The snooker world has been keeping an eye on the world rankings for a few weeks now. After his world title, Luca Brecel is ranked second in the world, but Ronnie O’Sullivan is within reach.
Because O’Sullivan surprisingly lost in the 1/8th finals against the Chinese Zhang Anda (WS-57) 4-2, Brecel knew that he would be in the last 4 on the world snooker throne.
But he missed that opportunity. Our compatriot did take a 2-0 lead with 2 breaks of 52, but then the game petered out with misses on both sides.
Junhui came away the best and won 3 frames in a row. Brecel was able to score another decider, in which he had 2 chances to make the difference. But he couldn’t use it to his advantage. Junhui settled the match with a break of 58 and took the quarter-final ticket.
O’Sullivan will remain number 1 in the world for at least 10 days longer. Next week in the Wuhan Open in China, Brecel will get another chance at the top spot.
Ding Junhui (Chi/14) – Luca Brecel (Bel/2) 4-3
46-70(52), 16-68(52), 69-42, 53-25, 63(62)-0, 38-73, 64(58)-27
