- By Michael Emons
- BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
|
Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 20 April-6 May |
|
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app; live text coverage of selected matches; updates on Radio 5 Live. |
Reigning world champion Luca Brecel made two century breaks to hold a 6-3 lead over David Gilbert at the end of the first session at the Crucible.
In a high-quality match on the opening day of the 2024 World Championship, the Belgian hit breaks of 134, 104, 91 and 73 to move 5-2 ahead.
Gilbert made a break of 115 in the eighth frame, but Brecel only needs four frames to move into the last 16.
On the other table, Wales’ Jak Jones leads 5-2 against China’s Zhang Anda.
Brecel had never won a World Championship match until an incredible run in 2023, including victories over former world champions Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby, led to him clinching his maiden world title.
No first-time Crucible winner has then gone on to retain their title the following year, and the 29-year-old is aiming to break the so-called ‘Crucible Curse’.
He could not have made a better start, racing through the opening two frames with England’s Gilbert not earning a single point.
The 2019 semi-finalist took the next two frames, thanks to breaks of 70 and 77, although Brecel quickly regained control after the interval with three frames in a row to move 5-2 ahead.
Gilbert responded with his century, before Brecel took the longest frame of the session for his 6-3 advantage.
Jak Jones reached the quarter-finals last year, beating two-time runner-up Ali Carter and former champion Neil Robertson, and was in action on the other table in the morning session against world number 11 Zhang.
Qualifer Jones made breaks of 71, 68, 71 and 75 to take control. That match will be concluded from 10:00 BST on Sunday.
Trump and Carter among those also in action on Saturday
Former world champion Judd Trump, looking to win the title for a second time after his success in 2019, begins his campaign in the afternoon session (14:30) against Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, a player he defeated 10-4 at this stage two years ago.
England’s Carter, a beaten Crucible finalist in 2008 and 2012, takes on Scotland’s two-time semi-finalist Stephen Maguire in what should be a tight encounter.
The Brecel v Gilbert match concludes in Saturday’s evening session, from 19:00, with an all-English tie between 10th seed Tom Ford and world number 32 Ricky Walden on the other table.
All the first-round matches are best of 19 frames, so the first to 10 advances.
- Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news on the BBC app.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
