullivan yet again O’Sullivan caught a red too thick, and the cue-ball went into the right corner. Brown cleared a red into left corner and given a surprise opportunity to take the opening frame but was forced into playing safe with the break on, he tried to remove a red on the bottom cushion and the cue-ball bounced to hit of the cushion and finished on nothing. Brown held a 17-point lead. After O’Sullivan’s next safety, Brown was in again with a pot on a long red into the left corner pocket. Brown had a break of 14 and lead 57 – 28, O’Sullivan needed one four-point snooker and it was the underdog Jordan Brown was on the brink of winning a first ever ranking final frame. Brown potted a fantastic yellow into green pocket and laid a snooker on the green, O’Sullivan conceded and was the rookie who took the opening frame from the current world champion O’Sullivan. 1 – 0.

 

Frame 2, O’Sullivan left a long red into left corner for Brown which he missed but was fortunate as the cue-ball finished in the packs red and left nothing on for the Rocket. Then Brown went toe to toe with O’Sullivan in a safety battle which he won as O’Sullivan potted the cue-ball for a 3^rd time. Brown potted a red into the right corner, but he tried to put a lot of power and deep screw into the cue-ball, but he did not get into it enough and landed on nothing, he played an excellent safety shot, he put the cue-ball near baulk cushion, O’Sullivan a played an extremely poor safety shot, and had left Brown a red into the left corner he potted cleanly. He only made a break of 3 when he missed an easy red into the right corner. O’Sullivan was back at the table 8-points behind, potted a red and made a break of 25 and very surprisingly missed a pink into the left middle. So unexpectedly Brown who would have thought that his opponent would have won the frame, got in, made a wonderful spilt on the reds. They were almost set up for him like they would be on a practice table. He took the chance to build a sizeable lead and left O’Sullivan needing a snooker. Brown got a snooker on the last red behind the green, but O’Sullivan escaped. He then left O’Sullivan in another snooker behind the brown, the red was behind the black. Ronnie conceded and it was a dream start for the rookie. 2 – 0.

 

O’Sullivan began frame 3 with a long red into right corner but failed to get onto a colour, playing safe off the green as he tried to force Brown to open the reds and make a mistake, but Brown played a good safety. Brown nearly made a mistake on his next shot, as the cue-ball travelled back to baulk it caught the blue pushing over the yellow pocket. The safety continued. After Brown had got the cue-ball onto the baulk cushion, O’Sullivan blasted a long red into left corner. With the break on 60, he missed a red into left corner and somehow it found its way into the left middle after cannoning off a red that was on the bottom cushion. Brown conceded and O’Sullivan was one behind 2 – 1.

 

Frame 4 was the last frame before the first mid-session internal. Brown took on a plant into the right corner, as a shot to nothing, it went in but did not finish on a colour, so rolled up behind the brown. O’Sullivan failed to escape on his first two attempts, on the third try he hit the black while trying to nestle into the back of the pack, he changed his shot on the fourth try and left Brown a pot along the bottom cushion. It was very surprising that O’Sullivan had given away 20 points in fouls but believe it or not he had. Brown got the red and held well for the black to begin compiling a break. With his break on 39, he was unlucky for the cue-ball to drift just a little too far, it landed and stuck on a red but had snookered him for the next one. With Brown 59 – 0, another tactical battle got underway. O’Sullivan missed on a pressure red into the right corner, Brown potted a red into left middle. Brown went onto to win the frame, with the highest break of the match so with a 78, he had played some wonderful shots. He went into the interval leading 3 – 1.

 

For the first time in this tournament, O’Sullivan had lost 3 frames and had not settled, he was not showing the form he had produced in the previous rounds. Giving him a lot to think about during the break.

 

Brown led the pot success rate by – 68% to 67%.

Brown also led the scoring 262 – 128.

 

The fifth frame started off with some really good safety play. It was O’Sullivan who made the first mistake, leaving Jordan an early chance with and took a red into the right corner. After nearly missing the black during the break, it did not put him off and potted a brilliant long red (which was frame ball) into the green pocket and went on to make his first every ranking final century. He missed the black of its spot at 107 and should have finished with a 141. But it did not matter as now he had a 4 – 1 lead on the giant of snooker, Ronnie O’Sullivan.

 

At the start of frame 6, Brown missed a plant into red corner but left the red over the right corner, if the cue-ball had not taken an extra roll, O’Sullivan would have been snookered behind the brown, but the rocket took the chance and set about reducing the frame deficit. With the break on 48 he had taken 6 reds and 6 blacks. Did Ronnie feel confident enough with had happened in the last 5 frames to keep his concentration to make the maximum, the answer was no, as he then the blue on 65 just to make sure of the frame. When O’Sullivan had hit 108, he asked the referee Ben Williams to find out what the highest break of the tournament was, that is currently held by Zhou Xintong at 145. He missed the black of its spot and finished with the highest break of the match with a 135. 4 – 2.

 

Two frames to go of the afternoon session. If Brown were to win this frame, he would take a lead going into the evening session.

 

Brown made an error at the start of Frame 7, with a safety shot as he pushed a red over right corner, O’Sullivan missed a fine cut on the red to right corner and the northern Irishmen was in again. With his break on 14, he was unlucky to run out of position and reluctantly played safe. Some excellent safety shots play followed. O’Sullivan missed a red on the bottom cushion to right corner and when Brown missed the next red, O’Sullivan was back in. He worked really hard during the break as sometimes it looked like he was going to run out of position, but he recovered very well on a few occasions, to make his second century of the match with a total clearance of 121. O’Sullivan had now made 1,091 centuries of his career. 4 – 3.

 

Last frame of the session, could he take a two-frame led into the evening session or would O’Sullivan level at 4 – 4.

 

Frame 8, O’Sullivan a long red with tremendous cue power and now with two centuries behind him in the last two frames and was back in full flow. As it looked like he was going to level, he tried to split the pack of the blue and was very unlucky not to finished on a red and played safe getting a snooker behind the green. Brown attempted to rest on the pack but hit the pink and left a free ball, O’Sullivan played safe of the yellow. The Rocket was 28 to 0 up. Brown was back again, but after being left to sit in his chair and watch two sublime breaks from O’Sullivan in the last two frames, the Antrim Ferrari only made an 11, and played safe. O’Sullivan put Brown behind the yellow with fortunate cannon of the brown. The reds had gone very awkward, 4 of the 7 remaining reds were sat near the black and 3 of them were clinging to the back cushion. The scores were 35 – 11 in O’Sullivan’s favour. A few moments later, O’Sullivan missed a long red that had drifted over to the right corner, and then he attempted a long one into right corner and missed it, but the landed just to left of the pink, Brown potted it from distance, took the yellow and missed a red into lefty corner. O’Sullivan potted a long red into left corner but could not hold the cue-ball and rolled Jordan up behind the brown ball. He escaped very well from the snooker. The safety battle begun with 5 reds left on the table. From Brown’s good safety, O’Sullivan potted the cue-ball into the right middle pocket after catching a red thick on the bottom cushion. Brown placed the cue-ball in the D and took a long red into right corner, and then a fantastic long blue into the yellow pocket, he ended his break on 13 and brought the scores of this vital frame to 36 – 31. O’Sullivan tried playing a containing safety shot and got a double kiss on it and left it over the left corner. Brown potted the red, and after potting the black he played a brilliant cannon on the red removing it from the right-side cushion and took a two-frame advantage going into the last session of the final. 5 – 3 to Jordan Brown.