Jordan Brown is the lowest-ranked player to have reached the Welsh Open final since Andrew Higginson in 2007. /CFP
Jordan Brown sealed one of snooker's greatest upsets as he beat six-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in a final-frame decider to clinch the Welsh Open title at Celtic Manor on Sunday.
The world number 81, who started the tournament as a 750-1 outsider, held his nerve to clinch a 9-8 win and become the lowest ranked winner of a ranking title in over a quarter of a century.
A brilliant break of 74 in the decider completed victory for the Northern Irishman.
The 33-year-old won four consecutive matches in final-frame deciders before sweeping aside Stephen Maguire 6-1 in the semi-finals.
Despite letting a 4-1 lead slip as O'Sullivan went 6-5 ahead, Brown took the next two to move two frames from victory.
Ronnie O'Sullivan failed to equal John Higgins' record of five titles after losing the Welsh Open to Jordan Brown. /CFP
O'Sullivan twice leveled again, but Brown held his nerve to pocket the $98,000 winner's cheque.
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 and 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 steamroller you, so I just had to stick to my guns and do what I had to do," he added.
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."