Joe Perry’s hopes of snatching a place in next month’s Masters are very much still alive after an impressive performance saw him upset the odds and beat Judd Trump.

The world number 21 came back from 3-1 behind to beat the recently crowned Northern Ireland Open champion 6-4 in an epic contest at York’s Barbican Theatre.

Perry rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 behind as he reeled off three frames on the bounce to record a brilliant win against the world number five and reach the quarter-finals of the UK Championship.

Trump was much fancied to win this year’s UK title especially after winning his first ranking event in more than a year just a fortnight ago in Belfast.

And the Bristol star looked to be heading to victory as breaks of 81 and 97 helped him to an early 3-1 lead.

But Perry battled back in frame eight and with a couple of fortunate pots on the final two reds he managed to level the scores at 4-4.

Another close frame was decided on the colours as a brilliant pot on the final yellow into the middle pocket allowed him to take a 5-4 lead.

And an impressive safety shot caused Trump all kinds of problems as he was forced to play a safety he did not want to play after fouling twice which prompted a forfeit warning because he could see a red full ball.

The warning led to Trump playing a safety shot which didn’t connect the way he wanted to and let Perry in.

Perry made no mistake as he brilliantly cleared the table with a break of 136 to win the match 6-4.

Perry will be able to secure the final qualifying place in next month’s Masters should he reach the final of the UK Championship. 

He is now just two wins away from doing so and his next opponent is Tom Ford – a player ranked below Perry in the world rankings. Victory in that match will then take him to the semi-finals.

Perry reached the Masters final in 2017 but lost out to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

An epic contest followed on from last night’s drama as both Last 16 matches went into deciding frames.

Masters winner Mark Allen found his form just at the right time as back to back centuries saw him beat Neil Robertson 6-5 in a final frame thriller.

And world number 36 Tom Ford enjoyed one of his finest night’s of his professional career as he edged out an epic contest against China’s Lu Ning to win 6-5.

Follow The Old Green Baize by visiting http://www.theoldgreenbaize.com.

Or Follow us on Facebook by searching for TOGB Snooker or viewing our Twitter page @snooker_chat.

Contact us by emailing togbsnooker@gmail.com or visit the above social media channels and message us.