Scottish Open: John Higgins crashes out to unranked amateur Jordan Brown

FOUR-TIMES world champion John Higgins crashed to one of the worst defeat of his career at the Scottish Open last night.

The Wishaw potter went down 4-3 to unranked amateur Jordan Brown in their first-round clash in Motherwell.

Higgins had been expected to put on a show for home fans at the inaugural three-day event.

But Ulsterman Brown – who had a single season on the pro tour before dropping off – had other ideas as he held his nerve to send the world No.3 tumbling.

Brown said: “It’s the best win of my career by miles.

“John’s one of the players I’ve always looked up to since I was a kid so to beat him is unbelievable.

“I knew what to expect from the crowd because he’s a big favourite here but I had my dad and sister here – they flew over from Northern Ireland and it was great to have them in the arena.

“I played really well. I recently made my TV debut against Joe Swail so I knew what it was like to play in front of the cameras.”

Higgins trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before pocketing a break of 91 to force a decider.

But the Scot found himself needing two snookers in the final frame and Brown pounced with a superb pot on the final blue to snatch victory.