Ronnie O’Sullivan is out of the World Snooker Championship at the quarter-final stage, sensationally beaten 13-10 by Luca Brecel with the Belgian winning the final seven frames of the match.
The Rocket looked in complete control of the match at 6-2 ahead at the end of the first session and 10-6 after the second, needing just three more for victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The reigning champion appeared to have completely lost his form, though, missing a string of balls and offering up chances for Brecel.
The 28-year-old was playing brilliantly and took everything he was offered by the Rocket, surging for the finish line and the World Championship semi-finals for the very first time.
‘He played unbelievable, he’s such a good player, I love watching him play,’ said O’Sullivan after the shock loss.
‘If I’d have put up a bit more resistance maybe he wouldn’t have played as well, but I didn’t put up any resistance. You’ve still got to pot the balls and it shows he’s playing with confidence.’
‘I don’t think anyone saw this coming, but Luca has played fabulous snooker,’ said former world champion Shaun Murphy on the BBC. ‘Phenomenal performance from a phenomenal player.’
John Virgo added: ‘This has been as bad a session as I can remember for Ronnie. We’ve not seen Ronnie O’Sullivan this afternoon, in all honesty he’s not turned up.’
Brecel had never won a match at the Crucible before this year, losing in the first round on all five of his previous visits to the venue.
He looks a different prospect now, though, beating Ricky Walden and Mark Williams before ousting the world number one.
Next for him will be either Anthony McGill or Si Jiahui in the semi-finals, with their quarter-final being played to a finish on Wednesday evening.
The unexpected semi-final line-up means we are guaranteed a first time finalist from the top half of the draw.
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