Walsall's Mark Joyce boots out snooker world No.1 Judd Trump
Walsall snooker star Mark Joyce pulled off a major upset by dumping world No.1 Judd Trump out of the UK Championship.
The 29-year-old, who is ranked 50th in the world, fought back from 5-2 down to defeat the defending champion 6-5 at the York Barbican Centre.
"I'm over the moon," said Joyce, who will face former world championship finalist Ali Carter in round two.
"It wasn't a vintage performance by any means but it's the hardest game in the world when you're under pressure."
"To my mind my world ranking's a false one. After I had a good run in this event a couple of years ago, I got attacked during a night out and ended up with a fractured elbow. It cost me four months physically, but mentally it probably cost me a lot longer. Hopefully, I can progress even further."
Trump led 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2, but was unable to cross the finish line as Joyce mounted his comeback. A break of 49 in the final frame was enough to help Joyce progress against the tournament favourite.
Trump played on for snookers before Joyce finally potted the green he needed for victory. Trump had chances of his own in the decider, but broke down on 37 as he saw a yellow struggle out to a middle bag.
Trump even found time to use Twitter while leading 3-1 at the mid-session interval. "Might go for a few now, feeling relaxed. Not playing great," he tweeted.
"I had a chance at 5-2 and I had a kick and from then on nothing went right and I just didn't play well," said Trump afterwards. "He dragged me down at the start."