Mark Selby becomes the first man EVER to hit a 147 in the World Championship final as he roars back against Luca Brecel at the Crucible to set up a potentially all-time great showdown
- Mark Selby becomes the first man to hit a 147 in the World Cup final
- Luca Brecel flies out of the blocks against a jaded Selby in the first session
- Running to the final has been big news in his home country, dominating back pages
Mark Selby became the first man to hit a 147 in the World Championship final as he continued his quest for a famous fifth title.
The four-time champion led a Mexican wave with the Crucible crowd – including Manchester United legend Roy Keane – after taking a maximum in the 16th frame against Luca Brecel.
Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, said on the BBC: ‘What a magical moment. It doesn’t get any better than this. The crowd rises and we rise.”
It was the second 147 of this year’s tournament after Kyren Wilson’s try against Ryan Day in the first round, and the 14th in the Crucible.
Mark Selby became the first man to hit a break of 147 in the World Snooker final on Sunday night
The four-time champion led a Mexican wave with the crowd after achieving the remarkable feat
Selby played just 12 hours after his marathon semifinal match with Mark Allen ended
Previously, Brecel seemed to be closing in on becoming the first player from mainland Europe to win the World Championship.
The Belgian Bullet came into action in the opening sessions on Sunday against a jaded Selby, who returned to action just 12 hours after his victory over Mark Allen in the marathon semi-final.
And Brecel could now join Canada’s Cliff Thorburn, Ireland’s Ken Doherty and Australia’s Neil Robertson as the only non-British world champions.
The 28-year-old didn’t even practice leading up to the event, spending all his time partying and playing darts. And he further demonstrated his laid-back nature by arriving at the Crucible with his girlfriend just 10 minutes before yesterday’s 1pm start.
However, Brecel still burst out, winning the first three frames and then taking a 6-2 lead.
The showman Luca Brecel arrived at the Crucible just 10 minutes before the finale was due to start
He came flying out of the blocks into a jaded Selby who was closing in on the final prize
In a final pitting the showman against the slow man, Selby responded with the final’s first century in the opening frame of the evening session.
But Brecel hit back with breaks of 99, 72 and 67 and goes into Monday with history in his sights.
“All of Belgium is texting me, it’s all over the papers, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Brecel, who had already gone five times without a win at the Crucible in five visits before this year.
“If I won it would change my life because my name will be on the trophy forever, which is crazy because it’s such a special tournament. It’s my dreams come true.’