Protester covers snooker table in orange powder during World Championships
Luca Brecel completed the biggest comeback in Crucible history as he broke Si Jiahui’s heart to claim the most remarkable victory and book his spot in a first World Snooker Championship final.
Brecel’s hopes were dead and buried when he trailed 14-5 in the race to 17 during the third session of their semi-final on Friday evening but won the final five frames of the day to give himself a sniff at 14-10 behind. He then reeled off six straight frames on Saturday afternoon to move within one of victory and, although Si then showed incredible resilience to finally break his losing run, the Belgian star sealed a thrilling 17-15 win.
The quickfire, swashbuckling nature of that match between two young snooker stars was in complete contrast to the other semi-final, where Mark Selby and Mark Allen continue to grind away. Stephen Hendry criticised the pair for casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible as Friday’s session was forced to end after they completed only five of the scheduled eight frames due to running out of time.
Hendry said Selby and Allen’s play was “not pretty” – but Ronnie O’Sullivan claimed the controversial second session was “good fun”. The seven-time champion argued: “Some people like watching the attacking game, some like the defensive. Maybe they should get their own comedy show together.”
Saturday’s morning session continued to be a scrap, with Allen winning three of the final four frames to stay within one of Selby at 11-10 behind and the game will be played to a conclusion, no matter how late it goes, on Saturday evening. Follow all the action from the Crucible Theatre with our live blog, below:
Mark Allen battles against Mark Selby in scrappy World Championship semi-final
Former champion Stephen Hendry accused the pair of casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible with their attritional play during a second session on Friday that was halted three frames early.
Although it was hardly thrilling stuff, they at least managed eight frames in the opening session on Saturday, with Selby turning his 7-6 lead into an 11-10 advantage to set up a tense evening decider.
The morning belonged to Selby, with the four-time former champion opening up a 10-7 lead thanks to breaks of 63, 112 and 53.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 18:06
Luca Brecel defeats Si Jiahui 17-15 to reach World Championship final
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Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:41
Luca Brecel defeats Si Jiahui 17-15 to reach World Championship final
What a wonderful match between two incredible players. Luca Brecel will be a force in the final for either Mark Selby or Mark Allen.
Si Jiahui will be gutted. He came up against a monster just couldn’t get over the line.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:35
Luca Brecel defeats Si Jiahui 17-15 to reach World Championship final
What a fight back from Luca Brecel. It’s the biggest ever comeback at the Crucible. He was 14 frames to 5 down to win the semi-final 17-15.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:33
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
He does miss! But it’s not the worst result.
The red squirts away from the pocket and Brecel will need to thinly slice it in. There’s no doubt he’ll take it on.
It drops! Oh my, what a shot from the Belgian. He just needs the colours and the match is his.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:31
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
He can. Si pots all but one of the reds in a break of 40 but decides to snooker instead of taking on a tricky colour from the cushion.
Brecel escapes it but there may be a slight chance for Si to sneak this one in. It’s a difficult slice down the right cushion to the bottom pocket.
Alternatively there’s an easy safety for him to play if he wants to go that route. This is a big decision, if he goes for the pot and misses then his World Championship could be over.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:29
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
How’s that not dropped? Luca Brecel looks to have his spot in the final sown up but he misses a cut to the bottom left and has to leave the table with a 44 point lead.
Can Si Jiahui capitalise?
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:24
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
A slight error from Si Jiahui leaves Luca Brecel on a red into the bottom right. He plays it nicely and leaves himself with a cut on the blue to the middle right.
The difficulty is in missing the colours with the cueball but he manages it.
The reds are in the open and Brecel leaves the cueball among them. This is a massive opportunity for him now. He leads by 8 with the break ongoing.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:19
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
This match is well and truly alive but Luca Brecel continues to impress. There’s a half chance at a pot with a long shot down the table into the bottom left.
He smokes it home then decides against trying to roll the yellow into the middle right.
Back to safety play. Brecel leads 1-0.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:15
Si Jiahui trails Luca Brecel at 15-16
Incredible. Absolutely incredible.
After a run of 11 frames without a win, Si Jiahui gets his opportunity and rattles off a break of 91 to finally get off 14.
There’s just one frame in this match with a max of two frames to play. What character from the 20-year-old.
Mike Jones29 April 2023 17:09