"Play some people for twenty pounds": Snooker pundit frustrated at 'mystery man' Brecel

The 2023 World Champion was whitewashed by home soil cueist Jackson Page 4-0 in the £550,400 world ranking event at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

Youngster Page made breaks of 86 and 64 during the win as he progressed to the last 32, in the process extracting some green baize revenge on his opponent, who he was defeated by in the quarter-finals here last year.

Since winning the sport’s blue riband prize at the Crucible Theatre nearly three years ago, Brecel has not claimed a title on the professional circuit, nor reached a ranking event final.

During that spell, Brecel has appeared in only one ranked semi-final - in this tournament 12 months ago when he was stopped by eventual champion Mark Selby, in a rerun of their world final from 2023.

From being inside the elite top 16, Brecel dropped outside the world’s top 32 at the end of last season when the £500,000 he won for his Crucible crown was removed from his rolling ranking total.

Currently ranked 46th in the global standings, Brecel is currently missing out on lucrative invitational events - from which he has enjoyed deeps runs in over the past couple of seasons - and having to qualify for events such as the Home Nations.

McManus says Brecel needs more ‘dedication’ to his craft

There have been some green shoots of recovery over the past 12 months or so, but two-time ranking event winner McManus is frustrated at Brecel’s largely disappearing act in recent times.

“The mystery man goes on, touching on Luca” said the Scot whilst doing punditry work for TNT Sports. “It's too much to say I don't know where he goes from here, but I'm looking for more time and time and time again.

“I like the fact he's starting to get a little bit more busy on tour. But some of his shots, they're not lazy, I'm not going to say that, [but] he's not taking enough care and attention on some shots that are really quite bog-standard stuff.

“I just don't know where his game is. I'm disappointed. It's a chicken and egg thing, which one comes first, you have to play year-on-year, season-on-season and then results and performances and wins, it all comes as a package."

When Brecel is on it, he is one of the most exciting and destructive cueists on the planet. At last year’s World Championship, he produced a sizzling display as he crushed Ding Junhui 13-4 in the last 16 - at one stage winning 11 frames in-a-row.

En route to his world title he strung together seven consecutive frames from 10-6 down to defeat then-reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last eight before staging the biggest comeback in Crucible history in the semi-finals, turning around a 14-5 deficit to usurp Si Jiahui, 17-15.

It is possible, though, that Brecel may have to win three qualifying matches in a few weeks time in order to merely book a place in the 32-player Crucible main draw.

Since becoming mainland Europe’s first world professional snooker champion, it’s clear that Brecel has enjoyed himself off the table, and McManus feels that he needs more dedication to make the most of his prodigious talent.

The three-time Crucible semi-finalist said: "You cannot be in and out of it, it's a lifestyle choice. Not for 12 months a year, it doesn't have to be that, but you have to be dedicated to the craft.

"Luca has all the ability in the world. We talk about Xintong. Xintong in some ways can't hold a candle to Luca, he's that gifted. I'm really, really disappointed, I'm a big fan of his.

"Go and get busy, go and play some people for twenty pounds, whatever, just get busy and get competitive and it will soon come back. You can't just turn up and get by on ability and talent. I just want to see Luca do better, we all do."

Brecel has qualified for next month’s World Open in Yushan, China where he is scheduled to meet Jak Jones in the last 64.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Welsh Open, visit here.