How it unfolded
Belgium's Luca Brecel trailed Mark Selby 5-10 early in the final. During the mid-session break, television cameras caught him eating pizza in the interview waiting room, and the clip went viral on social media, quickly read as a sign he was playing without any pressure at all. Brecel then began playing with visibly sharper focus, matching Selby's veteran safety game with his own attacking potting, taking frames one by one. In the final session Brecel completed the full turnaround, winning 18-15 to become a world champion from outside the British Isles, and the first ever from continental Europe. In tears immediately after the win, he waved to his family in the crowd, and the final has since been nicknamed the Pizza Final.
Why it still matters
This win broke, for the first time, a lineage of world champions drawn only from Britain and Ireland, and later Commonwealth countries, that had run throughout the 20th century. Brecel's win revived interest in snooker across mainland Europe, and staying composed under pressure being as important as skill has since been cited repeatedly in coaching material referencing this final.