LONDON – Belgium’s Luca Brecel said European snooker would “explode” after he became the first player from the continental mainland to be crowned world champion.
Brecel withstood a fightback from four-time champion Mark Selby to triumph 18-15 at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on Monday.
Victory also meant Brecel joined Canadian Cliff Thorburn (1980), the Republic of Ireland’s Ken Doherty (1997) and Australian Neil Robertson (2010) as only the fourth modern-era world champion from outside the United Kingdom.
Having overturned huge deficits to defeat both seven-time world champion Ronnie…
