Former world snooker champion Luca Brecel fails to turn up to match weeks after revealing major health scare
LUCA BRECEL is set to miss a major competition after he missed a qualifying match on Friday.
The former snooker world champion has appeared only sporadically on the tour over the past year.
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Luca Brecel failed to attend his Scottish Open qualifier against Steven HallworthCredit: Getty
And now it seems he won’t be making an appearance at the Scottish Open in December, having missed his qualifier against Steven Hallworth in Wigan.
The absence comes after the Belgian revealed that he has been battling an unspecified health condition.
Brecel, 30, withdrew from the Saudi Arabia Masters as a result of those issues, and failed to show up to the Wuhan Open earlier this year, before skipping qualifying for the British Open.
He attended qualifying for the Xi’an Grand Prix in early September, but conceded after just two frames against Sunny Akani.
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The world No36 finally made his return to tournament competition at the English Open later that month, and showed that he still has bundles of talent in the tank as he stormed to the quarter-final.
He was eventually stopped by Chinese cueist Zhou Yuelong in a tight 5-4 match.
But now it seems ‘the Belgian Bullet’ is still suffering from the health issues that had kept him out since April ahead of the tournament.
He opened up to SunSport on his struggles following the tournament, saying: “There must be something wrong. But [doctors] 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.”
All eyes now turn to his next scheduled appearance at the Northern Ireland Open on Tuesday.
He is set to play Scot Stephen Maguire, but questions remain as to whether his erratic health will strike again at the event.
