Luca Brecel is set to join Ronnie O’Sullivan in an exhibition event next month, which could land one of the underperforming duo a cool £150,000 prize money.
Brecel had looked as if he was going to take the sport by a stranglehold when he cruised to victory at the 2023 World Championship.
However, the Belgian’s form has fallen off the side of a cliff, with Brecel having made it to one ranking quarter-final since being named the Crucible king.
Worse than that, Brecel’s form at the table has been so poor across the last 18 months or so that he’s currently projected to drop below 50th in the end-of-season rankings.
Brecel may even lose his professional status if he drops out of the top 64 – something that was unthinkable only a matter of months ago.
He’ll be keen to prove his worth, and perhaps reignite his stumbling career when he features as part of a star-studded field at the Champions of Champions event next month.
The tournament is typically reserved for the champions of the various snooker events from the previous year, but with several players having won multiple titles, places have been awarded to those based on world rankings.
Despite his travails and predicted downfall, Brecel still sits sixth in the world – a ranking largely reliant on the £500,000 bounty earned from his 2023 World Championship title.
The bad news for Brecel is that as the Champions of Champions tournament, which has a total purse of £440,000, isn’t a ranking event, it won’t impact his place in the end-of-year standings.
But it certainly could help Brecel to rediscover his form ahead of the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.
Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan is in a similar boat, with the Englishman having sat out the last month of action.
O’Sullivan hasn’t been seen since he crashed out of the English Open in September, most recently backing out of the Northern Irish Open, citing medical reasons as his primary reason.
A statement from the World Snooker Tour read: “Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open for medical reasons
“O’Sullivan was due to face Long Zehuang in the last 64 in Belfast on Monday afternoon, but he withdrew from the event on Sunday evening. China’s Long receives a bye to the last 32.”
It means the Wordsley-born star’s next outing is scheduled to be against Mink Nutcharut at the International Championship.
