Stuart Bingham pulled off a sensational 5-4 win over world champion and world number one John Higgins in Cardiff, and is now beginning to believe his name is written on the Welsh Open trophy.
But the story was a sad one for two Irishmen. Fergal O'Brien was whitewashed 5-0 by Steve Davis, at 41 the oldest competitor left in the field, and Patrick Wallace was beaten 5-2 by James Wattana.
Bingham, a 22-year-old from Essex, is the lowest ranked professional left in the £370,000 tournament. He is rated 164 in the world. He built up a 3-0 lead, lost it and was tied 3-3 and 4-4 with Higgins before winning the decider.
"I can't really believe it but I enjoy proving people wrong," said the 1996 world amateur champion after his win. "You never know how far I can go." Higgins's defeat was not quite as surprising as Stephen Hendry's 9-0 demise in the UK Championship last November.
Hendry is slowly recovering from that humiliation by Marcus Campbell. His 5-4 victory over Matthew Stevens of Wales will fill him with confidence, recovering as he did from 4-3 down.
