Blackpool pool ace Boyes Rock-solid in Gibraltar

The Yorkshire-born 35-year-old was a light addition to the line-up for the 25th annual Masters event at Victoria Stadium, where he certainly made his mark in the nine-ball tournament before losing out to eventual winner Niels Feijen of the Netherlands.

Boyes came into the event at short notice when Tony Drago withdrew through illness and won his first round match comfortably 8-3 against David Alcaide before pulling off one of the most amazing wins in the event’s history in the quarter-finals.

Facing Ralf Souquet in the last eight, Boyes recovered from 7-1 down to win 8-7.

Having lost all the first four frames and three of the next four, Boyes embarked on an amazing fightback which saw him win six straight frames to level the match. He was always in control of the decider to seal a great win.

However, Boyes had no answer to deadly Dutchman Feijen in the semi-finals.

Feijen, who had been out of the game for the best part of six months with tendonitis, defeated the Fylde coast man 8-3 before overcoming American Shane van Boening 8-4 in the final.

One of England’s most successful players, longtime Blackpool resident Boyes was WPA World 8-Ball champion in 2010.

As a team player, he has lifted the World Cup of Pool alongside Darren Appleton in 2014 and was part of four winning European sides in the Mosconi Cup.

Boyes said of that stunning quarter-final win: “I didn’t know I could perform that well under pressure. I was shaking on that last rack.

“It was one of those crazy matches, I suppose. After a match like that I didn’t care if I played Ronnie O’Sullivan.

“Obviously I got a last-minute spot and I only got the call-up on Tuesday, but I didn’t come here to lose.

“Not a bad effort for a full-time father.”

Champion Feijen said: “I am pretty speechless. It has been a long ride and I would like to thank everybody who supported me, especially my wife.

“Karl is a great guy and we have had some good battles in the past. That was a great match in the semi-final and the break started to click really well.”