DANIEL WELLS, an amateur, shocked everyone by eliminating world No. 5 Judd Trump from the Welsh Open.
The 34-year-old Welshman battled from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Masters champion Trump in the following four frames.
Shaun Murphy, who made a maximum 147 break, defeated Wells in the last-16 round of the tournament in Llandudno on Thursday. Wells was unable to pull off another upset.
Wells told World Snooker, “To beat a top player on TV is a massive stepping stone for me,” Wells told World Snooker
After missing the black off its spot, Trump missed a chance to go up 3-0. Meanwhile, Wells made a 101 break to go up 3-2 and then won the next frame.
Murphy was in excellent form during the evening session and hit his eighth career maximum during the third frame of his 4-1 victory. Moreover, he recorded breaks of 145, 78, and 66.
Unless his 147 is matched over the following five days, the 40-year-old Englishman who won the Welsh Open in 2020 will receive the £5,000 prize for the highest break of the competition.
Neath-born Wells quit the professional ranks in 2021 to work at his mother’s cleaning company, but he is almost expected to return to the professional circuit the following year.
Wells said: “When I was off the tour and cleaning toilets, no one was paying my bills.
“It was a shock to me, I realised I have to be more gritty and not give other players too much respect.
“They are all human and if you put anyone under enough pressure they will crack.”
Ronnie’s on track
Ronnie O’Sullivan remains on track for a record-equalling fifth Welsh Open title following a 4-0 whitewash victory over Ben Mertens to reach the quarter-finals.
It was a much more straightforward night for O’Sullivan after tip problems in the earlier rounds had threatened to derail his tournament.
With a new tip now in place, O’Sullivan hit two breaks of 55 and a break of 68 to seal a far more comfortable win.
Mertens – in his first year on the pro tour – had stunned Jackson Page and David Gilbert to make it this far but, certainly in the opening frames, he appeared overawed by the man he calls his hero, simply committing too many mistakes as O’Sullivan moved two frames clear.
Clearly struggling with the occasion, the 18-year-old had an opportunity to reduce the deficit in the third frame as O’Sullivan’s break ended at 55, only to pot the white after knocking in the pink. This time O’Sullivan would put the frame to bed to extend his lead to 3-0.
When these two met back in December, Mertens won three of the last four frames to force a decider, however, the fans in attendance at Llandudno were never likely to be treated to such a close finish.
The world number 49 Chinese player Tian Pengfei, who defeated four-time world champion John Higgins 4-1, will compete against O’Sullivan.
Mark Allen of Northern Ireland defeated Luca Brecel 4-2, moving on to play Robert Milkins in the quarterfinals.
World number 12 Jack Lisowski suffered an unexpected 4-1 defeat to China’s Yuan Sijun and Welsh interest ended as Jak Jones lost 4-2 against Pang Junxu of China.
