Luca Brecel 'the main character in a snooker fairytale' amid 'dazzling' moments of 2023 season - Dave Hendon
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Published 26/12/2023 at 09:04 GMT
Judd Trump added four titles to his collection in 2023, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy each collected three while the "formidable triumvirate" of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins continued to shine at the highest level. Luca Brecel became world champion and Zhang Anda stunned to win the International Championship in what Dave Hendon believes is an "ultra-competitive era" of snooker.
Brecel holds trophy aloft after making history in winning first world title
The final balls have been potted on the World Snooker Tour for another year in which, once again, no one player dominated and the various titles were shared around.
For the record, Judd Trump won four tournaments in 2023, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy each collected three trophies and Ronnie O’Sullivan captured two.
However, the inescapable truth is that the World Championship towers above every other event. Its unique challenge is set by the length of matches, its intimate venue and the enhanced scrutiny the players are under. There is no hiding place at the Crucible. This is where champions are made and pretenders to the throne found out.
Luca Brecel did not feature in much of the pre-tournament build-up. There was no reason why he should. He had never won a match at the Crucible in five previous appearances and had enjoyed a solid if unspectacular campaign as the Sheffield marathon approached.
Determined not to succumb again to pressure on snooker’s most hallowed stage, Brecel behaved as if none of it mattered. He didn’t practice properly, he went out with friends to play darts, got on the beers and generally eschewed conventional preparation.
He arrived feeling relaxed and soon found himself the main character in a snooker fairytale. In every round he could have lost. He won a decider against Ricky Walden, held off Mark Williams 13-11 and produced a remarkable display of potting and break-building to overturn a 10-6 deficit against O’Sullivan, winning all seven frames of their final session.
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Highlights: O'Sullivan stunned by Brecel in Crucible shock
14-5 down to Si Jiahui in the semi-finals, he produced the Crucible’s greatest-ever comeback to win 17-15. In the biggest match of his life, he raced 3-0 ahead of Mark Selby. Leading 9-8 overnight, he started day two with four centuries in the six frames he won to pull away to 15- 10. Selby turned the screw, recovering to trail just 16-15, but Brecel ended the championship with another century to become the first world champion from continental Europe.
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Brecel clinches 'sensational' maiden world title against Selby at Crucible
It was a wonderful, scarcely believable, achievement for a likeable and greatly talented player, although it feels like more has been seen of him on Instagram than the tournament circuit since. Brecel has travelled the globe enjoying his landmark victory – and why not? – but his form has suffered through lack of matches and he has failed to qualify for the prestigious Players Series in the new year.
Trump has no such worries. He won the Masters at the start of the year before his season tailed off and ended in a first round defeat to Anthony McGill in Sheffield. During the new campaign, though, he has been a revelation, appearing in five finals already and becoming only the fifth player to win three ranking titles in succession.
This was a remarkable four-week purple patch. It began with a recovery from 7-3 down in the English Open final against Zhang Anda. Trump flew the next day to Wuhan and won the new event there. A week off and it was a flight to Belfast where he battled to victory in the Northern Ireland Open.
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BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - OCTOBER 29: Judd Trump of England celebrates with the trophy after winning the Final match against Chris Wakelin of England on day eight of 2023 Northern Ireland Open at Waterfront Hall on October 29, 2023 in Belfast, Northern
Image credit: Eurosport
By now, Trump may reasonably have expected to be recognised as snooker’s top dog, having seen off his older rivals, but they somehow continue to perform at the highest level. Williams, 48, won the British Open and O’Sullivan was successful first at the Shanghai Masters and then, in typically eye-catching fashion, at the UK Championship where he became that tournament’s oldest-ever winner 30 years after he had become its youngest.
The third member of this formidable triumvirate, John Higgins, has appeared in four semi-finals this season, winning lots of matches but just falling short of silverware, although he did capture the invitational Championship League earlier in the year.
Allen was the player of the 2022/23 season, winning three titles and reaching the World Championship semi-finals. Already in the new campaign the Northern Irishman has triumphed at the Champion of Champions and the Shootout, transitioning from dangerman capable of picking up the odd trophy to a consistent winner.
In this ultra-competitive era, it is hard for new champions to emerge, but Zhang Anda did exactly that in Tianjin by winning the International Championship, making a maximum in the final. He had beaten O’Sullivan in the semis.
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'Take a bow!' - Zhang knocks in superlative 147 in International Championship final v Ford
Zhang had been ranked 55th in the first week of October. He began December placed 13th in the standings, an incredible turnaround in fortunes for an apparent journeyman.
Robert Milkins had been drifting into that status just a couple of years ago but his resurgence continued when he won the Welsh Open in February and with it the European series bonus prize of £150,000.
Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins returned to the top 16 with victories in the German and European Masters respectively. However, Neil Robertson failed to win a title in a calendar year for the first time since 2005.
The year ended with Gary Wilson rekindling his love affair with Edinburgh by retaining the Scottish Open, having struggled in the 12 months since his maiden success.
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'Class is permanent' - Gary Wilson makes second consecutive century in comeback win over Xing
Snooker is a somewhat eccentric sport and there were some bizarre moments during the year. Murphy’s experiment of bringing three cues to each tournament has raised eyebrows and is yet to yield results. Hossein Vafaei trash-talked O’Sullivan in Sheffield and smashed the pack against him early in their second round match before being overwhelmed 13-2. Ding Junhui was docked a frame at the English Open for wearing the wrong-coloured trousers.
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'Extraordinary' - Vafaei smashes into reds on break-off against O’Sullivan
Like any sport, snooker has faced its fair share of challenges in the last 12 months. Most seriously, ten Chinese players were banned for match-fixing offences, a desperate and depressing scandal, but China enthusiastically embraced the World Snooker Tour on its return there four years on from the Covid outbreak.
Grumbles continue over the players’ contracts and freedom to undertake lucrative exhibition work, a situation likely to come to a head in coming months, but 17 ranking events plus several invitation tournaments points to a healthy calendar.
WST has been successful in boosting ticket sales by at least 10% for every event bar the Shootout, which moved venues. For the first time, all standard tickets at January’s Masters are sold out in advance. Eurosport’s viewing audience for the recent UK Championship was up 20% on last season. New young players are starting to emerge, including British teenagers Stan Moody, Liam Pullen and Liam Graham.
The consistently high standard the players produce and the distinct narratives surrounding them, plus better promotion and use of digital media, have led to increased interest in a sport strong on navel gazing but less good at celebrating its own achievements.
The fact is, as the New Year dawns professional snooker retains a formidable presence on television and digital platforms. It has weathered various scandals and controversies, all of which are secondary to the fascinations of the game itself.
Let’s end by remembering some of the year’s most dazzling moments: Selby’s historic maximum break in the World Championship final. Murphy’s 147 against the clock at the Shootout. O’Sullivan’s astonishing dash for the line from 7-7 with Ding in the UK final. Brecel cradling the famous silver trophy on the Crucible stage.
All golden memories still fresh in the minds of snooker fans, who eagerly await 2024 and all it has to offer.
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