The former world champion has been dealt another financial blow just two years after the best moment of his career
Kasra Moradi Senior Sports Journalist
15:41, 25 Nov 2025
Luca Brecel has failed to qualify for this weekend’s action(Image: Getty)
Luca Brecel has failed to qualify for the UK Championship, two years after winning the World Snooker Championship.
The 30-year-old Belgian’s downfall is showing no signs of slowing as he was knocked out in the third of four qualifying rounds ahead of the first Triple Crown event of the season. Brecel, now ranked 40th in the world, suffered a shock 6-3 defeat to world No.106 Ian Burns, meaning he will miss out on a shot at winning the £1.2million prize fund on offer at the main stage when the action gets underway this weekend in York.
The fact that a player of Brecel’s calibre even had to go through qualifying, let alone failed to qualify, would be astonishing if not for his recent struggles.
The 2021 UK Championship finalist’s season has been blighted by a lack of consistency and several notable absences. He failed to appear for his Wuhan Open qualifier with Haris Tahir in June before opting out of the British Open qualifiers.
He also skipped the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah, where he was meant to face Sanderson Lam in the third round in August.
Brecel won the World Snooker Championship two years ago(Image: Getty Images)
Former Scottish Open champion Brecel then decided to drop out of his best-of-nine frame qualifier at the Xi’an Grand Prix in September while trailing, before blaming problems with his cue as the reason behind the walkout.
Another setback came at the International Championship qualifiers early in the season when he was defeated by world No.123 Liu Wenwei in the first round.
That’s in stark contrast to when he won the World Snooker Championship in 2023, beating Mark Selby 18-15 at the Crucible. Brecel became the first player from mainland Europe to achieve the feat.
Brecel’s success at the time made him a millionaire, but he admitted he lost his fortune shortly afterwards due to his lavish spending habits.
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.
Brecel bought his Ferrari soon after winning the 2023 World Snooker Championship(Image: Photo by JONAS ROOSENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
The snooker star has also battled health problems in recent times amid his loss of form, revealing he has sought medical help from doctors over issues with fatigue.
He said: “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.”
