Snooker world champion who lost millions fails to show up for match at start of new season
The new snooker season has just started, but one significant star has began it by failing to show up for his match at the Wuhan Open qualifiers
Luca Brecel's antics have cost him again
(Image: George Wood, Getty Images )
Former snooker millionaire Luca Brecel failed to show up for his Wuhan Open qualifier clash against Haris Tahir.
Brecel, who won the World Snooker Championship in 2023, was due to play the Pakistani star in Leicester. However, the Belgian never appeared and Tahir was given a 5-0 walkover and a spot in the main competition at the last-64 stage.
The match was scheduled for 2.30pm and even had a live commentary of proceedings on the World Snooker Tour's website. Fans quickly clocked that Tahir was constantly being awarded frame after frame, as per tournament rules for late arrivals.
He was eventually awarded the win and put through to the next round at the Wuhan Open, which has a first prize of £140,000. Brecel uploaded a series of pictures to his Instagram story of himself and new partner Shawney Demuyter drinking wine and eating pizza in his homeland of Belgium on Sunday.
It was an unusual start to the new season for Brecel, who admitted to losing his millionaire status by spending his 2023 winnings on supercars and other lavish things.
Brecel prefers to commute between his home country and tournament locations and has previously had close calls with match timings before. During the World Championship in April, he cut it fine by arriving at the Crucible just hours before his second-round match against Ding Junhui, because he opted to fly into the UK on a private jet.
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Brecel also nearly missed his first-round match at the Scottish Open a few years ago. Last season, Hammad Miah was given a 5-0 walkover during Xi'an Grand Prix qualifying when Brecel didn't show up in Leicester.
Luca Brecel has endured a tough couple of years
(Image: Getty )
The 30-year-old was subsequently ousted from the tournament without any prize money or ranking points. He has witnessed a significant downturn in form since clinching the World Championship title two years ago. Brecel became the first player from mainland Europe to become a world champion when he stunned Mark Selby at the Crucible with an 18-15 triumph.
However, the former World No. 2 has since plummeted to 39th in the global rankings and shed the £500,000 in ranking points he secured with his 2023 triumph. Earlier this year, Brecel expressed his disinterest in chasing another world championship, stating he is prioritising entertaining crowds over titles.
He said: "I've not really thought about the possibility of winning a second world title. I'm not that interested in it. If it happens it happens, but if it doesn't, then it's all good. I just don't really think a lot about winning tournaments and stuff like that.
Brecel's opponent was handed a walkover
(Image: Getty )
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"I just like playing the game. I'm more of a Ronaldinho type of player in snooker. It's all about just entertaining and [having] fun. Also having a nice life around it, that's more important to me! So yeah, no pressure."
Not long after winning the world title, Brecel revealed his lavish spending habits saw him lose his millionaire status. He burned through his chequebook by spending hundreds of thousands on a Ferrari 488, BMW M4, Range Rover Sport and even a Porsche Taycan for his partner at the time, Laura Vanoverberghe.
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