London, May 2 (IANS) Belgium’s Luca Brecel claimed the Snooker World Championship title after defeating four-time champion Mark Selby 18-15 in Sheffield.
Brecel, 28, had never won a match at the Crucible Theatre before this year’s tournament but shocked seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-10 in the quarterfinals, winning the last seven frames consecutively, reports Xinhua.
After coming from behind to defeat Chinese rookie Si Jiahui in the semifinals, Brecel established a final showdown with Selby and managed to hold a 9-8 overnight lead, even though his 39-year-old opponent made the first-ever 147 in a World Championship final last night.
The world No. 10 then claimed the first four frames on Monday, extending his advantage to 13-8. Selby fought back from 16-10 down to 16-15 in the last session, but Brecel secured the final two frames to become the fourth non-British winner at the season finale of the World Snooker Tour.
“It’s a dream come true, the best moment of my life,” Brecel was quoted by the World Snooker Tour website. “Especially the way I did it, beating Ronnie, Mark Williams, and then Selby in the final who is the toughest opponent of all.”
“The only thing in my head was that I wanted to share the moment with my family. It’s going to take a couple of weeks to sink in,” said Brecel, who clinched his fourth ranking title in his career and raised his world ranking from tenth to second.
–IANS
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