Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre is where BBC Sport journalists are based.
53 Comments
Ryan Day defeated Luca Brecel 10-7 to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield.
Belgium’s Brecel, who finished with a 5-4 lead in the opening frame of Wednesday’s opening session, only allowed Welshman Day, who was 36th in the world, to break 101 in the opening frame on Thursday and move two clear.
In a scrappy encounter where both players made unanticipated errors, 2023 world champion Brecel took six of the next seven frames.
When Day potted the cue ball while playing the black hand Brecel in the 16th frame, one of those errors was crucial.
Next, Brecel will face Ding Junhui, the 10th seed, in the round, which will end on Monday with a match that will begin on Saturday night before the second session begins on Sunday.
Brecel, 30, made his World Championship debut in 2012 as a 17-year-old. However, he had not won a game at the sport’s most renowned venue prior to his two-year trophy success.
He became the first person to win the world title after defeating Ricky Walden, Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Si Jiahui, and Mark Selby 18-15 in the final.
Day: “I don’t see the game improving much.”
Day, 45, expressed frustration with his efforts despite not having any intention of quitting the sport.
The three-time Crucible champion said, “Even with a 5-1 lead, I was looking over my shoulder and not looking forward.” I’m not overly optimistic, and I’m definitely not the same person I was when I first started out.
I play and try, and I turn up. It’s obvious that it’s much closer to the end than the beginning because I’ve been doing it for a while. If it had been a few years ago, I would have been more aggressive with my game, but I’ve since come to terms with it.
Allen four frames back in the first last-16 tussle.
Mark Allen, a two-time semi-finalist, fell four frames behind Chris Wakelin in the first of the last-16 matches on Thursday afternoon, starting the matchup with English qualifier Chris Wakelin.
In the best-of-25-frame competition, Wakelin, who defeated world champion Neil Robertson in round one, took a 6-2 lead.
Wakelin went 2-0 up before Allen’s 100-run run, which was followed by breaks of 56 and 69, restored the Northern Ireland player.
Lebanon’s population has been the subject of a report by Fault Lines that examines possible war crimes involving US-made bombs used by Israel.
Made in America examines the devastation caused by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon last year during the country’s civil war. More than 4, 000 Lebanese people were killed, many of them inside their homes and residential buildings, despite Israel’s claim that it was attacking Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure.
After Israel launched one of the most intense air attacks in contemporary warfare, 558 people died on September 23 alone, the highest day since Lebanon’s civil war. One of the many cases the movie looks into was the woman’s daughter who was killed when their southern Lebanonian home was destroyed.
In an effort to mend their bowling attack’s injury crisis in the first half of the season, Durham has signed three bowlers.
Codi Yusuf, a bowler from South Africa, will start in the T20 Blast group stages and their next six championship games.
While England’s Jake Ball and Jack Blatherwick have signed 14-day loan deals with Somerset and Lancashire, respectively, to participate in their first two Championship games.
On Friday, all three will be able to make their Worcestershire debut.
In his best-ever season, right-arm seamer Yusuf, 27, recently took 26 wickets for the Lions in his home first-class competition.
With the injury to David Bedingham’s toe sprained in South Africa against Warwickshire, Yusuf is eligible to play alongside Australian international player Brendan Doggett.
Ball, 34, who has played four Test matches for England, hasn’t played a Championship game since August, while Blatherwick, 26, who plays fast medium right, has played three games for Lancashire in Division One last year.
18 teams will line up for the Women’s Tour of Britain this year, which will have a record-setting field.
The 108-rider competition, which kicks off in Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, on Thursday, June 5, will feature twelve World Tour teams.
Lotte Kopecky, a Belgian from Team SD Worx – Protime, will defend her title, along with Pfeiffer Georgi, a British champion from Team Picnic PostNL.
EF Education – Oatly and AG Insurance – Soudal will make their debut appearances, along with teams from 10 different nations.
The incredible line-up of teams for the Tour of Britain Women this year is a testament to the dedication put forth by UCI teams outside of the UK, according to Jonathan Day, managing director of British Cycling Events.
Tour of Britain women’s teams
UCI Women’s WorldTeams include: AG Insurance – Soudal Team (Belgium), Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto (Germany), CERATIZIT Pro Cycling Team (Germany), Lidl-Trek (USA), Liv AlUla Jayco (Australia), Movistar Team (Spain), Team SD Worx – Protime (Netherlands), Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Netherlands), UAE Team ADQ (
EF Education – Oatly (United States), UCI Women’s ProTeams
The Duchess of Sussex has made sure to get back at Piers Morgan for years of abusive comments thrown her way as she surprised his rival Alex Beresford with lavish gifts
Meghan Markle made a savage move at Piers Morgan
Meghan Markle has proved where her loyalties lie as she got back at Piers Morgan thanks to a savage gift. The Duchess of Sussex has found herself at the centre of Piers’ world for years as she’s been the subject of many claims from the broadcaster.
The controversial TV presenter is known to slam the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and even sensationally quit Good Morning Britain after ranting about the former actress in 2021. Last month, Piers was quick to watch a few moments of Meghan’s new Netflix show before slamming her.
He branded the series ‘unwatchable’ after watching only a few minutes of it. Piers said: “I tried watching it, and after, honestly, about three, four minutes, I was done. It was just unwatchable. It’s just the ultimate kind of vanity project, where it’s all about people telling Meghan how great she is, her telling everyone how great she is.
Article continues below
Meghan gifted Alex some of her jam(Image: alexberesfordtv/instagram)
”It’s not even her house. She’s doing things like making coffee, making a basic cake. There’s nothing to actually learn here. And it’s interesting to me that in Britain, they’re incredibly unpopular, her and Harry. I mean the most unpopular Royals, which, when you think we have Prince Andrew, is pretty extraordinary to go under that bar.”
In the show, Meghan introduced her new range of products and made sure to send Piers’ rival a present in an effort to make a very clear dig at the broadcaster.
Good Morning Britain’s Alex Beresford shared a snap on his Instagram of a jar of Meghan’s raspberry spread. He declared: “Can’t wait to try this! Thank you so much @meghan…”
Meghan even went a step further and sent a large Jelly Cat octopus teddy bear to Alex’s newborn daughter as he gushed: “…And for Camille’s sweet gift.”
Piers lost his job on the ITV morning show after clashing with Alex over Meghan. He dramatically left the show back in 2021 after receiving 41,000 Ofcom complaints over his comments about Meghan.
Piers walked off Good Morning Britain after clashing with Alex(Image: ITV)
Speaking about the Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah Winfrey interview in which she opened up about her mental health struggles, Piers said that he “didn’t believe a word” of her admission.
He also took issue with Meghan’s claims that there were “concerns and conversations” over how dark Prince Archie’s skin colour would be, before he was born.
Piers was confronted by weather presenter Alex over his comments the following day, with Piers storming off set after their heated conversation. Alex said: “I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle [Piers] – you’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, a number of times. I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one, and she cut you off.
“She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, but yet you continue to trash her.”
Taking issue with this criticism, Piers butted in, announcing: “OK, I’m done with this” as he strode off set, barking: “You can trash me mate, but not while I’m [inaudible].” He announced his sudden exit from GMB shortly after.
Charlie Sheen seemed to be on top of the world as one of the best-paid actors in Hollywood, but behind the scenes he was dealing with an HIV diagnosing and a crushing drugs habit
Charlie Sheen found himself blacklisted from Hollywood after his behaviour got out of hand(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX)
Charlie Sheen used to be one of the most successful actors on the planet, raking in millions for his roles in sitcoms and films. Starting out in the 1980s, the New York-born actor had decades of success and was even honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – but it all came crashing down in 2011 when his mental health and drug issues spiralled out of control.
At the peak of his career, Charlie, now 59, got a very cushty job as the leading man in the CBS show Two and a Half Men, for which he was eventually paid a whopping £1.3million per episode. But suddenly, everything fell apart and he was fired from the show and blacklisted from the rest of Hollywood.
After taking a break from the show to go to rehab, Charlie demanded a 50 percent pay rise and branded boss Chuck Lorre “a stupid, stupid little man and a p**sy punk that I’d never want to be like.” Needless to say, the move got Charlie sacked – but it did nothing to slow him down as he admitted to taking more drugs “than anyone could survive” in the aftermath of the axing.
Article continues below
READ MORE: Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen’s daughter, 21, says she felt blamed for their divorce
Charlie Sheen made over a million per episode on Two and a Half Men, but was axed after his drinks and drugs issues came to light and his behaviour made him ‘uninsurable’ on set
After his sacking and a failed stint in sitcom Anger Management, work soon dried up for Charlie, with one studio executive claiming the star had become ‘uninsurable’. Then in 2015, the cause of Charlie’s behaviour became clear when the he revealed he’d secretly been diagnosed with HIV four years earlier. Having squandered ‘millions’ to keep blackmailers quiet, the father-of-five admitted he used drugs and booze to cope with diagnosis.
“It was the only tool I had at the time, so I believed that would quell a lot of that angst. A lot of that fear. And it only made it worse,” he said. “It was to suffocate the anxiety and what my life was going to become with this condition and getting so numb I didn’t think about it.”
The actor later revealed that he’d been diagnosed with HIV for years in secret, and turned to wild drugs benders as blackmailers threatened to break the news(Image: FameFlynet.uk.com)
So what is Charlie up to these days? Despite the fallout of his career and major tension in his family, he found love again in 2017 with model Julia Stambler, 32 – who also happened to be the nanny for his twin boys Max and Bob. According to TMZ, Julia told a friend she was ‘not scared’ of Charlie’s diagnosis and that they were taking anti-viral medication and using protection as part of an active sex life.
Charlie also shares daughter Cassandra, 40, with his high school girlfriend, daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 19, with Denise Richards and 17-year-old twin boys Max and Bob with Brooke Mueller, from whom he split in 2010 a year after being charged with misdemeanour assault against her.
But while his romantic life was on the up, his fiscal life had taken a nose dive and Charlie was threatened with losing his Beverly Hills mansion over a reported unpaid £60,000 mortgage bill. Desperate to shift the luxe property, Charlie slashed £3.4million off the original asking price, accepting an offer of £6.4million on the seven-bedroom home earlier this year.
He also went to court in 2018 to seek a reduction in his child support payments to ex-wives Brooke and Denise Richards, explaining that he was in a ‘dire financial crisis’. In court documents obtained by The Blast, he said he had “been unable to find steady work, and [has] been blacklisted from many aspects of the entertainment industry”.
In 2020, he started selling personalised greetings for birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations through the Cameo website at a bargain price of £332. However, in terms of his health, life has never been better. After years of battling addiction, Charlie finally got sober in 2017 after being unable to drive his daughter to an appointment because he’d been drinking.
“It just hit me that I knew it was time to make a change – and you know, it didn’t require some crazy rehab stint or a shootout with the cops. It didn’t require anything super-dramatic and crazy and front-page news,” he said. “To this day, I am not sure how I created such chaos and wound up in that headspace. It’s as though there was some alien or demonic possession going on.”
As for what the future holds, for Charlie, his health is what matters the most. “I try not to think too far down the line, you know?” he told US Weekly. “I made some changes to give myself a shot to do some cool things professionally. And I’m proud of finally being consistent. And reliable. And noble.” He said his HIV viral load is now ‘undetectable’.
While focusing on his health, Charlie’s life is still full of ups and downs. He hit headlines when he shared his true feelings about his daughter Sami making adult content on OnlyFans, and shocked fans in 2023 when it emerged that his neighbour had strangled him after a longstanding feud. However, he also seems to be getting back on the acting horse again, reuniting with former boss Chuck Lorre for a recurring guest role in the comedy series Bookies – suggesting that the years of bad blood might have come to an end.