Luca Brecel has been nowhere to seen since winning the World Championship (Image: Getty)
Luca Brecel’s insane fall from grace has those in the snooker world left scratching their heads. Just three years ago, Brecel was waltzing his way to a World Championship title, defeating the likes of Mark Williams, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to his Crucible win.
He shot up to second in the world just after winning the title, and was being tipped to dominate on Tour thereafter. But following his 2023 triumph, the closest Brecel came to winning a ranking event was a semi-final at the 2023/24 Welsh Open, with the Belgian’s performances having fallen off a cliff.
Brecel was knocked out in qualifying for the 2026 World Championship, and currently finds himself ranked 46th in the world – 44 places lower than this time three years ago. He has battled some physical health problems during that time, but is adamant those issues haven’t stretched over into the mental realm.
Plenty of snooker pros are non-the-wiser either, specifically Stephen Hendry, who has been left flummoxed by his recent showings. Speaking earlier this season, Hendry remarked: “We’ve talked about Luca a lot since winning the world title. Will he ever come back to that level?
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“I saw a picture on his Instagram saying he was going to ‘work, work, work’. With Luca, I don’t know what that means – does it mean half an hour? Are we ever going to see him back in the semi-finals or finals of a tournament? It’s scandalous (how far he’s fallen).”
Just added this in too – Alan McManus is another who is confused – and wants Brecel playing more tournaments. “You cannot be in and out of it, it’s a lifestyle choice,” he said. “Not for 12 months a year, it doesn’t have to be that, but you have to be dedicated to the craft.
“Luca has all the ability in the world. We talk about Xintong. Xintong in some ways can’t hold a candle to Luca, he’s that gifted. I’m really, really disappointed, I’m a big fan of his.
Luca Brecel finds himself ranked 46th in the world right now (Image: Getty)
“Go and get busy, go and play some people for twenty pounds, whatever, just get busy and get competitive and it will soon come back.
“You can’t just turn up and get by on ability and talent. I just want to see Luca do better, we all do.”
It certainly is a headscratcher, with nobody sure whether Brecel will even come close to reaching the same heights again. When asked about his drop off, Brecel remarked: “Some people have come up to me and said ‘oh, is it mental health’ and they have tried to help.
“It’s not my head. I’m perfectly happy. I’m fine. It’s not mental. It’s physical things in my body. Strange. I’ve been to the doctor many, many times. Maybe 18 times in three to four months.”
Before adding: “There must be something wrong but they cannot find anything. I have to deal with it. At least I can play again. I’m happy to be at the table. All of a sudden it happened and no-one knows what it is. Still trying to figure it out, I’ve still got scans to do. It’s my body doing strange things.
“Obviously because I wanted to feel good first, and then compete in tournaments, so I’ve been waiting to feel better. And it didn’t quite happen. So I thought, well, I’m just going to play now. Whatever happens, I’m just going to play, whatever I feel. I feel okay in the game. It’s not every moment of the game, but it’s good enough. I’ve not been able to do exercises obviously with all the problems.”