Luca Brecel Reveals Why Becoming World Snooker Champion Gave Him a ‘Negative Experience’

Brecel is currently competing at the 2026 Northern Ireland Open in Belfast where he is through to the last 32. The Belgian had to win a qualifying match held in Leicester a few weeks ago to reach these main venue stages, and on Monday at the Waterfront Hall he dispatched number 25 seed Lei Peifan, 4-1, to progress in the £550,400 world ranking event.

The greatest moment of Brecel’s snooker career came in 2023 when he claimed the sport’s ultimate prize, the World Championship, triumphing at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield having never previously won a match at the venue before that year.

Becoming the first-ever player from mainland Europe to win the world title, Brecel eliminated legends Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan - who was the defending champion - in consecutive rounds before producing the biggest comeback in Crucible history in the semi-finals as he turned a 14-5 deficit into a 17-15 win against Si Jiahui.

In the final, Brecel wasn’t fancied by many to get the better of four-time World Champion Mark Selby across four sessions, but he once again upset the odds with his signature swashbuckling brand of snooker in a memorable 18-15 success.

Luca Brecel on the price of fame since world snooker title win

Since then, times have been tough for four-time ranking event winner Brecel on the green baize, having fallen from second in the world rankings to outside not only the top 16, but the top 32.

He has yet to appear in another ranking event final since his Crucible glory, but there have been recent green shoots of recovery - at the time of writing he is on a four-match winning streak having recently qualified for a trio of main venues.

Whether his general results decline over the past three years is linked to it not, in a recent interview with Republic of Ireland broadcaster RTE at the Waterfront, Brecel explained how one area of his life changed for the worst after winning the world title.

Asked how climbing the biggest snooker mountain changed him as a player and as a person, Brecel told RTE that the extra attention on him has been uncomfortable.

“To be honest, I became more famous in Belgium which I don't like so for me, it's been, that's been negative really for me” said the 31-year-old.

“For me as a person who doesn't really like attention, it's nicer before the World Championship.”

Because of Brecel’s current standing in the sport, 44th in the world rankings, he has had to face regular trips to behind-closed-doors qualifying held in England - about as far away from the Crucible bright lights on the pro snooker tour as possible - but that’s a setting he actually likes.

“I'm a bit different I guess to others. Everyone's always complaining about 'oh, I don't want to play the qualifiers in cubicles' - I like it to be honest. Less people, less attention. It's what I like.”

Brecel was a child prodigy, winning a plethora of Belgian junior national titles before going on to claim the full amateur crown three times later on.

He won the European junior title in 2009 at the age of just 14, and the full European amateur accolade the following year.

During his rookie season as a professional, Brecel won four matches to qualify for the main draw of the 2012 World Championship where he became the youngest-ever player to compete at the Crucible at the age of just 17 years and 45 days. That record still stands today.

And it’s the love of playing the sport and winning which seem to inspire him the most, not the fame or money.

“I just play because I love this game. That's the only reason. I don't play for the ranking points or the money or things like that. I never did and I never will. So, yeah, for me it's all about having fun and improving my game and trying to get in the shape to win a tournament because that's the reason.

“I'm still the same as I was when I was 10 years old. I just love this game and I love playing the game.

“The thing is you can't go out anywhere without being recognised which is part of it I know, but I would have preferred not to be like that, but it is like that, so I have to accept it, and yeah, it is what it is.”

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Northern Ireland Open, visit our tournament information centre here.