Mark Selby's hilarious reaction to horror break leaves Welsh Open crowd in stitches after Luca Brecel suffers migraine

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There were unusual scenes at the start of Mark Selby and Luca Brecel's Welsh Open semi-final. With the Belgian requesting an unexpected time-out after the first frame, his opponent decided to tickle the Llandudno crowd with a well-timed reaction to an unfortunate break-off. Selby sensationally took the opening frame with a break of 131, following Brecel's errant first shot of the match.

'Can I have 15 minutes please?' - Selby delights crowd with headache gag

Video credit: TNT Sports

Mark Selby lived up to his 'Jester from Leicester' nickname at the Welsh Open semi-finals, after Luca Brecel was granted a medical time-out for a migraine.

Selby went on to reach the final, reeling off the final four frames in a row to clinch a 6-3 victory.

The Belgian served up an out-of-sorts break-off to start the final four clash and, after Selby sunk a sensational 131, his opponent was allowed 15 minutes to recover from his ailment.

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On the restart, Selby produced an "even worse" break-off, according to Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds, and gave the 41-year-old an opportunity to delight the Venue Cymru crowd with an expertly timed piece of physical comedy.

"Well that's incredible, isn't it? That's absolutely incredible," Foulds said on Eurosport commentary after Selby's calamitous break-off.

And when Selby gripped his temples, feigning his own headache, David Hendon quipped: "Now he's saying, 'I've got a headache. Can I have 15 minutes please?'"

Brecel did not immediately profit from the mishap, but did take the frame to level the contest.

'Very bizarre' - White and Foulds react to Brecel medical emergency

Video credit: TNT Sports

The two frames before the interval were shared equally between the pair, and Jimmy White then explained Brecel's early match issues.

"It was really unusual and it left Selby straight in the balls from the get-go, and then he [Brecel] had a headache and his dad's come down there, obviously got a message," said White.

With Selby's ill-advised break-off, which saw the cue ball cannon into the pack, shown next, Foulds said it was "even worse" than Brecel's.

"That's even worse actually, that break, because he hit the low red. At least Luca hit the pink which is closer to getting away from it."

And on Selby's amusing reaction, Foulds added: "That was a good line though, from Mark Selby. If he'd have taken his own time off after that break for a minute, I don't think Luca would have minded that.

"But don't forget Selby did make 131 off that initial break and Mark got away with his.

"But actually, without making too much of a joke of it, he's started to give Mark Selby a few actual headaches now in this match because Luca is fine now."

Brecel went on to take the next frame after the break, despite an unusual chipped miscue on the black.

But Selby returned to form in the closing stages of the match, rattling off a quartet of frames to reach his second final in 10 days, having beaten world champion Kyren Wilson in his Championship League showdown.

'Disaster' - Brecel sends white flying with unexpected miscue

Video credit: TNT Sports

After his win, the four-time world champion revealed that Brecel reported that he could not see because of his migraine.

"We had to stop for 15, 20 minutes, but rightly so. If Luca had carried on - he said he can't see - then it's not great for the spectators watching," said Selby in the Eurosport studio.

"He said to me he was struggling with a migraine. I said, 'Look, we'll take time out, take as long as you need. I would have let him have even longer.

"But thankfully he was a lot better after the break."

And commenting on his less-than-perfect break-off after the short hiatus, Selby added that the balls have been feeling "light" throughout the tournament.

"It was mad, because I feel like it's been like that all week. It seems to me like the cue balls are light, but no one's really said anything," said Selby.

"And Luca did the same, didn't he? So it's weird, and then hence why Luca was just doing the one-cushion break because he said it was just squirting out really, really wide."

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