Warm words for Luca Brecel from Ronnie O'Sullivan

Luca Brecel pulls off stunning comeback to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in World Championship quarter-finals

By Sporting Life

Snooker

Wed April 27, 2023 · 2y ago

Luca Brecel won seven frames on the bounce to pull off a stunning comeback against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals of the World Championship at the Crucible.

Brecel seemingly had a mountain to climb resuming 10-6 behind, but he took advantage of an unusually ragged performance from the defending champion in ruthless fashion.

Having won the opening frame of the session on the final pink, Brecel then turned the match on its head with a barrage of big breaks, levelling the scores at 10-10 in quick time.

It began with a fabulous 112 clearance and when another unforced error from O'Sullivan let Brecel in again, he stepped in with 64, before following up with a neat 72 to get back on level terms.

And when the expected O'Sullivan response failed to materialise after the mid-session interval, Brecel continued on his merry way, adding further runs of 61, 78 and 63, while his opponent only managed a solitary point in the final three frames.

So bad was O'Sullivan's own performance, he failed to make a single break over 30 in the session.

O’Sullivan told the BBC afterwards: "He played unbelievable. He's such a good player, I love watching him play.

"He gets through the ball so well. It's incredible. The whip he gets on the white, the top spin, the thud he hits the ball with.

"He's such a dynamic player and full of talent. Probably the most talented snooker player I've ever seen.

"I'd love to see him go and win it for snooker, because that's how snooker should be played.

"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."

Having arrived at this year's World Championship having never won a match at the Crucible before, Brecel has now numbered two former champions – Mark Williams being the other – among his victims, and will suddenly fancy his chances of going all the way in a tournament that has had a twist at every turn.

Wednesday afternoon's Belgian blitz was another, and Brecel will face Si Jiahui in the last four after the Chinese debutant came through a final frame decider to beat Anthony McGill 13-12.

A delighted Brecel told World Snooker Tour: "To win seven frames in a row against Ronnie is probably the best session I have played. I was so composed for the whole match, I felt very calm, even at the end.

"It’s amazing to do that in the Crucible. It was like a dream because there was a big crowd, Stephen Hendry was in the commentary box, I was playing Ronnie and playing my best stuff. It doesn’t get any better than that!

"I struggled at the Crucible many times but it has all changed suddenly and I don’t know why. I feel so good here now and I have not struggled to get over the line in my three matches."

Allen battles his way to second semi-final

Mark Allen will contest his first Crucible semi-final since 2009, having beaten Jak Jones 13-10 in a hard-fought quarter-final.

The Northern Irishman is now just two wins away from becoming world champion for the first time, a victory that would cap a remarkable season that has already seen him claim the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix titles.

For Jones, the final session of a gripping encounter proved to be one step too far, but the Crucible debutant had to be carried out on his shield, briefly threatening to pull off another big shock following his earlier wins over Ali Carter and Neil Robertson, before Allen made his superior experience count and pulled away from 10-10.

Mark Allen is into the World Championship semi-finals

There was nothing to separate the pair when play resumed at 8-8 and though Allen made the early running, Jones hit back with a magnificent 124 and then got back on level terms as a grandstand finish appeared on the cards.

Allen, though, was never flustered, edging a tense frame 21 thanks to a nerveless clearance to the pink and then following up with a typically pinpoint run of 64 that put him on the cusp of victory.

That victory was eventually confirmed following a titanic battle in the next frame, Allen potting the brown from distance after Jones had got the two snookers he required to keep his hopes alive, ending well over eight hours of toil which secures Allen a semi-final with Mark Selby.

A relieved Allen told the BBC afterwards: "It was a complete slog, to be honest. The first session was really good – 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 to 13 frames.

"I felt like as the match went on he was getting edgy, but I wasn't playing well enough to capitalise. It was just a matter of staying really patient and taking my chances when they came.

"It wasn't pretty, I'm sure it wasn't pretty to watch, but I couldn't care less – I'm in the semis.

"I felt like when I won the last frame of yesterday's session to get 8-8, he would've felt like he missed the boat a little bit. I felt like he was the better player in both sessions and I managed to stick with him at 8-8.

"I thought experience could tell and he did miss a few. I missed a few, too, but I felt I was always going to hold myself together at the end."

Selby through to face Allen

Mark Selby moved through the gears to beat John Higgins 13-7 and set up a meeting with Allen.

Having taken four of the first five frames of the match, Higgins managed just three of the following 15 as Selby remained on course for what would be a fifth World Championship.

The pair were locked together at 4-4 entering the second session on Wednesday afternoon, but from the moment Selby took the lead for the first time with a trademark counter-punch in the ninth frame, he controlled the match.

Two centuries and a further 10 breaks of over 50 saw Selby prove far too strong for Higgins, whose first century came in the penultimate frame and proved too little, too late.

Just once did he keep Selby in his seat for an entire frame and prevent him from scoring. Selby did it to Higgins six times, and on this form rates the man to beat ahead of a blockbuster semi-final.

World Snooker Championship: Quarter-final playing schedule

Scroll down further for round-by-round draws and full tournament schedule
* denotes 'to a finish'

TUESDAY APRIL 25
Morning Session (10am)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Luca Brecel
Mark Allen 4-4 Jak Jones

Afternoon Session (2.30pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

Anthony McGill 4-4 Si Jiahui (Match 26)
John Higgins 4-4 Mark Selby (Match 28)

Evening Session (7pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-6 Luca Brecel
Mark Allen 8-8 Jak Jones

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26
Morning Session (10am)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

Anthony McGill 8-8 Si Jiahui
Mark Allen 13-10 Jak Jones *