Brecel crashes out of World Championship after stirring Gilbert recovery
Luca Brecel was sent spinning out of the World Championship 10-9 in the first round as David Gilbert won the final four frames to ensure the Crucible curse of first-time defending champions continued.
No first-time winner has ever defended the title in the Crucible era, with a host of star names such as Steve Davis and Neil Robertson crashing out at the first hurdle 12 months on.
Brecel looked well set to avoid that after taking a 6-3 lead in the first session, and moving 9-6 ahead on Saturday evening.
That lead was a flattering one for the Belgian, as his form dipped alarmingly and he enjoyed huge slices of luck.
But he was unable to close out the match and Gilbert kept chipping away before producing his best passage of play at the business end to seal a thrilling win.
World Snooker Championship schedule – Saturday, April 20
10:00 (UK time)
- Mark Selby [5] v Joe O’Connor
- Zhang Anda [11] 2 – 5 Jak Jones [44]
- Mark Selby [5] v Joe O’Connor
- Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
- Ali Carter [9] 5 – 4 Stephen Maguire [28]
- Tom Ford [14] 6 – 3 Ricky Walden [32]