Practice didn't make perfect for Luca Brecel despite his shock win over Judd Trump at the Tour Championship on Thursday night.
The current world No 15 surged into an 8-3 lead, but then had to hold his nerve as Trump gave himself a fighting chance by taking three of the next four frames. But at 9-6, the Belgian player produced a clearance of 73 to seal a place in the final four.
Brecel, 27, racked up one century and seven half-centuries during the clash, and now the legendary John Higgins stands between him and the final in Llandudno. It will be a rematch of the Scottish Open final in December, which 'The Bullet' won 9-5 before suffering a downturn in form.
But Brecel, who also reached his first UK Championship final last year before losing to Zhao Xintong, hasn't resurrected his game by spending hours on the practice table. In fact, he claims he's barely picked up a cue in the build-up to the Tour Championship.
"Maybe I got a bit fed up with all the travelling, to be honest. I didn’t practice as much, that was my choice," Brecel told ITV4, via metro.co.uk. "The last month I didn’t practice because I was busy with buying a house and all those kind of things.
"I didn’t really practice at all for this tournament. I had some practice in Gibraltar [he played the Gibraltar Open last week] obviously, but I was happy to just have a couple of hours here."
"To have a best of 19 match makes you a bit sharper for the next game. I’m just so happy to win because this game was huge for me."
Brecel has never been beyond the first round in the world championships, but his latest win is likely to make the top players take note. And he hopes that it can prove the springboard for him to perform better on snooker's biggest stage at the Crucible in April.
"I played some good stuff, some bad stuff, but it’s just nice to get a win against such a top player," he said. "It’s good practice for the World Championships."
Brecel, who was just 16 when he turned professional in 2011, is also relishing the "amazing" prospect of facing four-time world champion Higgins. "I was thinking if I could win today I’d play John in the semi's. The final of the Scottish Open was amazing."
In the other semi-final, Ronnie O’Sullivan will play Neil Robertson. 'The Rocket' came through a nerve jangling last eight tie with Mark Williams, winning 10-9.
Robertson meanwhile, beat Mark Allen 10-6 in his quarter final. The pair met in the final of the tournament in 2021, with Australian player Robertson comfortably winning 10-4.
