ROCKET CRASH

Ronnie’s bid for record eighth Crucible crown left in tatters by Belgian party-boy Brecel

- HECTOR NUNNS

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN was blown away at the Crucible to see his hopes of a record eighth title dashed by Luca Brecel.

Belgian Brecel had never won a match at the World Championship in five previous visits but reeled off seven frames in a row to reach the semi-finals with a 13-10 victory.

The Rocket was celebrating the milestone of a record 100th appearance at the Sheffield theatre, but world No.10 Brecel rained all over his parade with a stunning comeback win.

He had prepared for this success in novel fashion with an all-day drinking bender back home. And that came after having already admitted, following his first-round win against Ricky Walden, that his build-up had been "the worst", with only 15 minutes practice.