Stunning run takes Luca Brecel into world snooker final against late-finishing Mark Selby
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Luca Brecel was the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Follow topic:
LONDON – Luca Brecel staged one of the most astonishing comebacks in snooker history, as he won 11 frames in a row against China’s Si Jiahui to reach the World Championship final with a 17-15 win on Saturday.
The Belgian’s remarkable recovery was almost matched in the second semi-final.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby was on the cusp of victory at 16-10, before Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen reeled off five frames in a row in a match that went into Sunday – the day of the final itself at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
The 39-year-old Englishman, however, held his nerve to win 17-15 and reach his sixth world final.
Brecel, who won seven frames in a row after coming from behind to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan
But he won the final five frames of Friday’s evening session and carried on where he left off on Saturday, to end Si’s bid to become the youngest Crucible finalist and the first debutant world champion since Wales’ Terry Griffiths in 1979.
Brecel was the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit and this win saw him into his first world final, the 28-year-old having never previously got past the first round.
“To win is absolutely unbelievable. It is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking,” said Brecel.
“The whole game I was expecting to lose, even with a session to spare, so to even have a chance to win was the craziest feeling ever in my body and I can’t believe I did it.”
Si, bidding to become the second Chinese world finalist after Ding Junhui, who was beaten by Selby in the 2016 showpiece, said: “I was feeling kind of disappointed, but not very. He played nearly perfect snooker in the final two sessions and my safety let me down.
“I have realised there are flaws in my game.
“There are so many things I can still improve, so in the coming season, I will be confident I can beat anyone.”
In the other semi-final, Selby missed several chances to seal victory in a tense clash before getting over the line in a match that ended at 12.47am local time (7.47am Singapore time).
On the final, Brecel said: “Selby is a Crucible king. It’ll be a very difficult game for me and he will be the favourite.” AFP
