Former World Snooker Champion Luca Brecel at risk of losing professional tour card

With his unique brand of swashbuckling snooker, Brecel wowed the crowds on his way to winning the 2023 World Snooker Championship; becoming the first player from mainland Europe to claim the sport’s blue riband event.

But since his finest moment in the sport at the Crucible just over three years ago, things have not gone according to plan for the Belgian, who has since plummeted down the world rankings.

During his season whilst wearing the world crown, Brecel did reach the finals of two big invitational tournaments - the Shanghai Masters and the World Masters of Snooker (now known as the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship) - but he struggled to string together wins in ranked competition, making the quarter-finals of only one such event.

The following season things improved - but not by much - as he made it through to the semi-finals of the 2025 Welsh Open. To date, this is his sole last four outing at a ranking event since he won the world title.

There was some early encouragement for Brecel last season as he got to the quarter-finals of the English Open, but that would be the only tournament of the 25/26 term that he went beyond the last 32. He also failed to qualify for the Crucible at the end of it.

His endeavours on the professional circuit have not been helped in recent times, though, as he has been dealing with an unexplained health issue.

Heading into the new 2026/27 season, Brecel - who has not qualified for a Players Series event since 2023 - is positioned 44th in the world rankings, but his projected standing in several months’ time is more concerning.

Four-time ranking event winner Brecel is placed 66th on the end-of-season provisional rankings that have recently been released by the sport’s governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

Only the top 64 on the world rankings list at the end of the season will be guaranteed to keep their tour cards, although there are a few other routes such as being in the ‘top four’ of the one-year list.

Brecel - who has been a professional ever since his rookie campaign in 2011/12 - faced a similar scenario at the start of the 2024/25 season, which went from him challenging for the world number one spot, to dropping outside not only the top 16, but the top 32 as well.

It does seem that Brecel is becoming more engaged with the sport again, and perhaps putting more practice hours in. He’ll be keen to make a fast start to the new season, beginning with the qualifying rounds for both the China and Wuhan Opens at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

Who are the other high-profile players potentially in trouble on the provisional ranking list?

Looking elsewhere on the end-of-season provisionals, there are other ranking event winners in danger of relegation from the World Snooker Tour.

Three-time ranking event winner and former world number six Ricky Walden sits just above the cut-off in 64th.

A fixture of snooker's top-flight since 2001, Walden has made it past the last 32 of only two tournaments across the past two seasons.

Former Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown narrowly avoided demotion earlier this year, and he has more work on his hands over the coming months to persevere his top tier status again as he is currently projected in 71st.

Former European Masters champions Fan Zhengyi (63rd) and Jimmy Robertson (61st) may both also being looking over their shoulders this campaign.