On 21 February 2021, the Snooker Welsh Open struck one of the biggest dark horses of the century – Jordan Brown. The world-ranked player, ranked 81st, defeated seven-time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 in the final to become the fourth Northern Irish player to win the rankings and the lowest ranking champion in the world this century.
1. Final: Jordan Brown 9-8 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Stage 1 (3-5): 59-28, 66(58)-25, 0-75(74), 137(78)-0, 107(107)-0, 0-135(135), 14-121(121), 67-36
Stage 2 (9-8): 44-58, 0-68 (68), 8-71 (61), 68-43, 102-24, 0-64 (58), 69(54)-25, 0-119 (119), 74(74)-1
With a strong performance of winning 22 innings and losing 2 sets, O'Sullivan became the first player to advance to the final three consecutive times since the inception of the "Home Series". His opponent is Brown, the sixth in Northern Ireland and the lowest in the world in nearly a decade, to reach the final of the ranking tournament. The course of the game was unbelievable, With Brown taking a 2-0 and 4-1 lead, O'Sullivan playing consecutive breakers at key moments to 3-4 to avoid the score, and Brown finished the first stage with a 5-3 score.
Returning from a break, O'Sullivan won three straight sets to win 6-5 at one point, while Brown took the lead 8-7. In the decider, O'Sullivan played with a luck ball, but lost his hand in the next far-court attack and left the far-distance platform opportunity, Brown played a 74-pointer as Tarzan to win the decider, defeating O'Sullivan 9-8 to win the Welsh Open.
2. The road to the final
3. The significance of winning the championship
Brown created one of the greatest miracles of snooker of this century in Newport. He became the fourth Northern Irish player to win the rankings after Higgins, Taylor and Allen, and the lowest-ranked player in the world when he won the rankings in the 21st century. Through this competition, Brown refreshed almost all the data such as the best record of his professional game, the highest single prize income, the highest world ranking, etc., and also qualified for the Players Championship and the Crown championship for the first time.
4. Bonus & Grade Sheet
5. Break the 100 list
A total of 38 players combined to shoot 73 to break the hundred. O'Sullivan single-handedly shot 6 to break the hundred, which is the player who breaks the hundred the most. Zhao Xintong scored 143 points in the first round, becoming the highest score in a single stroke, and the prize money was worth £5,000.
6. Champions of the 21st century
In 2000, John Higgins 9-8 Stephen Lee
In 2001, Ken Dahdi 9-2 Paul Hunt
In 2002, Paul Hunter 9-7 Ken Dahdi
In 2003, Stephen Hendry 9-5 Mark Williams
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 Steve Davis in 2004
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8 Stephen Hendry in 2005
2006, Stephen Lee 9-4 Sean Murphy
In 2007, Neil Robertson 9-8 Andrew Higginson
2008, Mark Selby 9-8 Ronnie O'Sullivan
In 2009, Ali Carter 9-5 Joe Swell
In 2010, John Higgins 9-4 Ali Carter
John Higgins 9-6 Stephen Maguire in 2011
In 2012, Ding Junhui 9-6 Mark Selby
In 2013, Stephen Maguire 9-8 Sean Murphy
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-3 Ding Junhui in 2014
John Higgins 9-3 Ben Wollaston in 2015
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-5 Neil Robertson in 2016
In 2017, Stuart Bingham 9-8 Judd Trump
In 2018, John Higgins 9-7 Barry Hawkins
2019, Neil Robertson 9-7 Stuart Bingham
In 2020, Sean Murphy 9-1 Karen Wilson
In 2021, Jordan Brown 9-8 Ronnie O'Sullivan