Fergal O'Brien survived the tightest of close encounters to reach the quarter-finals of the £540,000 UK Championship in Bournemouth last night.
The Dubliner got out of jail to beat a stunned Matthew Stevens of Wales 9-8 following an epic, 366-minute nail-biter.
O'Brien fought back from 7-2 down to level at seven-all. And when Stevens, twice a UK runner-up, pulled away to lead 8-7 and 71-0, the Irish number two found yet another escape route.
He drew level at 8-8, taking the 16th frame on the black, and then led 61-0 in the decider.
But he stumbled within sight of the winning post and last season's world finalist threatened to pull the match out of the fire. He was eventually left requiring snookers, and though he managed to gain a couple, O'Brien extricated himself and eventually won a 52-minute decider 68-46.
"It was a real humdinger," admitted O'Brien. "I'm just pleased I dug in and it proves if you hang in there you never know what might happen.
"At 6-2 down I knew it wasn't like a football match where you could run the clock down. Matthew had to win three frames and that gave me a little bit of a chance."
World number six, Stevens said: "I'm gutted. At 7-2 it was just a stroll in the park but it all went wrong."
