‘Unforgivable’ – Luca Brecel criticised for ‘schoolboy error’ in Ronnie O’Sullivan defeat at Masters

The Belgian was hyped as the “most talented player on the circuit” by his opponent in the build-up to the match at Alexandra Palace, but two huge mistakes in the second and third frames saw his hopes of a deep run fade before the interval in his first match.

Brecel’s lurch between hero and zero began when he brilliantly nudged the brown into play off the cushion to leave himself a simple clearance in the second frame. But just two shots later, he inexplicably ran out of position after potting the brown – a shot branded “terrible” by Neal Foulds on Eurosport commentary. O’Sullivan returned to the table and, after a short safety battle, cleaned up for a 2-0 lead.

But it was about to get even worse for the 27-year-old.

Again, he showcased his sublime shot-making with an outrageous pot with the rest on the green, screwing back up the table for the brown. He needed the blue and pink to guarantee the frame, although just the former would have left O’Sullivan only able to tie. But just as he did a frame earlier, Brecel threw it away, inexplicably potting the cue ball after sinking the blue. O’Sullivan gleefully accepted the present and swept home the remaining colours to move 3-0 ahead when he could – and perhaps should – have been behind.

Back in the Eurosport studio, Jimmy White and Alan McManus could not believe what they had witnessed in the third frame.

“This in-off [potting the cue ball] for an established match player that Luca is, he should never do that. That puts him 13 in front with pink and black left. To go in-off is unforgivable,” said White.

McManus added: “He had an acre of space to play on. The middle pocket has always been there. It’s a bit of a schoolboy error.”

Much has been expected from Brecel for a long time, even before he became the youngest player to qualify for the Crucible in 2012.

Now 27, he has started adding titles to his game, most recently the Championship League ranking event in July last year. But his record at the three biggest events – the World Championship, Masters and UK Championship – is largely poor, despite a run to the final of the latter in 2021.

And White is concerned that there are still holes in Brecel’s game that could prevent him from grabbing the game’s biggest prizes.

“Make no mistake, no one else in the top 16 would probably have given that chance away,” added White on the third-frame debacle.

“Luca for me, he lacks a bit of playing the right shot at the right time. He’s a bit flamboyant, he didn’t really take notice of how important that shot was. You’ve got to get a game on the board. It was a strange miss.”

O’Sullivan will face either Mark Williams or David Gilbert in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

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