Sheffield, UK (AFP) – Snooker world champion Luca Brecel became the latest victim of the so-called “melting pot curse” on Saturday, when his title defense ended on the first day of the 2024 tournament.
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David Gilbert, who had to qualify for the championship, fought off the final four frames to score an impressive 10-9 victory over his Belgian opponent.
Bressel, 29, becomes the 19th first-time world champion to unsuccessfully defend his title at Sheffield's Crucible Theater venue.
Gilbert was a semi-finalist in 2019 but had won just one tournament in the previous years, and returned to level with a third successive half-century, hitting a nerveless 65 to secure a famous victory. proved sufficient to do so.
“It's been a long time since I won a match in a proper arena, so I hope I can take advantage of that,” said Gilbert, who is ranked 31st in the world.
Bressel had earlier taken charge of the first round match, leading 6-3 at the interval, hitting two centuries and breaking over 70 twice.
Bressel said he was “relieved” that his year as champion was over.
“It's been a good year, and now I'm looking forward to becoming non-world champion again,” Bressel said.
“I'm very relieved because I've wanted the season to be over for a long time. I don't like the attention when people say, 'Oh, we're world champions.' That's not my thing.”
2019 world champion Judd Trump established a 6-3 overnight lead over qualifier Hossein Fafai.
11th seed Zhang Anda of China was trailing 5-2 after the opening session against qualifier Jack Jones, but was cut short two frames early due to slow play. It was a low-quality match.
© 2024 AFP