- The World Championship-winning player skipped qualifying at the Wuhan Open
- He opted to spend time with his partner Shawney Demuyter instead on Sunday
- Players in attendance included Mark Williams, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy
An active Snooker World Championship-winning player raised eyebrows after failing to turn up to the first tournament of the new season on Sunday.
He was instead pictured with his new girlfriend in Knokke, Belgium, in a picture posted to Instagram over the weekend just hours before his match was due to begin.
Another snap saw the pair tucking into pizzas, with two wine glasses also visible on the table.
Luca Brecel opted to skip qualifying at the Wuhan Open in China, where he was scheduled to face Pakistan’s Haris Tahir, to spend time with his partner Shawney Demuyter instead.
Brecel, 30, won the Snooker World Championship at The Crucible in Sheffield in 2023 with victory over Mark Selby.
However, his failure to show up to qualifying in Wuhan saw him having to forfeit the match 5-0.
As a result, Brecel will not be allowed to compete at the event – which takes place in the final week of August – and sees him miss out on a winners’ prize of £140,000.
The Belgian was a notable absentee among a host of recognisable names to have appeared in qualifying, with the likes of John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams all opting to play.
Since winning the world title just over two years ago, Brecel has endured a dip in form that has seen him drop to 39th in the world rankings.
He has also been open about how he felt under ‘a bit of pressure’ to perform more consistently after winning snooker’s biggest prize.
Speaking to The Sun after winning the tournament in 2023, he said: ‘I bought two more cars this week, so I went from a millionaire to a non-millionaire.
‘It was a conscious decision to buy the cars and maybe feel that bit of pressure again, to recreate the feeling I had of just starting my career.’
Brecel has previously shared pictures onto his social media accounts of his Ferrari 488, worth an estimated £350,000.
He’s also enjoyed trips around the globe and recently admitted that he and his partner have visited ’14 countries in four months’ as he enjoyed his winnings.
During one trip to Dubai, Brecel shared multiple snaps of the couple at high-end restaurant Hakkasan – where dishes can cost up to £300.
In the same interview, the 28-year-old also admitted that he’s been facing problems with his mindset, as he claimed: ‘I didn’t go lazy, but I just didn’t feel that hunger or motivation going from tournament to tournament.
‘I don’t like that feeling and I had to change something. I wasn’t feeling any pressure any more. I was just playing and if I lost I was happy to be home. It’s not a good mindset to have.’
