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:
1682796873Mark Selby 14-10 Mark Allen – SELBY WINS FRAME 24And Selby does indeed get over the line to win the frame. Digs out a nice red, pots the yellow to put the frame beyond doubt and goes on to clear the table for a break of 57.
He now leads by four frames with just one left before the mid-session interval. Mark Allen needs to find a way to change the momentum immediately, otherwise he’s heading home.
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:34
1682796533Mark Selby 13-10 Mark AllenSelby finds a long red but doesn’t land on a colour. Only one point before the safety but it’s eight possible points removed for Allen, so the four-time champion is edging closer to the line.
He leads 65-0 with 67 points available.
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:28
1682795969Mark Selby 13-10 Mark AllenSelby has been picking off the loose reds and takes the break beyond 50. By cherry-picking, more reds are becoming available so he might not need to split a main cluster of reds apart at all.
He now leads 64-0 and only needs two more reds with colours to take the frame. But he’s only left himself a really tricky red to middle, while hampered by the black, so it’ll just be a safety shot. Six reds and 75 points still available, so Mark Allen not out of this frame yet.
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:19
1682795712Luca Brecel discusses his remarkable comeback against Si JiahuiLuca Brecel spoke to World Snooker after his incredible comeback victory in the first semi-final earlier today.
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:15
1682795635Mark Selby 13-10 Mark AllenSelby gets in first again in frame 24 – he’s starting to turn the screw despite not playing particularly well. He’s in and around the black spot, currently on a break of 28, although the pack will need splitting at some point
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:13
1682795358Luca Brecel stunned to pull off greatest-ever World Championship comeback – ‘I was shaking’But he started his miraculous recovery by winning the final five frames of Friday’s night session and offered up more of the same on Saturday afternoon to complete a remarkable 17-15 victory.
In doing so Brecel became the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit and booked his first final in Sheffield, having never previously got past the first round.
It was difficult not to feel some sympathy for Si, who at 20 years old looked set to become the youngest Crucible finalist in history, as he looked increasingly solemn in his chair as Brecel kept on winning frame after frame.
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:09
1682795076Mark Selby 13-10 Mark Allen – SELBY WINS FRAME 23Allen wins that safety battle. Puts Selby in behind the back and forces the miss. He opts to take a red to the middle pocket, rather than replacing the snooker and making Selby play again, but misses! He sticks it up over the corner pocket and Selby does the rest.
The last couple of reds are potted with ease and although he leaves the yellow int he jaws of the pocket, the deficit is too great for his opponent to bother coming back to the table Selby wins the frame. Suddenly he only needs four frames for victory…
Luke Baker29 April 2023 20:04
1682794704Mark Selby 12-10 Mark AllenSelby plays his best shot of the evening so far. A mid-range pink finds the heart of the pocket and he splits two reds that are on the cushion, bringing both into pottable positions. Lovely, lovely stuff and that should be a frame winner.
He’s left with another tricky pot on frame ball, a red along the bottom cushion… It would put him 43 points ahead with just 35 remaining. Actually, he turns down the pot. Plays a safety, with the red going towards the middle pocket. So Allen is still alive – trailing by 42 with 43 points left on the table
Luke Baker29 April 2023 19:58
1682794433Mark Selby 12-10 Mark Allen13 points is all Allen can muster and Selby gets himself back in, leading 29-13. Three or four reds on the cushion will be an obstacle in winning this frame though
Luke Baker29 April 2023 19:53
1682794139Mark Selby 12-10 Mark AllenYes he can. Selby completely messes up a relatively simple safety – something you never see when he’s at his best – and Allen is plum in among the balls here.
The reds aren’t particularly well-situated but the Northern Irishman should be able to string together a few points at the very least
Luke Baker29 April 2023 19:48
