Ronnie O'Sullivan pays tribute to Crucible great after Luca Brecel emulates world snooker title feat – 'A proper player'

Ronnie O'Sullivan has spoken of his admiration for 1986 world champion Joe Johnson after Luca Brecel emulated the Bradford player by blitzing the field to claim his first Crucible title. Belgium's Brecel joined Johnson, Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy as the only men to have lifted the sport's biggest prize having never won a match in previous years. "He was a proper player," said O'Sullivan.

Ronnie O'Sullivan idolised fellow icons Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry as a kid during the 1980s, but the snooker GOAT believes Joe Johnson produced arguably the most magical performance of the sport's modern era.

Speaking during a run of interviews to promote his new autobiography Unbreakable, O'Sullivan revealed his admiration for the unheralded 150-1 outsider, who completed a stunning 18-12 victory over Davis in the 1986 World Championship final in Sheffield.

It was remarkably the stylish Bradford player's only ranking triumph in a 25-year professional career, but Johnson showed his class by returning to the final a year later when Davis held him off for an 18-14 win in the 1987 title match to claim the fourth off his six Crucible trophies.

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O'Sullivan cites the 1986 world final as his favourite from the storied Crucible archives with his fellow Eurosport analyst Johnson carrying off the trophy in a baize of glory built on some formidable long potting and equally protruding pink, red and white leather footwear.

Which apparently earned him the well-heeled nickname 'The Shoe'.

"At the time, Davis was the king, but since YouTube has come out I've watched a lot of old videos," O'Sullivan said on BBC Radio 2.

"I didn't realise how good a player he was. He didn't win anything else apart from the World Championship, but then made the final the next year.

"I said to him: 'Joe, you were a proper player'. And he went: 'really?'. I said 'yeah'. Because I call people proper snooker players or they're not.

"I like a certain style and he was a proper player. That was one of the finals that stands out in my memory during the Embassy years when snooker was huge in the 1980s and everyone bought into it."

Luca Brecel's 18-15 win over Mark Selby in the 47th Crucible final earlier this month saw him join Johnson, Terry Griffiths (1979) and Shaun Murphy (2005) as the only men to pot their way to snooker paradise having previously failed to win a match at the sport's blue-chip event.

"I could have potted anything and everything at that time when I knew I was going to become world champion," Johnson told Eurosport. "There could have been balls on top of the table and I would have potted them. I was so elated."

Brecel acknowledged Johnson's feat after his powerhouse display at the latest Crucible gathering saw him overcome RIcky Walden (10-9), Mark Williams (13-11) O'Sullivan (13-10) and Si Jiahui (17-15) from 14-5 behind in the semi-finals.

"After my record here, not winning a game after five attempts, I wasn’t expecting to win it any time soon," he said.

"To win it this year is absolutely amazing. It was the same thing that Joe Johnson did in 1986, never winning a match here and then winning it.

"It’s a dream come true and whatever happens now in my career I can say I’m a world champion.

"I am only 28, with so much time left in my career. Hopefully, there are many more to follow."

‘Dead and buried!’ – O’Sullivan and White hail Brecel comeback

Video credit: TNT Sports

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