Mark Selby Ronnie Osullivan Mark Allen Luca Brecel Belgium China Semi-final fights Mark Selby Ronnie Osullivan Mark Allen Luca Brecel Belgium China

Luca Brecel fights back against Si Jiahui in thrilling Crucible semi-final

theguardian.com

Luca Brecel staged a brave fightback to stay in his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Si Jiahui in one of the most exciting sessions witnessed at the Crucible.

The Chinese world No 80, who has wowed fans over the last two weeks with his brilliant attacking game, looked on course to win the match with a session to spare when he won the first three frames of the evening session, extending his lead from 11-5 to 14-5 with breaks of 90, 132 and 97.

But Brecel, the world No 10 from Belgium, came from 10-6 behind to defeat the defending champion and world No 1, Ronnie O’Sullivan, 13-10 in the quarter-finals.

He summoned up the same fighting spirit that secured that memorable victory with a display of virtuoso attacking snooker. Si seemed to wilt when Brecel produced some audacious potting and break-building, as the Belgian forced his way back into the match in dramatic fashion, winning five straight frames including a break of 108.

Related News
The provisional 2023/24 snooker calendar sees the sport return to mainland China for the first time since 2019 with the staging of three tournaments worth over £2m in prize money. The elite non-ranking Shanghai Masters (September), and Wuhan Open (October) and International Championship (November) – both enjoying full ranking status – will be the first events to be held in the country since the global pandemic decimated the sporting calendar three years ago.
Luca Brecel withstood a stirring fightback from Mark Selby to clinch a dramatic 18-15 victory and become the first player from mainland Europe to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible. Having clawed back outlandish deficits to sink both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Si Jiahui in the previous rounds, the brilliant 28-year-old switched roles to fend off a late surge by the four-time champion.
LONDON: Belgium’s Luca Brecel said European snooker would “explode” after he became the first player from the continental mainland to be crowned world champion.
It may have taken him nine years more than he originally planned, but Luca Brecel’s childhood prophecy has finally been fulfilled. Before he had even stepped through the doors of a Crucible Theatre as a highly-rated 17-year-old, becoming the youngest player in the tournament’s history, the Belgian had already predicted he would become world champion by the age of 19.
Luca Brecel withstood a stirring fightback from Mark Selby to clinch a dramatic 18-15 victory and become the first player from mainland Europe to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.