Luca Brecel spends £350k on Ferrari after Crucible win and digs out critics

Ronnie O’Sullivan explains why he made a 146 in 2016

World Snooker Championship winner Luca Brecel has made his first expensive purchase since pulling off a memorable triumph at the Crucible last month. The Belgian overcame Mark Selby in the final to register his first world title success and collect the mammoth £500,000 prize from the overall £2.4m pot, and he has wasted little time in finding a way to spend his winnings.

Brecel uploaded two images showing off his new Italian sportscar to his 35,000 followers on his newly revamped Instagram page, having purged most of his older posts.

The Dutchman has blown a hole in his pocket by splashing out on a Ferrari 488, worth an estimated £350k – the same car owned by PSG footballer Kylian Mbappe.

Clearly delighted with his new toy, Brecel wrote a caption – aiming a sly dig at snooker critics – beside the images which read: “My new four-wheeler – and for someone who works in cafe sport!”, with a crying-laughing emoji.

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After enduring a gruelling two-week stay in Sheffield, the Belgian felt he more than deserved to treat himself with a new set of wheels.

Brecel sent seven-time winner and heavily-backed icon Ronnie O’Sullivan crashing out of the tournament before pulling off a comeback victory against Si Jiahui in the semi-finals to book a showdown with the favourite Selby in the final.

And despite his bizarre preparation before the crunch encounter – which included getting drunk before the tie against O’Sullivan – he held his nerve under enormous tension to seal a 18-15 victory.

“It is amazing. I cannot see through the tears,” he said after round off his victory. “Mark made it so tough, he is the worst opponent to have, he just keeps coming back. He is such a fighter. I don’t know how I did.

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“Snooker is a mental sport. I could have lost in the first round. If I had, people would have said again, ‘he has lost first round’. Now I am the winner. Snooker is all about the small margins. It is crazy.

Brecel also sent a classy message to his opponent Selby, as reports of concerns over the health of his wife Vikki circulated during the tournament, and insisted he would be taking some time away with his own loved ones to celebrate his triumph.

“I want to say to Mark and Vikki: please stay strong,” he added. “I have the best team, best friends, parents and girlfriend. If you don’t have the team it makes it difficult to play the game.

“I won’t practice for a couple of weeks and months. I will enjoy this. It has been a crazy week. No practice, just partying. It shouldn’t be legal.”

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