Evans and Brecel Crowned in Manchester
Reanne Evans and Luca Brecel combined to capture the World Mixed Doubles title, beating Mark Selby and Rebecca Kenna 4-2 in the final at Manchester Central.
The duo were this year’s most decorated pair, with Evans having 12 Women’s World Championship titles to her name and Brecel being the current World Champion. However, they only clinched their place in the final courtesy of taking the final frame this afternoon, when they lost 3-1 to Selby and Kenna.
It’s second time lucky for Evans, who was paired with seven-time Crucible king Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2022. On that occasion they missed out on a place in the final by a single frame.
Brecel’s hit and miss season thus far has seen him miss out on next week’s Players Series finale, the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship. However, his first piece of silverware of the season will act as a welcome boost heading into the defence of his World Championship title.
Selby and Kenna suffer defeat in the final for a second consecutive season. They were runners-up to Neil Robertson and Mink Nutcharut last time around.
It was Brecel who got this evening’s final up and running with a break of 57 to take the opener. They then added the second to lead 2-0.
Selby had an opportunity to take the third and reduce their arrears, but missed a straightforward final blue. Eventually, he was given another chance and did make it 2-1. That was followed up by a run of 67 by the Leicester cueman to restore parity.
Brecel and Evans moved 3-2 ahead by taking the fifth, before a contribution of 59 from the Belgian in the sixth gave them the title.
Evans said “It’s taken 22 years to win a final on television. I know Luca carried me a little bit, but I’ve been playing a long time and it is fantastic to lift a trophy and play in a final like this, alongside all of these great players. The crowd have been fantastic and I’ve really enjoyed myself.”
Evans added: “Playing in these sort of events and getting the recognition that the women deserve and the support from these top players is only going to help the women and help the game. Hopefully there is a lot more to come. Bigger and better and always hoping and believing in the future.”
Brecel said: “It was a special occasion to play in this tournament. I was looking forward to it as soon as I knew I was in it. I always felt we had a good chance to win it because we are a really strong team. If we played a bit closer to our normal standards we could have made it a bit easier for ourselves.”
