Lee lost in the first round at the Crucible in 2008

Stephen Lee came through the final round of qualifying for the World Championship with a narrow 10-8 win over his West Country rival Judd Trump.

Lee, from Trowbridge, had described the match as the biggest game of his life and recovered from 6-3 down to beat Bristol's Trump, the world number 41.

"The boy's good, there's no doubt about it, but I'm glad I've beaten him," Lee, who is ranked 26th, said afterwards.

"Being in Bristol, all I've heard in the last five years is how good he is."

There had been friction between the two players during the match and Lee explained: "He's blown a 6-3 lead, hasn't he? I hope that will stick with him for a while yet. There's a bit of local rivalry there.

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"He fluked a few balls and didn't put his hand up. Christ, it's only a game!

"We've all had these war wounds. I couldn't bear thinking about not going to the Crucible this year."

The victory comes as a huge boost to 2003 world semi-finalist Lee, 34, who has struggled for form recently and has dropped out of the elite top 16.

For Trump, 19, it is the second consecutive year that he has fallen at the final hurdle of qualifying. In 2008, he lost 10-9 to Joe Swail in the final round of qualifying, having been 9-7 up.

The draw for the first round of the World Championship takes place on Wednesday, 11 March, at 0945 GMT.

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