Ricky Walden trailed Graeme Dott 3-0 and by 70 points in the fourth frame, but remarkably came back to win 4-3 in the third round of the BetVictor English Open.
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Three-time ranking event winner Walden described the fight back as the best of his career as he set up a last 16 tie with Matthew Selt in Brentwood. World number 22 Walden will be aiming to reach his first ranking event quarter-final since the 2022 Scottish Open.
Dott made a top break of 84 in winning the first three frames and the 2006 Crucible king looked set for victory when he built a 70-0 lead in the fourth. But Walden clawed his way back into the frame and eventually gained the snooker he needed on the pink before potting pink and black. The Chester cueman added frame five then made a 134 for 3-3. The decider came down to a tense battle on the final pink, resolved when Walden slotted it into a centre pocket.
“That’s never happened to me before and players will go through a whole career without making a come back like that,” said 40-year-old Walden. “I didn’t play great but I hung in there and asked the questions. In the end I potted a great pink to win because it was a pressure shot.
“Graeme will be disappointed, he had chances to finish me off. It’s a horrible drive home when you lose a match like that – I have had plenty of those myself, I’ve had some shockers.
“My game is showing positive signs in practice, I just need confidence on the match table. I know how this game works, it can be hard but I also know that when I get going I can win a tournament.”
Essex cueman Selt scored an impressive 4-2 win over world number three Mark Allen. From 2-0 down, Selt rattled in breaks of 79, 114 and 72 before getting the better of a fragmented sixth frame.
Judd Trump was also pushed all the way before he came through 4-3 against Jimmy Robertson. World number five Trump trailed three times, but came from 3-2 down to take the last two frames with runs of 59 and 58.
“It’s never a nice feeling when you go behind in a best of seven, you are constantly on edge,” he said. “So I was happy to take my chances in the last couple of frames. Winning matches like that, when your back is against the wall, can make or break your season.”
Trump lived in Chigwell in Essex for several years and enjoys competing in these parts. He added: “It was a brilliant crowd tonight, people here love snooker and I thrive on that. The area around London could have three or four events.”
John Higgins top scored with 91 in a 4-0 win against his bogey player Mark Davis, while China’s promising He Guoqiang edged out Hossein Vafaei 4-3.
