Wow! That was a stunner, no mistake!
First 20 year old Chinese newcomer Si Jiahui blasted the odds-on favourite for this match, Belgium’s Luca Brecel (himself only 28), off the baize, streaking to a commanding 14-5 lead.
But Luca came back at him, swinging, taking 11 consecutive frames! The match, initially a best of 33, lurched wildly, in terms of dominance. And at 14-14 became a best of five. But Luca’s winning streak kept going. Astonishing!
It looked, at 16-14, like Si had finally crumpled, perhaps belatedly realising how unlikely his run to this point had been. For a spell his mojo had clearly left him. But in frame 31 he finally got back in the saddle, winning it to zero.
But by that point Luca only needed one more frame. And he duly took it, winning the 32nd frame and the match. The contrast ‘twixt this’n, and the Selby vs. Allen match was, or rather is, chalk n’ cheese!
It’ll be interesting to see who makes it through to the final from the latter. Will Brecel face Selby, or Allen? should be interesting either way. But what a match this Brecel vs. Si game proved to be. Unquestionably a Crucible classic.
Commentators and snooker deities Dennis Taylor and Stephen Hendry were clearly loving it as much as us mere mortal viewers, Taylor highlighting that Brecel’s fight back marks the biggest comeback in Crucible history. The crowd quite rightly gave the two gladiators a well deserved standing ovation.
