Luca Brecel became the first player in Crucible history to erase a nine-frame deficit as he beat Si Jiahui 17-15 in a thrilling contest to reach the final of the World Snooker Championship; “To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief”
Last Updated: 29/04/23 6:53pm
Luca Brecel celebrates his famous win over Si Jiahui
Luca Brecel produced the greatest-ever Crucible comeback as he won 11 frames in a row against Si Jiahui to book his place in the World Snooker Championship final.
The Belgian, who conquered Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, looked certain to be heading home as he trailed 14-5 in the race to 17 after a dominant opening by Si.
But he started his miraculous recovery by winning the final five frames of Friday’s night session and offered up more of the same on Saturday afternoon to complete a remarkable 17-15 victory.
In doing so Brecel became the first player in Crucible history to overturn a nine-frame deficit as he booked his first final in Sheffield, having never previously got past the first round.
It was difficult not to feel some sympathy for Si, who at 20 years old looked set to become the youngest Crucible finalist in history, as he looked increasingly solemn in his chair as Brecel won frame after frame.
Brecel leans in disbelief after wrapping up his incredible comeback win
To his credit he stopped Brecel’s run of 11 in a row with a composed break of 91 and then had chances to send the match into a final-frame decider before a clipped red along the cushion allowed the Belgian to close out a famous victory.
Brecel told BBC Sport: “At 14-12, 14-13 I knew I had a chance, but I think 14-14 I was really believing it because I could see he was struggling and I was playing great stuff.
“But I knew I could have lost as well. To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking.
“The whole game I was expecting to lose, even with a session to spare, so to even have a chance to win was the craziest feeling ever in my body and I can’t believe I did it.
“I have never won a game here and now I am in the final, it is some story. It is going to take a while to sink in.”
Brecel and Si Jiahui embrace following their thrilling semi-final
Si hopes the punishing loss can help him become a better player.
“I was feeling kind of disappointed, but not very, he played nearly perfect snooker in the final two sessions and my safety let me down,” he said.
“I have realised there are flaws in my game, there are so many things I can still improve, so in the coming season I will be confident I can beat anyone.”
Brecel will play either Mark Allen or Mark Selby in the final, with their semi-final coming to a finish later on Saturday.
Allen won three of the final four frames of the morning session to reduce his deficit to 11-10.
Former champion Stephen Hendry accused the pair of casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible with their attritional play during a second session on Friday that was halted three frames early.