Stephen Hendry called out for ‘harsh’ comments after scathing Luca Brecel assessment

Stephen Hendry has ripped into Luca Brecel amid the Belgian Bullet's run of woeful form since winning the World Snooker Championship last year. The 55-year-old slammed Brecel's work ethic and questioned whether he actually wanted to keep playing snooker.

Brecel was crowned world champion in exhillerating circumstances in 2023, having overturned the biggest deficit in the history of the tournament in his semi-final clash with Si Jiahui before beating Mark Selby in the final. But in the 15 months since, the 29-year-old has been well off the pace.

Speaking on the Snooker Club Podcast, Hendry said there were no excuses for Brecel's poor form and accused him of not really caring about the sport. However, his comments were criticised by English snooker ace Matt Selt, who reckoned the Scot was being too "harsh".

Hendry said: "We gave [Brecel] a pass for the first part of last season, being the world champion, maybe he was getting used to the pressure, the expectations and everything. But that's gone now.

It comes after the Belgian forfeited a match by failing to turn up to an event in Leicester last month, something his father later blamed on Luca being "stuck in traffic". Continuing, Hendry said: "I honestly don't know what he's doing with his career. I haven't got a clue.

"I see him a lot on Instagram, he's riding his bike all over the place, he's going out to dinners with his girlfriend, he seems to be having a lovely time," at which point host Mark Watson interjected, saying: "Just not on the snooker table."

"Exactly," Hendry replied. "What is he doing with his career? That's what I would ask him if he was sat opposite me now. I'd ask him what's going on, because I don't know."

Selt, 39, then jumped in, saying: "I think you're being slightly harsh I've got to be honest with you. You've got someone who wasn't a world beater, he'd won a few tournaments and he's gone and won the jackpot in the biggest event there is. Maybe it wasn't his time to get to that kind of level."

The Chelmsford-born star then suggested Brecel might have "overachieved" by winning the world title, and that doing so shouldn't guarantee that he'll be a "top top player" forever. He also claimed that going from "the eurphoria [of winning the world title]" to "playing in Leicester in front of nobody" would be tough to take for any player, before urging Hendry to cut Brecel "a bit of slack".

Responding, the King of the Crucible said: "The way he won the World Championship, the undoubted talent that he's got, I realise he wasn't a prolific winner, but he's hardly won a match since he won the World Championship. What I'm questioning is what he's doing with his career. Does he still want to play snooker? Is he putting the work in?

"You can say it's a tough sport, but you've got to give the game a bit of respect. Is snooker a priority in his life? Maybe it's not, and if that's the case fair enough... but he's better than what he is at the moment."

After being crowned world champion, Brecel blew the bulk of his winnings on luxury cars and expensive holidays. He later claimed he did so because he wanted to drain his bank account in order to keep himself motivated.

"I went from a millionaire to a non-millionaire," he said in November last year. "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.

"I didn’t go lazy, but I just didn’t feel that hunger or motivation going from tournament to tournament," he added. "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."