Luca Brecel is back. The fickle Belgian snooker promise is enjoying a strong season and is in the quarter-finals this week at the prestigious UK Championship. “We see a new Luca Brecel this season”, snooker commentator Rudy Bauwens concludes.
“He can win the UK Championship”
Luca Brecel has been doing well lately. At the important UK Championship, one of the three biggest tournaments of the year, our 26-year-old compatriot is having an excellent week. He previously knocked out top player Maguire with 6-0 figures and will be in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Snooker commentator Rudy Bauwens is impressed by the Belgian. “He can win this tournament, but it’s only now starting. It didn’t surprise me that he won against Maguire, because he can easily be mentally sewn up. Now he meets Anthony McGill, against whom he won the four previous confrontations. .”
“In the semi-finals he will meet the winner of the duel between Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O’Sullivan, you can’t get better than that. So there are some big exams coming up for Brecel. But if he makes the final, I’ll give him a very good chance. Then he will also be in the important top 16 of the world ranking again.”
“We’re seeing a new Luca Brecel this season”
The whimsical Brecel has been regarded as one of the greatest talents in the snooker circuit for years. This season, the 26-year-old Brecel also seems to convert that talent into regularity. “He has actually been playing well all season,” says Bauwens.
“He won all his qualifiers and actually lost only three games: a slip-up against Hammad Miah and two logical defeats against world champions O’Sullivan and Higgins. You can’t help but say that we are seeing a new Luca Brecel this season.”
There must have been a déclic at some point.
“There must have been a déclic at some point. He lost too many matches in which he was the better player. I have often criticized his playing, too naive and too much showman, but now he realizes that things have to change. Brecel is still young, but he has been on the pro circuit for ten years.”
“He is increasingly opting for a safety shot at the appropriate times, rather than always going for the smart but risky punches. If he has a 70 score and there are 75 points left on the table, he will now choose the safe option. That was always different in the past. Brecel is facing a turning point in his career.”
Same management as Youri Tielemans
“An important factor in Brecel’s current success is his new management,” says Bauwens. “On holiday in Dubai, he met the entourage of footballer Youri Tielemans. Contacts were maintained and now Brecel is accompanied by the same people.”
“Brecel had to search for the right framework for a long time. The new management is now arranging everything for him and he feels very good about that. They believe in him and that gives him wings,” concludes Bauwens.
