Four-time champion Mark Selby and first-time finalist Luca Brecel will meet in the World Snooker finals starting on Sunday.
World snooker final of the Belgian By Luca Brecel28, and the four-time world champion, English By Mark Selby39, starts on Sunday at 15:00. The second period starts on Sunday at 21:00. The remaining periods are played on Monday at 15:00 and 21:00. The championship requires 18 set wins.
There was plenty of titillating drama in both semi-finals. Brecel made one of the wildest climbs in history when he beat the Chinese sensation Si Jiahuita against 11 sets in a row.
Brecel was down 5–14, but eventually won 17–15. Previously, no one has won in the Crucible theater from a nine-game deficit, reports news agency AFP.
– This victory is absolutely incredible, it was the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking,” Brecel said, according to AFP.
– I was already expecting to lose, even though there was still a session left. So to even have a chance to win was the craziest feeling I’ve ever had in my body, Brecel continued to marvel.
Brecel already rose in the quarter-finals Ronnie O’Sullivan coming from behind, winning seven sets in a row.
The place in the semifinals of the 20-year-old Chinese Si Jiahui was already sensational. He came close to becoming the youngest World Cup finalist in history and the second Chinese player in history to appear in a World Cup final since Ding Junhui in 2016.
– I have realized that there are flaws in my game. There are so many things I can still improve, so next season I’m sure I can beat anyone, Si said after the semi-final.
Read more: Own snooker city, 50 million players and going like in the movies – World Cup sensation Si Jiahui is the new face of the Chinese project that cost billions
Selby defeated the Northern Irishman in his own semi-final by Mark Allen, 37, also 17–15. The previous semi-final lasted a brisk eight hours, but Selby and Allen clocked over 13 hours with their more cautious styles.
Selby led 16–10, but Allen fought back to 16–15 until Selby was able to settle the tie. The match ended at 00:47 local time at night, i.e. only 12 hours before the start of the final.
In his first World Cup final, Brecel will therefore face Selby, who is playing in the final for the sixth time. He has won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
– The opponent is freer, because he had the evening off. But if it means I only get ten hours and play in the World Cup final, I’d rather have that than a 24-hour break and driving home, Selby acknowledged his long drawn-out semi-final.