Luca Brecel recovers from 14-5 down to win 17-15 and reach Crucible final

Brecel was 14-5 down early in the third session, only to win 12 of the following 13 frames and complete one of the biggest turnarounds in Crucible history.

Never before had a player come back from nine frames behind, but Brecel did so emphatically, drawing level with Si and then taking a 11-straight lead against a shocked opponent.

Si dug deep to keep the match alive with a bold 91, but Brecel prevailed over the next and reached his first Crucible final at the age of 28.

Brecel had already won a final-frame decider in his opening match against Ricky Walden, repelled a Mark Williams fightback, and then fired seven frames in a row to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-10, 10-6.

Speak with Eurosporthe said: “To be honest I thought about losing with a free session. Even at 14-8, 14-9 you’re still so far behind that you don’t really think about winning.

“When it was 14-14, I just started to believe. I don’t know how I did it, but I was still very calm, even at the end.”

Speaking of his opponent, he added: “The way he played is the closest thing to perfection. I said to him at the end you’re a superstar. That’s all he needs to hear, I think.”

When asked by Ronnie O’Sullivan where Si was among the young Chinese players making it through, Brecel was unequivocal. “The way he played? The best. If he plays like that consistently, then he’s the best.”

While Si’s future may be bright, Brecel’s is much more immediate. In the final he meets Mark Allen or Mark Selby, who are played in four sessions on Sunday and Monday.

The recent Brecel fight came in two parts, first the five frames the Belgian made before Friday’s close and then the six that followed on Saturday afternoon.

Leading 14-10, Si still had the match under his control, but a 70 break saw Brecel pick up where he left off, winning every four frames before the mid-session break to last one to achieve a draw.

Brecel returned from there to win the 29th frame without conceding a point and then capitalized on two poor misses from a muddled Si, first when he was wide off his spot with a thin black and then a regular blue.

Si responded with his highest break since he was 14-5, a run that defied match status and reignited his hopes, and a crucial frame was in sight until he was unluckily out of position in the next frame.

From there, Brecel escaped a snooker and then produced a fabulous final red before keeping his nerve to secure a place in the final.

A dejected Si, speaking through a translator, said: “Luca played so well. I did my best to stay calm in the chair. I did my best and I don’t regret it. I gained massive experience from this event and will improve on my weaknesses.”

Third Session

Luca Brecel kept his championship hopes alive with a stunning late rally in the third session of his semi-final with Si Jiahui in the Crucible to finish 14-10 down.

After dominating the first two sessions, particularly dominating Friday morning’s offering, Si continued his seemingly composed march to Sunday’s final in similarly impressive fashion.

Brecel hit back in style, however, as he rolled out the last five frames of the session with a stunning flash that made its mark on his previously stalwart opponent for the first time.

That was no more evident than when Si missed a single green from his spot in the final frame, closing a regular margin that would have meant him leading 15-9 overnight. Instead, Brecel finished a fine evening’s work by reducing his deficit to four.

The night started with a typically pinpoint 90 from Si, which was quickly followed by breaks of 132, his fourth century in the game, and 90 when Brecel cut a frustrated figure in his chair.

At this point, Brecel was 14-5 behind and nine frames behind – a deficit never reversed in the Crucible – but to his credit, he finally came to life when he cleared the table with 108 in frame 20.

With some momentum to finally work with, the Belgian bounced back from the mid-session period a man had possessed, duly winning the next frame, and the next, the latter thanks to a streak of 60 a row contained fine pots, none of which were better – an absurdly thin cut to the middle.

And he wasn’t done yet. Another hand of 66 made four frames on the spin as the middle pocket was treated to a daring double this time – and there was still time for more drama.

Brecel was first again in the final frame of a pulsating session, but when he collapsed at 53, Si seemed poised to counterattack and end the day with a distinct advantage.

But for the first time he shared the magnitude of the moment and what he is about to achieve, and he left a simple green in the bag’s jaws, allowing Brecel to finish on a high note and breathe new life into a promising match at the Crucible -Come to an exciting crescendo on Saturday afternoon.

Second Session

Si Jiahui turned the screw on a frustrated Luca Brecel during the second session of their World Championship semifinals at the Crucible and went 11-5 in the race to 17th.

The Chinese debutant went into Friday morning with a 5-3 advantage, but in the middle of the session he was leading 8-4 thanks to breaks of 52, 122 and 89, while Brecel won his single frame on a run of 65.

Brecel showed his frustration in the first frame when, after another unforced error, he smashed the ball off the table with his cue and was cautioned by referee Rob Spencer.

Si, on the other hand, was once again the model maturity, rarely missing a shot in another class-high performance that keeps him six frames away from becoming the youngest player to ever play a World Championship final.

His deadly long potting was again a feature of his work, and he advanced five as he added a series of 58.

Brecel broke the sequence of three straight lost frames when he took frame 14, but he was far from perfect and his ragged morning worsened as Si said goodbye in style.

Breaks of 55 and 71 ensured the 20-year-old didn’t allow his opponent to limit the damage and stretched out six frames to tighten his grip on the competition.

first session

Si Jiahui leads Luca Brecel 5-3 into the opening session of their World Championship semifinals at the Crucible after a dramatic finish.

Both players had their moments in a riveting opening salvo, but Si will be relieved to take the lead on Friday after threatening to settle at 4-1 before almost erasing his advantage when Brecel nearly went 4-1. 4 in a balanced nervous completion of the procedure.

An outrageous random pink opened the door for Brecel to win the first frame with a break of 50, but Si took control after that and produced a great display of breakbuilding as he knocked in consecutive centuries and then followed up with a break of 97, around to take a 3-1 lead midway through the session.

When Si won frame five and added a run of 53 in the following frame, the Chinese youngster seemed to undo the biggest match of his career.

However, he missed an easy black from his point, allowing Brecel to stop the rot with a 72 margin on the pink just before adding a break from 69 to reduce his deficit to 4-3.

The last frame of the session switched one way and then the other, both men eventually breaking down and making a lot of unforced errors until Brecel missed the last pink into the green bag.

Si stuck together to win the final two colors and ensured he comes out on top in a match that promises a lot more drama between two of the sport’s brightest young talents.