Luca Brecel explains he is 'suffering with health problems' following latest event withdrawal
Luca Brecel addressed his fans on Instagram on Sunday evening with a post to explain the reason why he hasn’t been attending tournaments recently is because he is currently suffering with health problems.
Earlier in the weekend, news broke on the World Snooker Tour website that Brecel had withdrawn from the ongoing 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters being held in Jeddah.
The Belgian was due to face Sanderson Lam in the £2.3 million world ranking event on Sunday; as a result, Lam received a walkover into round four.
This is the latest in a series of competition withdrawals from Brecel in 2025.
At the Welsh Open in February, Brecel reached the last four - his best result in a ranking event since winning the World Championship in May 2023 - but had to take a medical timeout at the start of his semi-final tie with Mark Selby due to suffering with a migraine. He managed to continue and complete the match, which he lost, 6-3.
A few days later, Brecel withdrew from the World Open in Yushan, China due to medical reasons. It was an event he had qualified for several weeks previously.
Having not qualified for any of the three Players Series events - for the second consecutive season - Brecel’s next engagement was at the World Championship where he showed flashes of brilliance during victories over Ryan Day and Ding Junhui, before bowing out to world number one Judd Trump 13-8 in the quarter-finals.
Despite that run to the last eight, Brecel plummeted down the world rankings following the conclusion of the event because he was defending the £500,000 he won at the Crucible two years before. It pushed him outside not only the top 16, but also the top 32.
Fast forward a few weeks and the start of the 2025/26 professional season, Brecel failed to show up for his Wuhan Open qualifying tie against Haris Tahir, giving his opponent a walkover. Unlike the World Open, there was no explanation as to why Brecel wasn’t in Leicester, although it wasn’t the first time that he hadn’t arrived for a qualifier.
Soon after, he withdrew from his British Open qualifier, and the Championship League, although the organisers got confirmation beforehand and were able to call in replacements.
Only a few days ago, Brecel was seen playing snooker on an Instagram post, so it appeared he was preparing for the Saudi Arabia Masters, but then the WST announcement on Saturday was published.
A day after the Saudi withdrawal was made public, Brecel posted a written note on his Instagram account (luca.brecel) saying:
“Hi everyone, some of you might have been wondering why I am not participating in snooker events since April.
“The truth is that I am suffering with health problems.
“Me and my team are doing everything we can to come out of this stronger and better than before.
“It’s been really frustrating to not be able to travel and compete in tournaments!
“But... I always choose to be optimistic!
“Tough times often lead to something great!”
The next time that Brecel could play is at the start of September for the Xi’an Grand Prix, and Northern Ireland Open qualifiers in Leicester, but this is dependant on his health situation.
Everyone here at Totally Snookered wishes Luca well, and we hope to see him fit again soon, and on the baize!