‘When that black went in, wow, lovely!’published at 14:33 British Summer Time
Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre
Image source, PA MediaIt’s been an incredible day for 75-year-old Brian Nicholls from Tamworth, who won £25,000 after Mark Allen’s maximum 147 earlier today.
One of the event sponsors, Midnite Sports and Casino, have been running an initiative where for each session of this year’s World Championship, one person in the crowd is selected at random and if a 147 happens, on either table, they win £25,000.
Lifelong snooker fan Brian, who had never been to the Crucible but had the ticket bought for him by his son as a present for his 75th birthday, has just told the media he fancied taking his family on a cruise to America next year with the winnings.
“Twenty-five grand is a lot of money, it’s lovely,” said Brian. “I wasn’t calm, my heart was pounding. After the yellow, that was the ball where I thought ‘it’s on’. My son had pointed out a possible 147 with a few reds left.
“I thought he [Allen] had blown it when he got to the yellow as they are only human and can make a mistake. When that black went in, wow, lovely!
“I couldn’t believe it. The Crucible is a wonderful place, I’ve been walking around it having a look around. I hope Mark wins his match tonight and wins the tournament – I wanted to kiss him!”
