DISGRACED snooker star Stephen Lee came out on top in an amateur tournament after his return from a 12-year BAN.
The prestigious competition in the United States pocketed the Englishman a five-figure sum.
Lee was hit with a 12-year suspension after being found guilty of match-fixing.
The 51-year-old former world No5 has now served his lengthy punishment and has shifted his focus to competing on the amateur stage.
His triumph in the Embassy Snooker Open in California netted him a cool £7,500 prize pot as he reacted to his return.
He told the Mirror: “It’s a long few days.
“I’ve not competed for a while and I was worried about lots of group games and matches and I always want to play well, but the well bit didn’t happen.
“I played OK in patches but it does take it out of you.
“I’m pleased, really pleased, my fighting spirit’s still there but I must have had almost 30 or 40 frames and no century.
“It’s been tough, everyone’s very competitive here and I felt that.
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“I’m over the moon to come and win a few matches, just a bit gutted not to get a century.
“It’s nice to come and compete, brings back some nice memories.”
Lee has dismissed any notion of a return to the professional game with fans tuned into the UK Snooker Championships.
Meanwhile, Judd Trump secured a 6-4 win over Stephen Maguire in the UK Championship.
Reacting to his win over Maguire, Trump told the BBC: “It has been a decent year, a solid six or seven out of 10 with a lot of positives.
“I reached the semi-finals of the Masters, the semi-finals of the Worlds, reached four finals.
“On that basis you could say I’m one of the in-form players of the year.
“Even if I won here, it would not be a good year compared to other seasons – unless I win seven events in a season then it won’t do anything for me.
“So much is expected of me, if I don’t win straight away there’s more pressure and you don’t have that time when you’re at the top.
“Having so many good years in a row, it brings you back down to earth and you just have to work harder. I still really want to win every event and I’m not miles away.”
Trump also demanded a fan be ejected from the crowd after he SNEEZED and put him off his shot.
After the fan sneezed three times, the referee agreed with Trump’s protests.
