Brecel fights back to beat Day at World Championship

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, 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.

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.