by James Dodd
JORDAN Brown has given himself a fantastic opportunity to lift his first ever Welsh Open title after taking a 5-3 lead over Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The man ranked 81 in the world had a 4-1 advantage, before O’Sullivan won the next two frames.
However, the final frame of the afternoon went to Brown, who now has given himself a 5-3 advantage in the best of 17.
Afternoon session
Frame 1
In a frame which saw a couple of errors from both players, it was Brown who eventually took advantage of the opportunities presented.
He went 29 ahead with 27 left going into the colours, and a terrific shot at the yellow resulted in O’Sullivan conceding the opening frame.
Frame 2
More errors from O’Sullivan meant Brown punished with a 58 break.
A wonderful snooker by the Northern Irishman again saw O’Sullivan concede the frame.
Frame 3
It was third time luck for O’Sullivan – literally!
A fluke shot on a red confirmed his opening frame, where he managed a 74 break.
Frame 4
After a brilliant snooker shot, O’Sullivan saw himself fall behind in yet another frame.
Brown was clearly starting to believe and gain confidence in this match. A phenomenal break of 78 left O’Sullivan without a single pot going into the interval.
Brown led 3-1.
Frame 5
As play continued, the momentum was still clearly with Brown.
Ruthless play from the underdog saw him get a century of 107, and extend his lead in the afternoon.
Frame 6
However, O’Sullivan responded with his fourth century of the tournament – a 135 after missing the final black.
Frame 7
For the third frame in a row, another century was hit.
It was again achieved by ‘the rocket’, who notched up a 121.
The match was now extremely even.
Frame 8
Probably the biggest frame of the final in the afternoon, as the conclusion of the session would either be 5-3 in favour of Brown or all square at 4-4.
The man from Antrim was up to the task. A wonderful shot on the black, which brought the final red in play, was the key to getting to a two-frame lead.
59-28 (Brown)
66-25 (Brown)
75-0 (O’Sullivan)
137-0 (Brown)
107-0 (Brown)
135- 0 (O’Sullivan)
121-0 (O’Sullivan)
67-36 (Brown)
The evening session will commence at 19:00.