- Written by Michael Emmons
- BBC Sport at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield
image source, Getty Images
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venue: Crucible Theater, Sheffield. date: From April 20th to May 6th. |
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coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport mobile app. Live text coverage of selected matches. Stay up to date with Radio 5 Live. |
Last year's Crucible winner Luca Brecel said after losing 10-9 to David Gilbert: “I was looking forward to not being world champion again.”
Bressel said he had been suffering from a throat infection since March, but he didn't use that as an excuse for the loss.
“I wanted to go for a run, but that wasn't possible. The last few weeks have been a little tough,” said Bressel, 29.
“Maybe I would have withdrawn if I wasn't the defending champion, but it's too much to withdraw when you're seeded and you're the defending world champion.
“He was coughing all day, but that's no excuse. I just wasn't good enough. He missed some balls, but he played well and kept fighting.”
Bressel defeated former world champions Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby to win his first world title in 2023. But he said there were some downsides to being world champion.
“It's been a good year, but I'm looking forward to not being world champion again. I don't like the attention,” Bressel added. “I've been waiting for the season to end for a few weeks. It's just a game. Why should I be happy when we win and sad when we lose?”
Gilbert, ranked 31st in the world, reached the semi-finals in 2019 and will face England's 16th seed Robert Milkins or China's Pan Junxu in the last 16 on Thursday.
Bressel squandered chances in both the 16th and 18th slots and Gilbert, 42, admitted he was riding on his luck.
“It was a bad development for me because we were losing 8-5, but Luka was struggling and should have won 9-6,” Gilbert said. “After that I found my rhythm, but it was a really difficult match. I have a lot of respect for Luka. He's a great snooker player.”
“It's been a while since I won a match in a proper arena, so I'm hoping to build on that. I don't want to stop there. He said, 'I hope we can win.' I mean a lot from him.''He was always a nice young man.'' ”
Bressel's loss means the so-called “melting pot curse” continues, where first-time winners are unable to retain the title the following year.
“Everyone was asking questions about it,” Bressel said. “I think we would have had a chance if we had won this game, but we didn't.”
