Luca Brecel holds off Mark Selby fightback to win World Championship

WORLD CHAMPION: Luca Brecel celebrates with the trophy after beating Mark Selby to win the final on day seventeen of the Cazoo World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Pic: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire

Luca Brecel withstood a stirring fightback from Mark Selby to clinch a dramatic 18-15 victory and become the first player from mainland Europe to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.

Five previous visits to the famous venue had yielded no success for Brecel but, having clawed back outlandish deficits to sink both Ronnie O’Sullivan and Si Jiahui in the previous rounds, he switched roles to fend off a late surge by the four-time champion.