Harrison stuns Matthew Stevens
IT WAS the best win of his life.
Hawkeridge snooker ace Ben Harrison defeated his childhood idol Matthew Stevens in the Pink Ribbon Pro-Am at the brand new South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.
Harrison admitted “it took a long time to sink in” after recording a shock 4-2 first-round victory over the world number 25 – without the benefit of a handicap start.
“It was definitely my best win ever,” declared the 18-year-old, who is based at Player’s in Westbury.
“Matthew was one of my favourite players when I was growing up. I love the way he plays. I was so nervous before the match I just wanted to make a good impression of myself so that he’d think I was half decent! But I really started enjoying the match once I got the first frame on the board.”
Welsh wizard Stevens, 32, twice a World Championship finalist, took the first frame. Harrison levelled with a 50.
“I started to feel more confident and started believing that I could win it,” he said. “I then won a close third and fourth without feeling that nervous. When I got to 3-1 my arm was starting to shake. I went to the toilet, calmed myself down and made a 47 in the last.”
Harrison clinched a famous win on the brown.
“It took a long time to sink in afterwards,” he added.
Among the first to shake Harrison’s hand was Jimmy White. Also watching the match were White’s fellow professionals Ryan Day, Mark Williams and Stephen Lee. And Joe Perry was in action on the next-door table.
“That made it even more nerve racking,” he admitted. “It was unreal.”
Harrison faced another professional in the second round, world number 28 Gerard Greene.
With the confidence of the Stevens victory behind him, Harrison won the first frame without the Kent cueman potting a ball.
Greene powered back to lead 2-1. But Harrison forced a seventh-frame decider after twice levelling, at 2-2 and 3-3.
However, the youngster missed a long red down the cushion in the final frame and Greene wrapped up a 4-3 victory with a run of 67.
“He’s a very good player and I was just glad to make it a good match,” said Harrison, who also competes on the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour. “It was a great experience and it has given me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year, knowing I can compete with these top players.”
Among the 106 entries chasing the £2,400 first prize were 32 of last season’s 96 professionals. The event raised £6,300 for breast cancer charities.
Michael Holt beat Jimmy White 6-5 in the final.