The seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan crashed out of the World Snooker Championship with a 13-10 defeat by Luca Brecel, who revealed he got “drunk as hell” and was out all night on the eve of the quarter-final.
O’Sullivan, resuming 10-6 ahead, lost seven successive frames as Brecel reached the last four in extraordinary circumstances. The defending champion failed to make a single break over 30 as the Belgian moved into the semi-finals, where he will meet the Chinese debutant Si Jiahui, who defeated Anthony McGill in a late night thriller that finished just before midnight. Si, the world No 80, prevailed 13-12 after a tense final frame, to follow his victories over Shaun Murphy and Robert Milkins.
While reflecting on his shock victory, the world No 10 Brecel told the BBC how he went partying after beating Mark Williams to set up his Crucible date with O’Sullivan.
“Before the tournament I was out partying and staying up late until 6 or 7am, playing Fifa with my friends, having drinks and not practising. Even after I beat Mark Williams I got home at 7am by car, and that same day we went out again until five or six in the morning,” the 28-year-old said. “I was drunk as hell. The next day I had to drive back up again, so it’s a totally different preparation.”
Of his win, he added: “I always play the same game so it’s not a surprise to me. I have a ‘B’ game but I never choose to play it. I love winning but I don’t mind losing and that’s a dangerous combination to have.”
O’Sullivan was damning of his own performance. “I didn’t put up any resistance but you’ve still got to pot the balls. I wasn’t playing well enough to have any impact on the game. If it was a boxing match they would have stopped it very early on.
“I was just pinching frames and hanging on. There’s only so much hanging on you can do at the Crucible. It catches up with you at some point, and someone will eventually put you away.”
Brecel is a winner of two major ranking tournaments – the 2021 Scottish Open and the 2022 Championship League – and immediately imposed himself on O’Sullivan after both players had opportunities to win a scrappy initial frame.
O’Sullivan then inexplicably missed a black off its spot and Brecel split the pack of reds to take advantage with a 112 clearance. The next frame followed the same pattern as O’Sullivan, stretching over a long red, let in Brecel again.
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Brecel capitalised with a 64 break and, although he missed a red that would have left O’Sullivan requiring a snooker, he eventually reduced the arrears to 10-9. The scores were level when O’Sullivan lost position again and Brecel got among the balls for a 72 break. O’Sullivan was in desperate need of the interval, but contributions of 61, 78 and 63 ended the contest in quick fashion and put the 47-year-old out of his misery.
“He played unbelievable,” O’Sullivan added. “He’s such a good player, I love watching him play. His cue action, he gets through the ball so well. It’s incredible. I’d love to see him go and win it because that’s how snooker should be played. He’s a phenomenal talent and player.”
Mark Allen reached the semi-finals for only the second time in his career with a hard-fought 13-10 win over qualifier Jak Jones. In the semi-final Allen will face Mark Selby, the new favourite for the title, who eased past fellow four-time champion John Higgins 13-7.
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