Players Championship 2023: Luca Brecel beats Jack Lisowski in high-quality match to reach quarter-finals

Luca Brecel beat Jack Lisowski 6-4 in a high-quality first-round match at the Players Championship.

It was a match of big breaks, with both players scoring highly when they got in, and nothing to separate them until the end when Brecel won three consecutive frames.

Brecel will play Joe O’Connor in the second quarter-final on Thursday afternoon in Wolverhampton.

“I think the whole game we hadn’t missed easy shots so to see Jack miss was very surprising,” said Brecel after the match.

“But I still had to win the frame after that and it was good that I did so. I think we lived up to it, it was a good game.

“My long potting was good today, every time Jack broke off I potted. My mindset is good, I just need to stay calm now and be positive.”

A poor shot from Lisowski let Brecel in immediately in the opening frame and he capitalised with a very quick 91, before Lisowski hit back to level the scores.

The big breaks were soon back as the next two frames were shared, Lisowski making a 77 in frame three and Brecel a fine 83 in frame four.

More great snooker followed the mid-session interval as Lisowski rolled in a long red and produced an excellent 85.

Lisowski had a chance to inflict a psychological blow on his opponent when Brecel missed a red to the right middle on 51 in the next frame. However, he put a routine blue wide, and Brecel made it all square again.

Brecel made a big mistake at the start of frame seven when a red to the bottom right pocket hit the jaws and the cue ball split open the pack of reds.

As had been the theme of the match, Lisowski stepped in with a stunning 104, the first century of the contest.

Two poor safety shots from Lisowski allowed Brecel to make another frame-winning contribution, this time a 78, and he soon went 5-4 ahead with a 58, leaving the Englishman needing snookers, which he couldn’t get.

Lisowski broke off at the start of the 10th frame and left a red on, which Brecel slotted in. However, a series of recovery shots quickly saw his break end at 10.

Brecel then made a mistake when a red flicked the green into the pocket and Lisowski was looking set to send the match to a decider, until he missed a simple red to the middle when 53-13 up.

A tricky red meant Brecel could only make a 14 with one red remaining so he laid a snooker. Lisowski hit the red but left it on and Brecel cleared the colours to seal the match.

Ali Carter faces Welsh Open champion Robert Milkins in the first quarter-final on Wednesday evening.

– – –