Having ousted both world champion Mark Selby and world number three Judd Trump already, Luca Brecel has promised an aggressive approach when he tackles Shaun Murphy in Saturday’s Champion of Champions semi-final. The Belgian has impressed with his flowing snooker at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, delivering the performance of the week when he blasted past Trump 4-0 in less than 50 minutes in their group stage semi-final before fending off a Selby fight back to take the group final 6-4.
He will move on to face former world champion Murphy in the last-four on Saturday and Brecel is promising an attacking approach in what he expects to be a stern test. “This is a beautiful tournament. There is a nice crowd, the table is unbelievable and it is a nice arena. It is a very special tournament,” he said. “I have played Shaun a lot over the last few years, we have four wins each, so it will be a tough game and I think it will be an aggressive game as well on Saturday.”
Brecel is 17/20 to defeat Murphy and 5/1 to do so on a 6-3 scoreline in their best-of-11 clash. Perhaps most remarkable of all in terms of Brecel’s progress in Coventry is that he has been forced to use a new cue this week. His old one went AWOL on his trip home from China and his permanent replacement isn’t due before Saturday. Luckily for the world number 14, things have been going smoothly. “I was using a different cue because I lost mine in the airport in Beijing. I won’t have my cue back for Saturday – I ordered a new one so maybe I will have it after Shanghai,” he added. Brecel is 7/2 to win the Champion of Champions title on Sunday, while world number five Murphy is 4/1 to raise the trophy.
Snooker odds available at Dafabet.