Elliot Slessor labelled victory over  Ronnie O’Sullivan as the greatest of his career after causing the shock of the tournament at the Dafabet Northern Ireland Open, writes ROSS LAWSON.
Few had given the Gateshead cueman a chance of success in Belfast, up against a man bidding for a £1m Home Nations jackpot, for a place in the last 16.
But Slessor surprised all with a 4-1 win he was fully deserving of, showing why he reached the Indian Open quarter-finals earlier this year.
But his was far from the only success, later winning his Geordie showdown with Sam Craigie to make today’s last-eight.
“It has to be best of the career because of that crowd,” he said. “I know it’s not as far in the tournament as when I beat Shaun Murphy in India, but this has to be the biggest.
“I like playing these games, I’ve played a lot of the names anyway and I feel quite comfortable out there.
“I’d rather be playing in front of lots of people instead of the side tables where nobody knows you’re there, I like that feeling of trying to impress.
“Against those type of players I’m calmer, I’m not massively expected to win so I go in there, try my best and try and have a good attitude.
“You can’t get a bigger scalp than this, he’s won two tournaments and had a final in his last three – he draws the biggest crowds and is the main man.”
Craigie had got the better of Mei Xiwen 4-2, with his form since deciding to wear glasses showing no signs of slowing down.
But arguably the greatest match of the tournament came in the last of the afternoon session as Gary Wilson fought back from 3-1 down to beat John Higgins 4-3. Redcar’s Mike Dunn completed a fine day for the North-East as he progressed to meet Mark Williams.
Watch the Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport Player and Quest with Colin Murray and daily studio analysis with Neal Foulds