Snooker player Gerard Greene booked himself a place in the World Championship finals after winning a thrilling qualifier on Tuesday.

Greene, from Rainham, just edged past Rory McLeod to claim a first round place in the game’s premier tournament at the Crucible Theatre next month.

The game lasted an epic eight hours and Greene had to stage a remarkable comeback to claim a place in the finals for the fifth time.

He was trailing 7-4 at one stage, in a first to ten match, before squaring it up at 7-7.

Greene, ranked number 32 in the world, then found himself 9-8 down against McLeod (world no.39). At 9-9 another long final frame was eventually won by the Kent man on the green, finishing 61-25.

“In the last frame we missed about 50 chances each”, said a relieved Greene. He is the second Kent player to qualify for the 32-man finals which take place on April 17 after Dartford’s Barry Hawkins qualified on Monday. The first round draw takes place on Thursday morning.