Northern Ireland Open: Home favourite Jordan Brown knocks out Crucible king Zhao Xintong
Jordan Brown pleased the home crowd by progressing through to the last 32 at the Northern Ireland Open after knocking-out reigning world champion Zhao Xintong.
The ‘Antrim Ferrari’ made short work of his Chinese opponent as he didn’t drop a single frame in the 4-0 success at the Waterfront Hall.
In truth, only the second frame proved to be tight as Brown edged it 64-43, with a break of 51 in the fourth sealing victory.
The former Welsh Open champion will face Ashley Hugill in the next round after the Englishman beat Noppon Saengkham.
Reflecting on his win, Brown said: “It doesn’t get much better than that...just fantastic support out there today.
"I haven't given them much to shout about recently, I've got to be honest, but it was nice to give them a bit of a lift there today.
"I absolutely loved it out there and I want to thank everyone for their support.
"It's a special place to play in. I've got good memories of beating Neil Robertson here two years ago and I had to recall those memories.
"Just beating him the way I did that day completely outplayed him and I thought I would need to do something similar here today and I think I did that.”
Brown is in fear of relegation from the tour due to results in the last two years but he’s hoping that can all change with a deep run on home soil.
"It's been very difficult…I'm a confidence player and whenever my confidence goes, everything goes,” he added.
"I think, speaking on behalf of a lot of players, it's just not easy. I've just been working with Fergal O’Brien on the practise table and on the mental side, just trying to get things right again. What better place to start than playing in front of a packed house there today.
"There's no reason why I can't go on a run this week but one match at a time and certainly if I play like that there today, there's obviously no reason why I can't go further.”
And will Brown have a Guinness to celebrate his win?
"Maybe two, I've just got to think of the rest of the week. You have to celebrate moments like this because they don't come back too often.”
Fellow Ulsterman Mark Allen, who won the title in 2021 and 2022, starts his bid on Monday (7pm start) against Robert Milkins.