Snooker
The World Snooker Championship has turned out to be a bust for Luca Brecel. The defending champions had built up a 6-3 lead during the morning session, but completely relinquished it. Although he put his defeat into perspective: “For us, the World Cup is nothing special, to be honest.”
Marnix Taes, Jonas Withouck
Today at 6:40 am
At 11 am on Saturday morning, defending champion Luca Brecel opened the Snooker World Cup in Sheffield. The 29-year-old Limburger came face to face with the Englishman David Gilbert, number 31 in the world, in the sixteenth finals. After a scorching start, the 29-year-old Limburger had to slow down for a while, but ultimately he was in the lead after the first session: 6-3.
Not a big lead, but one that Brecel should not have given away in the evening session. The Belgian started well and was able to quickly take advantage after a missed long pot by Gilbert: 7-3. However, he was unable to continue that good start. Gilbert won both the 11th and 12th frames, while Brecel lacked efficiency in some apparently easy pots.
“I don’t feel great, no. But it is what it is. “Life is over, they say in Genk,” he said afterwards. Brecel has been ill in recent weeks. He has been struggling with irritation in the airways and throat for some time. Did that also make him less clear-headed? “To be honest, I can’t even remember what happened frame by frame. And what I did wrong.”
He won the 13th game with a lucky ball (8-5) and in the fifteenth Dame Fortuna again chose his side (9-6), which meant that he only had to win one of the next four frames to ensure a place in the round of 16 (and the associated £30,000 and ranking points). But our compatriot was not able to do that.
Although Brecel’s aggressive playing style did give him opportunities, it was Gilbert who won frame after frame. In the decisive nineteenth frame, Brecel missed a red ball early on. With some nice pots, his British opponent built up a safe lead. Exit of the reigning world champion in the first round of the World Cup, although he scored the most points.
Tournament like any other
Due to the defeat, Brecel does not retain a single ranking point from this World Cup. It means that the Limburger, who skipped a number of tournaments, would only just reach the top 50 of the world rankings. But it doesn’t seem to keep him awake. “I’m super happy that it’s done, I really am,” he said. “Not that I lost, but I am glad that I can finally focus on things I really want to focus on.”
“The World Cup is made so big by everyone, but for the professionals it is a tournament like any other. There are tournaments with much more prize money and many more points to earn. That’s nothing special for us, to be honest. Sometimes we are just happy when we reach the end of the season. Especially when you have been everywhere as world champion.”
