Luca Brecel rocks Ronnie O’Sullivan to reach World Snooker semis

The seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is out of the World Snooker Championship after losing 13-10 to Luca Brecel in their Crucible quarter-final.

O’Sullivan, resuming 10-6 ahead, lost seven frames on the spin as Brecel reached the last four in extraordinary circumstances. O’Sullivan, who won the title in 2022, failed to make a single break over 30 as his Belgian opponent set up a semi-final date with either Anthony McGill or Si Jiahui.

O’Sullivan told BBC: “I didn’t put up any resistance but you’ve still got to pot the balls and he played unbelievable. I wasn’t playing well enough to have any impact on the game. If it was a boxing match they would have stopped it very early on. I was just pinching frames and hanging on. There’s only so much hanging on you can do at the Crucible. It catches up with you at some point, and someone will eventually put you away.”

Brecel said: “I always play the same game so it’s not a surprise to me. I have a ‘B’ game but I never choose to play it. I love winning but I don’t mind losing and that’s a dangerous combination to have.”

Earlier, Mark Allen reached the last four for just the second time in his career with a hard-fought win over qualifier Jak Jones. Allen was far from his fluent best and made just one break over 70, but took advantage of a nervy display in the final session from debutant Jones to secure a 13-10 victory.

“It was never in doubt was it?” joked a relieved Allen, who first reached the semis in 2009. “It was a complete slog to be honest. The first session was really good but I was awful after that and it was just a matter of digging deep, trying to stay as positive as possible and trying to get 13 frames. That’s what I did.”

Asked what had been the deciding factor,