NOPPERT BEATS BUG AND HUMPHRIES

DANNY NOPPERT revealed a banana and three boiled eggs helped him recover from a nasty illness before stunning Luke Humphries.

‘The Freeze’ produced a superb performance to beat ‘Cool Hand’ 10-6 in Minehead and reach the quarter-finals. 

But the Dutchman admitted he was in a terrible state the day before after being struck down by sickness. 

He said: “It was a really bad day. When you throw up five times before your game it is not nice. 

“Today I feel better and this morning I woke up took a banana to check how my stomach was and It accepted it.

“Afterwards [I had] three boiled eggs. I told the marker I couldn’t celebrate too much because then I throw up. 

“It was so bad and they had a bin behind the stage.” 

World No.11 Noppert has been in superb form at the UK Open, firing a nine-darter in his fourth-round win over Dimitri Van den Bergh before seeing off former world champion Peter Wright. 

Noppert now faces his toughest test yet as he takes on teenage sensation and defending champion Luke Littler for a place in the semi-final. 

The former UK Open champion knows the odds are against him but believes he can still cause an upset and dump out Littler.  

He added: “It is what it is. That is the UK Open, you can draw anyone. I accept this. I am looking forward to playing Luke Littler. 

“I’ve never beaten him on the television as well, so why not tomorrow. I think Littler is apart from everyone. 

“I think he is from another planet. Hopefully I am from another planet tomorrow. If I play well, I can beat him.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.