Stephen Hendry rips into 'scandalous' Luca Brecel after snooker star's latest blow

Stephen Hendry believes it's a 'scandal' how Luca Brecel's career has unfolded since he claimed the World Championship in 2023. And the Belgian will be forced to wait before he can set things straight after shamefully crashing out in qualifying for the UK Championship.

Brecel was the darling of the sport in 2023 when he delivered a spectacular performance to defeat Mark Selby for the coveted Crucible title, but it's been a catastrophic couple of years since.

This season has witnessed him plummet to devastating depths, sliding down to 40th in the world rankings and 85th on the one-year list.

He fell short of securing a seeded position for the UK Championship which kicks off this weekend and consequently had to enter qualifying.

But he scarcely got started, tumbling out in the third qualifying round with a stunning 6-3 loss to 106th-ranked Ian Burns.

His tragic downfall has captured the attention of seven-time world champion Hendry, who addressed Brecel's troubles in a recent episode of the Snooker Club podcast.

And he harbours reservations over whether the 30-year-old will return to any significant standard within the sport.

Hendry said: "We've talked about Luca a lot since winning the world title. Will he ever come back to that level?

"I saw a picture on his Instagram saying he was going to 'work, work, work'. With Luca, I don't know what that means. Does it mean half an hour?

"Are we ever going to see him back in the semi-finals or finals of a tournament? It's scandalous (how far he's fallen)."

This article was initially published by the Daily Record.