Luca Brecel enjoying 'strange' criticism as he as he makes confident prediction
12/18/2024 05:00 AM
Luca Brecel expects his next 10 years on the snooker table to be his best and has found talk of his demise as a top player strange.
The Belgian Bullet won the World Championship in stunning style last year but has struggled to replicate that form since his Crucible triumph in May 2023.
His results in ranking events since becoming world champion have been so poor that there has even been the chance that he could lose his professional status at the end of this season.
However, a run to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open last week appears to have ended that concern and Brecel feels he is returning to somewhere near his best form.
‘I think Scotland was ok last week, I played some good stuff,’ said Brecel. ‘Apart from that I’ve only really been practicing hard the last three weeks, maybe.
‘I think I’m getting back to my normal level. I’m doing everything right, so it’s only a matter of time before I play some good tournaments again.
‘Sometimes I hear people speak and they sound like I’m about to retire! I’m only 29, I’m only just beginning, to be honest. I have won the World Championship already, I don’t see any problem. I think the next 10 years will be my best years.’
The Belgian Bullet was entertained by the idea that he would fall off the professional tour, never doubting his ability to compete with the best and win silverware.
‘I was enjoying it as well because it was never going to happen,’ he said of the suggestion of his demise. ‘Even if it happens I would still bounce back and win tournaments, it’s as easy as that. Strange.’
Brecel is back in action on Wednesday in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship where he takes on either Zhang Anda or Saudi wildcard Ahmed Aseeri in the second round.
One of the highlights of Brecel’s otherwise poor last season was a run to the final of the first edition of this event, then named the World Masters of Snooker.
There he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the showpiece, but faces a tough task to repeat a run to the final, with Kyren Wilson waiting for him in the quarters if Brecel gets through his opener.
