World Snooker Championship: Mark Selby makes historic 147 and trails Luca Brecel by one frame after thrilling session
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Updated 30/04/2023 at 22:00 GMT
Mark Selby won four consecutive frames and made a 147 maximum break to trail Luca Brecel 9-8 at the halfway point of the World Snooker Championship final. Selby fought back from 9-5 down and made history by becoming the first player to make a 147 in the final at the Crucible. Play will resume at 13:00 on Monday on Eurosport and discovery+, before the final concludes at 19:00.
'Wonderful moment' - Selby makes history with 147 in Crucible final
Mark Selby made a historic 147 maximum break and trails Luca Brecel 9-8 after an enthralling second session at the World Championship final at the Crucible Theatre.
Selby became the first player to make a 147 in a Crucible final, 40 years on from Cliff Thorburn’s historic maximum, in the penultimate frame on Sunday night.
However, the match was all about Brecel prior to that as he made his game plan clear from the off as he went for his shots to the delight of the crowd and won the opening three frames in his maiden Crucible final.
He led 6-2 after the first session with Eurosport expert Jimmy White suggesting Selby looked tired, following his late semi-final victory against Mark Allen.
The Jester from Leicester made a great start to the evening session with a 134, his highest break of the match so far, but Brecel hit back with a 99 to make it 7-3, even though he missed a red which strangely veered off to the right.
Brecel missed a routine red early in the 11th frame, which Selby punished with a 96 as the momentum began to change.
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'What a break this has been!' - Brecel brilliance puts him 8-5 up
A tactical fourth frame came down to the final red, with Brecel 50-41 up. The Belgian Bullet made an error in the safety exchange and Selby cleared the table to get within two frames at the interval.
Brecel came back from the break with a spectacular 72 break to stop the Selby run and he opened up a 9-5 lead after a 67, despite the four-time world champion fluking a red in the middle of the frame.
There was no sign of Brecel stopping going for his shots and it proved costly when he missed multiple long reds and was punished by Selby, who pulled a frame back.
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147 in full: Watch Selby's 'wonderful' maximum break in Crucible final
In the penultimate frame, Selby made his historic maximum and will share the £40,000 prize fund with Kyren Wilson, who made a 147 earlier in the tournament.
It looked on early in the frame and a red near the left cushion was the only major issue. However, Selby got a nice position on the black to get in behind the red and rolled it in.
From there, the 147 was never in doubt and Selby himself admitted he felt surprisingly calm as he made Crucible history.
He then stole a close final frame, after Brecel missed a red on 48, so will be just one behind going into the last two sessions on Monday, which are live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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Selby reacts to 'incredible' 147 in Crucible final
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