Luca Brecel has explained that he only plays badly when he is ‘not even trying’ (Image: GETTY)
Former world champion has insisted that he only plays badly when he is ‘not even trying’, with among those to have criticised his unusual approach to the game.
Brecel defeated the likes of , and on his way to securing Crucible glory two years ago. He has tumbled down the rankings since then, having only reached two ranking quarter-finals in the last 18 months.
The 29-year-old’s results have been so poor that when his points for winning the are removed at the end of the season, his provisional ranking is currently 54th.
Stephen Hendry has called out the Belgian for flying to Mallorca between matches (Image: GETTY)
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He has taken an unconventional approach in recent years, skipping some events and focusing on training for an Ironman instead of practice. He even commuted to the Northern Ireland Open from Mallorca, flying in and out of the island between matches.
“I suppose there are many people questioning a lot of things but yeah, that is their opinion and I have no problem with that,” said Brecel.
“I do things the way I like to do it. For me it works. If I am not playing well, it is because I am not trying really hard to play well. It’s just because I am not even trying.
“I think once I start trying, I can get the results and that is maybe the difference with other players. They try for six years and don’t get the results. If I try for six years and don’t get results, I just quit the game.”
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It comes after , saying that he could not understand why the Belgian would decide against giving everything to win.
“As a snooker player, I cannot buy into what he’s doing, flying in from Majorca between matches and stuff,” said Hendry.
“But then, I don’t know what his priorities in life are. Maybe snooker isn’t his priority anymore and you’ve got to respect that. If that’s what he wants to do, that’s it.
“You could criticise if he wants to win snooker tournaments, because that’s not the way to do it, but if he’s not bothered whether he wins or loses, if he wants to do this Ironman stuff and play snooker as a hobby, then good luck to him.
“For me, as someone who has dedicated their whole life to win, I don’t understand it, but it’s his life. Luca’s different to anyone else on the tour in that respect.”