I went out on all-day bender until 6am and got drunk as hell before beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in massive Crucible upset
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S quest for a champagne-moment eighth World Snooker crown was sunk by a guy who prepared with an all-day BENDER!
The Rocket spent the majority of the afternoon session sat in his Crucible chair as inspired Luca Brecel – who says he was “DRUNK AS HELL” last weekend – won SEVEN frames in a row to prevail 13-10.
The defending champion’s 10-6 quarter-final overnight lead was completely wiped out in one crazy third and final session.
No excuses were offered by the world No1, who said he was simply defeated by the better man on the day.
Stephen Hendry, who shares the record of seven crowns with O’Sullivan, can relax easy for another year at least.
O’Sullivan, 47, said: “Luca played unbelievable. He’s such a good player.
“I love watching him play. His cue action – he gets through the ball so well. It’s incredible.
“The whip he gets on the white, the topspin, the thud he hits the ball with.
“Such a dynamic player, full of talent. Probably the most talented snooker player I’ve ever seen.
“I would love to see him go and win it for snooker – that’s how snooker should be played.
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“A phenomenal talent. A phenomenal player. A lovely boy. I wish him all the best.
“I wasn’t playing well enough to have an impact on the game.
“If it was a boxing match they would have stopped it very early on. I was pinching frames and hanging on in the second session.
“There’s only so much hanging on you can do at the Crucible. It catches up on you. Eventually someone plays well against you and puts you away.
“I can go back out running again. Thank god. I’ve had 10 days off.
“I had to have my waistcoat made a bit bigger. The pounds are piling on. I have to get this little bit of lump off.”
Fined for missing the pre-match media day on Friday April 14, Brecel says he only practised for 15 MINUTES before the tournament started.
Time before arriving in Sheffield was spent drinking, late-night dancing, throwing darts and playing computer games.
Basically doing everything that a professional sportsmen should NOT do before the biggest event of the season.
Maverick Brecel, 28, had not won a match here before this month in five previous visits but now he has banked £100,000 and reached the semi-finals.
The No.9 seed said: “This is probably my biggest win. Certainly feeling-wise, it was great to feel like that.
“I was so mentally fresh for this tournament. For the first game, I came here and I practised for 15 minutes again.
“I could have been rusty but was actually quite sharp and playing well.
“I struggle to cope with the longer matches. I play my own game. I play free-flowing and just go for everything.
“If I play like a Mark Selby, I’d never be able to win such a long game. I struggle to stay focused.
“Even in the first session against Ronnie, I was a bit bored in my chair, which is strange. I need to work on that maybe.
“Before the tournament I was just out partying, staying up late to 6am and 7am. Playing Fifa with my friends. Having drinks. Not practising.
“Even after I beat Mark Williams, I got home at 7am by car. That same day we went out to 5-6am. Drunk as hell.
“The next day I had to come back here. I drove up again. It’s totally different preparation but it is working.”