SHEFFIELD (INP): Belgium’s Luca Brecel became the first player from continental Europe to win snooker’s World Championship as he withstood a fight back from four-time champion Mark Selby to triumph 18-15 in the final.
Luca Brecel’s victory also meant he joined Canadian Cliff Thorburn (1980), the Republic of Ireland’s Ken Doherty (1997) and Australian Neil Robertson (2010) as only the fourth modern-era world champion from outside the United Kingdom at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
Having overturned huge deficits to defeat both seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and Si Jiahui in the quarter and semi-final rounds respectively, held his nerve after Selby had eroded his lead.
The 28-year-old, who had never won a match at the Snooker World Championship before this year’s edition, started Monday’s concluding session 15-10 up. Selby, however, won five of the next six frames as he closed to within one at just 16-15 behind.
But the Englishman then missed a black off its spot and Brecel capitalised to move within a frame of victory at 17-15. Luca Brecel was first in come the next frame and then demonstrated excellent cue-ball control around the black in a match-winning break of 112. “So tough, he (Selby) is the worst opponent to have in a final, he just keeps coming back, he’s such a fighter, when it was 16-15 I didn’t fancy winning at all, I was missing balls by a mile but then I made a good break.”
Asked what his win would mean for European snooker, former child prodigy Brecel replied: “It’s going to explode, I was so nervous because I wanted it to happen for Belgium and Europe and now I can’t wait to see what it brings, I’m so happy I did it.”
Something of a throwback, the crowd-pleasing Luca Brecel’s path to the final was notable for his unconventional approach to match preparation. Selby, who on Sunday became the first player to make a maximum 147 break in a World Championship final, paid tribute to the new champion by saying: “Congratulations to Luca, he’s a great talent and a great lad, a great family. Enjoy the year, you deserve it mate, you played fantastic.
