Chris Melling enjoyed a strong run to the last-16 of the Matchroom UK Open, which included a remarkable last-frame decider against Niels Feijen.
The Keighley native began his campaign well, thumping fellow Brit David Dean 9-1.
Melling then dispatched another home hopeful, Spencer Oliver, 9-4, before edging out Estonia’s David Grabe 9-7.
Those three victories saw the 44-year-old into the last-64 stage, where he took on Thorsten Hohmann.
Melling edged out the German 10-9, holding his nerve to clear up a couple of tricky pots in the decisive frame.
That stood him in good stead for a huge televised encounter against Dutchman Feijen, with the pair treating viewers to one of the matches of the tournament.
The Keighley native led 5-4 at the halfway stage, and in a tight encounter, found himself a frame away from victory at 9-8 in front.
But Feijen produced a superb clearance under pressure, full of tough long shots, to take the game to a decider.
The Dutchman looked to have the game sewn up with two balls left on the table, but missed a relatively simple eight-ball to let Melling in.
The Keighley star took advantage of that shock slip-up, nailing a tough long black, before landing the final ball to claim a fine victory.
DRAMA!
— Matchroom Pool (@MatchroomPool) June 2, 2023
Niels Feijen misses the eight-ball to allow Chris Melling to pounce.
A match of the week contender. A match of the year contender! 🙌#UKOpenPool 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/UX5cmQlOXA
His emotional outbursts after those two pots showed how much the win meant to him.
Sadly, Melling was to go no further, beaten 10-6 by Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung in the last-16.
The Asian star then lost 10-7 to Albania’s Eklent Kaci, who went on to win the tournament after defeating America’s Skyler Woodward 11-5 in the semis and defending champion Joshua Filler 13-4 in the final.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here