Protester covers pool table with orange powder during world championships
Mark Selby and Luca Brecel will complete their battle to win the 2023 World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theater tonight, with the Belgian Bullet on the brink of a shock victory.
Selby made history on Sunday night when he became the first man to make a maximum break of 147 in the world final in emotional and jubilant scenes at the Crucible during the second session of the best-of-35 contest. However, an attack de Brecel on Monday afternoon saw him move within three frames of the winning line at 15-10, leaving Selby needing one of his patented comebacks to turn the game around.
The 39-year-old Englishman has four world titles to his name and is bidding to become the fourth player in the Crucible era to win a fifth, following in the lead of Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan. However, the extremely talented Belgian Brecel, who at 28 is starting to find the best form of his career, is in a strong position to claim his first crown.
Follow all the action at the Crucible Theater with our live blog below:
Selby 11-16 Brecel
The Belgian’s safety leaves an opportunity for Selby, who he takes with an impressive long bounce. White ends up behind blue and Selby settles for a snooker but it’s a wonderful escape from Brecel shooting it from two cushions, kissing the open red and settling on the cushion at the bottom of the table, beautifully played.
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:51
Selby 11-16 Brecel
Right after that big frame, it’s a bad break from Selby as he catches the blue. Brecel makes the most of it and returns to put the red opening of the box. He can’t split the reds enough with his barrel and opts for a safety after a break of 16.
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:48
Selby 11-16 Brecel – one lap for Selby
He can take advantage! Much has been made of Brecel’s shots in this final, but those are some of the best we’ve seen from Selby today. He has sent the entire board chasing the reds and rolls another against black to further split the reds.
His break ends in blue, but he’s done enough with a break of 78 to win the frame and he’s much needed at that.
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:46
Selby 10-16 Brecel
Brecel produces a glorious double into the center pocket and a neat cutback, but has no luck on the cue ball both times. On the last occasion, he attempts a bold cross blue effort that goes awry and Selby comes back to the table and takes advantage: he moves to the 20 and a cannon in the pack splits the reds nicely for the Englishman. Will he be able to make the most of it?
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:37
Selby 10-16 Brecel
Brecel fires on the initial red again with a beautiful cut to the left center pocket, but a poor miss follows on the next red and it’s only six points accumulated by the Belgian. Selby misses a long-range red on the table, but nothing is available for Brecel.
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:27
Selby 10-16 Brecel – Luca goes to a wheel
Brecel aims for the easy reds, but soon finds himself out of options. Don’t worry, as it’s a glorious shot into the brown that moves the cue ball around the table and back to prime position. He eventually settles for a safety and a break of 67.
Needing two snookers, Selby starts with a beautiful pair of red and black dribbles, but then misses and the Englishman concedes the frame.
Two more to go for Brecel and he shows no signs of slowing down…
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:23
Selby 10-15 Brecel
Brecel begins the afternoon session right where he left off this afternoon. Selby sniffs it out with average confidence and the Belgian makes the most of it with a sumptuous long dribble into the bottom left pocket for the first red of the frame.
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:14
Selby 10-15 Brecel
The players are out and a reminder of the stakes.
Luca Brecel had never won a match at the Crucible before this year. Now the Belgian is just three frames away from snooker’s biggest prize and a chance to become continental Europe’s first World Champion.
Mark Selby became the first person to break 147 in the World Championship final yesterday and will now aim for a remarkable comeback in this final session to win his fifth world title.
The handshakes are over and Selby gets us going…
ben fleming1 May 2023 19:10
Selby 10-15 Brecel
And we are back! What an evening awaits us and the start of the final session is fast approaching.
If you’re just tuning in, then you missed a wonderful afternoon session earlier that day at The Crucible that left Luca Brecel on the brink of his first world title.
The Belgian Bullet won six frames out of eight with four hundred, meaning he now needs just three frames in this final session to triumph over four-time champion Mark Selby.
Having won the first four frames in the turn, Brecel trailed after the mid-session interval with Selby winning consecutive frames. But the final two frames and the session overall belonged to Brecel, who won the final two frames in superb style to move ever closer to a shock victory.
ben flemingMay 1, 2023 19:04
World Snooker Championship Prize Money: Rewards For Winner, Runner-Up, Highest Break And 147
Selby already has some money locked up this year after notching a famous top break of 147, the first time it’s been done in a Crucible final. He will share the prize for a 147, as well as the tournament’s highest break bounty, with Kyren Wilson, who also accomplished the feat in the first round.
Four-time world champion Selby has earned £7.2 million in career prize money so far, while Brecel has earned £1.3 million, according to Cuetracker.
Find out the full prize money for the World Championship:
luke baker1 May 2023 18:30