Luca Brecel surprisingly won the title as snooker world champion for the first time – although Mark Selby achieved historic success in the final.
The 28-year-old outsider from Belgium won the final against English ex-champion Selby in Sheffield on Monday evening (May 1st, 2023) with 18:15 and thus secured the greatest success of his career. Especially in the first and third session, which Brecel won 6:2, the outsider shone.
In addition to the trophy, the new champion will receive prize money of 500,000 pounds, which is the equivalent of around 570,000 euros. Brecel is the first non-British world champion since Australian Neil Robertson (2010).
Eliminated three former world champions
On his way to the world title at the Crucible Theater he had defeated three former world champions. In the round of 16 he defeated the Welshman Mark Williams (13:11), in the quarterfinals he turned a 6:10 deficit against the seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and still won with 13:10.
Now, in the most important snooker game of the year, he thwarted a fifth world title for Selby, who had gone into the final as favorites. Brecel’s race to catch up in the semifinals was also spectacular: against the Chinese Si Jiahui he turned a 5:14 into a 17:15.
Selby manages maximum break
In the final, Selby managed to achieve the climax: The 39-year-old was the first snooker professional ever to play a maximum break in a World Cup final. The 147 points are the perfect game in the billiard variant.