Luca Brecel Tour axe fears with controversial snooker star prepared to be booted out of competition
LUCA BRECEL fears being axed from the World Snooker Tour as his poor form continues.
The Belgian won the World Snooker Championship in 2023 but has struggled to match those levels since.
He is provisionally ranked 60th in the end-of-season rankings, just four places above the cut-off point.
Brecel will also lose £500,000 in prize money from his ranking points total before the end of the season.
His woes continued at the Northern Ireland Open this week as he was beaten 4-1 in the last 32 by Pang Junxu.
The 29-year-old had raised eyebrows before his exit for opting not to stay in Belfast for the tournament and instead commuting from Mallorca for each of his matches.
His decision to fly in from abroad came about as he wanted to continue training for an Ironman on his non-playing days in Spain.
However, the Belgian Bullet is not currently fazed by the prospect of dropping off the tour and having to regain his spot at Q School.
He told BBC Sport: “I’m playing well enough – it’s just about bringing my practice game to the match table, then I’ll be OK. I just need to get on a run, that will come.
“I’m not worried about losing my Tour card as I would see it as a challenge to be in Qualifying School.
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“I’d love to play in Q School one day so maybe this is the right time. Obviously, I’d love to stay on Tour as well so I’ll try my best. For now, I’m heading back to Majorca, I don’t know for how long.”
Fortunately for Brecel, he has plenty of time to assure himself of a place on next year’s tour without having to go through Q School.
There are still 11 ranking events left on the calendar before the 2024/25 season ends with the World Championship in April and May.
Having failed to qualify for next week’s International Championship, though, he will have to wait for the UK Championship at the end of November to recapture his best snooker.
Brecel, who famously spent his Crucible winnings on new cars for his collection, has been on the tour since 2011, when he was just 16.
He had earned a place two years earlier aged 14 but was too young for the minimum age requirements.
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.