The Belgian Bullet has been to Sheffield five times before and fallen at the first hurdle each time, but he scraped over the line against Ricky Walden, beating the Englishman 10-9 over the weekend.
It was a great win for the 28-year-old and, surprisingly, he said afterwards he has barely touched his cue in the build-up, trying something different this year after so much disappointment at the World Championship in the past.
‘I haven’t really practiced for this tournament, I’ve been playing darts most of the time.’ Brecel told Eurosport. ‘I think I’ve maybe had only 15 minutes of practice in three weeks, I think I’ve done quite well to win this game.
‘Many people ask me why – I don’t know. I’m at home, I’ve got a good life. I do so many things in my life that I almost forget to play snooker.
‘Also I just wanted to do something different this year, because I’ve lost all my games here. I was like, I need something to motivate me to play well.
‘I was like, if I don’t practice and I win, that will be a challenge for me.’
Asked if it was a way of alleviating the pressure at the Crucible, Brecel told WST: ‘Maybe that was the reason. I just didn’t feel like practicing, I’ve been doing so many other things.
‘My girlfriend told me to play a little bit because I needed it. Maybe the 15 minutes helped me.’
Many wouldn’t believe that Brecel did quite so little practice ahead of the biggest event of the year, but his dad Carlo backed up what his son said.
‘Just to clear up all speculation. Indeed, he has almost no practice for these World Championships,’ Carlo wrote on Twitter.
‘The reason, he wanted to try something different this year. I know he’s not lying, because I’m his father.
‘He had made this decision consciously in advance to take a break from snooker to make a fresh start in this tournament. There is no other reason.’
The Belgian was in control for most of the match and looked set for a reasonably comfortable victory at 9-6 ahead, before really starting to struggle as Walden forced a decider.
However, a fine break of 84 in the final frame, his eighth half-century of the contest booked his spot in the last 16.
Brecel now takes on either Mark Williams or Jimmy Robertson in the second round.
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