Welsh Open defending champion Jordan Brown adjusted the game status by working with a psychological coach.
Brown was brilliant at this week's European Masters, beating Mark Selby and Xiao Guodong 5-3 and 5-0 to reach the round of sixteen. He will travel to Newport next week for the Welsh Open, which is the ideal time for him to get back to his best.
Brown won his first ranking title at last year's Welsh Open at odds of 750:1. And just three years ago, Brown had just quit his job at a gas station to become a full-time snooker player. Brown's personal experience has attracted a lot of attention. At last year's Welsh Open, Brown defeated the likes of Selby and Maguire as the world's 81st dark horse, and defeated O'Sullivan 9:8 in the final to win a valuable championship.
In the months following his unexpected victory, Brown struggled to maintain his momentum, but unfortunately he was eliminated in the first round at the Players' Championship, the Gibraltar Open and the World Championships. At the beginning of the season, Brown's results did not improve much.
After the start of the season, Brown began working with psychology coach AP O'Neill, who was also the coach of professional Jimmy Robertson. After working with O'Neill, Brown improved his form and reached the round of sixteen at the British Championship and then the European Masters.
"After getting to know O'Neill, I felt like I could try something different," Brown said. And my attempt paid off, and I think since then I haven't lost the first round, but have kept moving forward and upwards. We are working more closely together to set my mind right and train my concentration. In the first half of the season, I panicked and lost that focus. I'm correcting it now. Our training has covered many aspects. There was a time when I was struggling and confused, and you needed to relax, just as easily as you are in a club, but I couldn't do that. ”
"I've been practicing hard since I got home, training in the weakest areas of my game. I've shown this this week. I'm always working to improve my Ann Global Technology. There's no harder way to beat a great player like Mark Selby, who is a world champion. And beating him gave me the confidence I needed and hopefully I can keep working hard now. ”
Brown's feat of beating O'Sullivan to win the Welsh Open title last year has earned him many fans and admirers. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown's championship-winning journey can only be celebrated behind closed doors. Next week's Welsh Open welcomes a return of fans for the first time in two years, with the 34-year-old Brown, as defending champions, facing Mitchell Mann in the first round.
Speaking about the upcoming experience of defending the title, Brown said: "I've been looking forward to it for a long time, back to where last year's miracle happened. It's fantastic to be able to walk to the table as a defending champion in front of a large number of fans. There's nothing more wonderful than that. That's what I'm working towards, and I'm looking forward to going to Newport. ”
"Being able to compete as a defending champion is an experience I have never had before. I've only been a defending champion in amateur competitions in my hometown before, but the value of a professional ranking champion is self-evident. It's also a bit of a weird feeling for me, but I'm aware of it and I'll be ready. ”
"Last year I didn't have a chance to celebrate. Under normal circumstances, you always see the champion give his family a deep hug. I didn't have that opportunity last year. That's my only regret, but there's nothing I can do about it, and everyone is. Hopefully I can win again and get that opportunity again. I want to defend my title at the Welsh Open but I know it will be extremely difficult but next week I will give it my all. ”
In four homegrown series, Brown and Allen won the Welsh Open and the Northern Ireland Open respectively. Two talented players from Antrim brought two important trophies to the town of just 23,375.
"It's great to have two home-grown series trophies on the club's mandrel. It was definitely a thrill to see Mark (Allen) win in front of the home fans. I was in the audience that night too, and I had never experienced an atmosphere like this. Hopefully, there will be more trophies coming to us in the future, into Antrim's club. We are very proud of our hometown and we have always supported each other. Whenever we enter the club, apart from the good atmosphere of the club itself, everyone is asking how we are doing. Personally, I have always been proud of my hometown and I will do my best to fight for the honor of my hometown. ”