Brecel In Hunt For Top Ranking
Luca Brecel could add the world number one position to his World Champion status this week at the BetVictor English Open, and the Belgian ace boosted his chances with a 4-0 thrashing of Muhammad Asif in round three.
Brecel has a chance to top the official rankings for the first time in his career, though he must at least reach the semi-finals in Brentwood and go further than current top dog Ronnie O’Sullivan. The pair could meet in the last four on Saturday if they both get through two more rounds.
His top break against Asif was just 54, but Brecel always looked in control as he set up a meeting with Ding Junhui on Thursday night.
O’Sullivan recovered from a slow start to beat Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui 4-2. China’s Si made a 101 in the opening frame and went on to lead 2-1, but crucially missed chances in frames four and five. That allowed O’Sullivan to go 3-2 ahead and he sealed the result with a 78 in the sixth to earn a tie with Zhang Anda.
Chelmsford’s Ali Carter saw off Jenson Kendrick 4-0 and there were also comfortable wins for three Chinese potters as Zhou Yuelong beat Sanderson Lam 4-0, Zhang saw off Elliot Slessor 4-1 and Ding top scored with 69 in a 4-2 win over Gary Wilson.
Cazoo British Open champion Mark Williams extended his winning streak to 11 matches, making breaks of 111 and 81 as he beat Dylan Emery 4-2. Liu Hongyu came from 3-1 down to edge out Chris Wakelin 4-3.