Luca Brecel holds nerve to stun Mark Selby in reaching Champion of Champions semi-finals

ByEurosport

Updated 09/11/2017 at 18:16 GMT

Luca Brecel held his nerve to overcome world No 1 Mark Selby 6-4 in the Group Three final at the Champion of Champions in Coventry.

This photo taken on August 22, 2017 shows Luca Brecel of Belgium playing a shot during the final of the World Snooker China Championship in Guangzhou, in China's southern Guangdong province.

Image credit: Getty Images

The world champion had booked his place in the evening match with a 4-3 win over Liang Wenbo in the afternoon. Brecel had dominate Judd Trump 4-0, with two centuries on the way to victory.

Selby, who beat Mark Allen 10-7 to clinch the International Championships final last week, nearly made an incredible comeback fighting back from 5-2 to 5-4 behind against the Belgian.

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But Brecel, who won the China Championship in August, produced a stunning break to win the frame on the black.

The Champion of Champions is an invitational event contested between the winners of the season's major tournaments over the past year starting from world champion Selby's victory at the UK Championship last December.

Defending champion John Higgins begins his campaign on Thursday against fellow Scotsman Anthony McGill in a Group Four that also contains Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson.

Champion of Champions results/schedule

Group Two results (Tuesday November 7)

Semi-finals
Marco Fu 3-4 Michael White
Shaun Murphy 4-2 Mark King
Final (best of 11 frames)
Michael White 4-6 Shaun Murphy

Group One results (Monday November 8)

Semi-finals
Ding Junhui 2-4 Anthony Hamilton
Barry Hawkins 2-4 Ryan Day
Final
Anthony Hamilton 6-4 Ryan Day

Group Three fixtures (Wednesday November 8)

Semi-finals
Mark Selby 4-3 Liang Wenbo
Judd Trump 0-4 Luca Brecel
Final
Selby 4-6 Brecel

Group Four fixtures (Thursday November 9)

Semi-finals
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Neil Robertson
John Higgins v Anthony McGill
Final
O'Sullivan/Robertson v Higgins/McGill

Semi-finals (best of 11 frames)

Friday November 10
Anthony Hamilton v Winner of Group Four

Saturday November 11
Shaun Murphy v Luca Brecel

Final (best of 19 frames)
Sunday November 12

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