World Snooker Championship 2024 results: David Gilbert beats reigning champion Luca Brecel

Luca Brecel (left) became the first player from Belgium to win the World Snooker Championship

Reigning world champion Luca Brecel suffered a shock deciding-frame loss to David Gilbert on a thrilling opening day of the 2024 event at the Crucible.

The Belgian led 6-3 at the end of the first session and wasted chances to win in both the 16th and 18th frames.

Gilbert, ranked 31st in the world, then produced a superb match-winning break of 65 to set up a match with either Robert Milkins or China's Pang Junxu.

World number two Judd Trump leads 6-3 against Iran's Hossein Vafaei.

Ali Carter holds a 5-4 lead over Stephen Maguire, Jak Jones is 5-2 up on Zhang Anda and Tom Ford has a 6-3 advantage against Ricky Walden.

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Crucible curse strikes again

Brecel had never won a World Championship match until an incredible run in 2023, including victories over former world champions Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby, led to him clinching his maiden world title.

No first-time Crucible winner has then gone on to retain their title the following year, and the 29-year-old was aiming to break the so-called 'Crucible Curse'.

Century breaks of 134 and 104 helped him to a 5-2 lead and, despite an effort of 115 from Englishman Gilbert in frame eight, Brecel looked in complete control at the end of a high-quality first session.

But the second session saw mistakes from both players, although that produced some thrilling frames with two black-ball finishes, one won for each player inside the opening three frames.

Brecel got fortunate when going into the pack of reds in the 15th but that set up a fine break of 85, his best of the second session to lead 9-6, one away from victory.

The Belgian will be wondering how he lost this match.

He missed a red with the rest when 55-1 ahead in the 16th frame and then, when 51-6 ahead two frames later, failed to pot a green off its spot.

There was still time for more drama as Gilbert missed match-ball in the last frame when holding a 69-0 advantage, but Brecel could not take the late opportunity as the 2019 semi-finalist advanced and last year's champion is eliminated.

Trump ahead against Vafaei

Trump made five half-century breaks on Saturday - 63, 66, 72, 56 and 77

Trump won the 2019 title and was in ruthless form as he punished any mistake from Vafaei, 19th in the world.

The pair had met in 2022, with Trump winning 10-4, and the Englishman again holds the advantage before their match concludes in the Sunday afternoon session.

Vafaei was 56-4, 67-0 and 44-8 ahead in the second, third and fifth frames respectively, only for Trump to win each frame, including one on the pink and one on the black.

A superb clearance of 138 gave Vafaei the sixth frame, Trump took the next two, but Vafaei ended the session well with a break of 74.

Carter, Jones and Ford all in front

The match between England's Carter, a beaten Crucible finalist in 2008 and 2012, and Scotland's two-time semi-finalist Maguire was expected to be a tight encounter, and so it proved, with Carter leading 5-4 after the first session.

Maguire made two centuries - 114 and 134 - as he won three of the first five frames, but Carter took the sixth frame on the black as Maguire's frustrations grew.

A missed pot in the eighth frame saw him punch the table, but he composed himself to win the last frame and keep the match close going into Sunday's final session.

Elsewhere, Wales' Jak Jones leads 5-2 against China's Zhang, although only seven of their nine scheduled frames could be completed in the opening session.

Jones reached the quarter-finals last year, beating two-time runner-up Ali Carter and former champion Neil Robertson, and made breaks of 71, 68, 71 and 75 to take control against the 11th seed.

They will resume at 10:00 BST on Sunday.

The English tie between 10th seed Ford and world number 32 Walden saw Ford claim six of the opening eight frames, although a break of 142 in the final frame of the session brought Walden within three frames going into Sunday's conclusion.

All the first-round matches are best of 19 frames, so the first to 10 advances.

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