Luca Brecel rubs salt in Ryan Day's wounds after dumping rival out of Crucible

insisted he always "expecting to win" against Ryan Day despite trailing the Welshman 5-1 during Wednesday's opening session. The 'Belgian Bullet' fought back to trail just 5-4 overnight, only for Day to extend his advantage with a century break in today's opening frame.

However, 2023 Brecel then hit top gear. He won six of the subsequent seven frames to book his place in the second round and set up a clash with 10th seed Ding Junhui. Remarkably, aside from his surprise campaign two years ago, it's the only match Brecel has won at the Crucible.

Despite appearing down and out in the early stages, after his match, Brecel taunted Day by insisting he was never worried despite the four-frame deficit. He also implied that, unlike his opponent, he kept his composure.

"Good to win," he told the BBC. "I was expecting to win, to be honest, the whole way. It wasn't the best game, but I always felt I was a bit on top of him. I was a bit more relaxed, maybe, and yeah, it paid off in the end."

Brecel, 30, cited his strong finish in the first session as crucial to his eventual win, adding: "I played some good stuff but if that goes 7-2 or something I'm going to lose. That was the turning point, but even at 5-1 down, I still felt ok, relaxed. I don't really worry too much."

For his part, Day didn't hide his frustration after producing an error-strewn final few frames. He also admitted inconsistency had cost him dear and appeared at a loss as to how to improve his game.

"I had plenty of chances all the way through the match," he said. "It's just the way I play really, some good, some bad. I'm not the player I once was. It's unfortunate but we keep on trying.

"It's been like it for quite a few years. It doesn't seem like anything is changing soon. I'm 45 now, I'm not getting any younger and I'm finding it tougher the older I get to keep my composure a little bit."