Brecel Secures First Season Victory to Advance in Northern Ireland Open

Luca Brecel claimed his first win of the season with a confident 4-0 victory against Liam Davies, securing a place in the main draw of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

After missing early ranking events and withdrawing from his Xi’an Grand Prix qualifier while trailing Sunny Akani, the 2023 World Champion showed strong form with high breaks of 79 and 52. Currently ranked 41st, Brecel is now set to compete at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast next month.

Steven Hallworth continued his rise with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Matthew Stevens. Despite trailing 3-2, Hallworth sealed the match with impressive breaks of 136 and 64 in the final two frames. This follows his recent run to the last 32 at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.

Anthony McGill, a two-time ranking event winner, took a step toward avoiding relegation with a 4-1 defeat of Alexander Ursenbacher, including a high break of 88. Robert Milkins also boosted his tour card hopes with a 4-2 victory against Patrick Whelan, while Ben Woollaston whitewashed Mateusz Baranowski 4-0, finishing with a break of 109.

In spite of producing a career-best break of 143, Liam Pullen fell 4-2 to Long Zehuang.