Luca Brecel names his three favourite snooker players to watch

Ronnie O’Sullivan named Luca Brecel as one of the few snooker players he would pay to watch and the Belgian Bullet has returned the compliment.

Brecel is back at the Crucible this week, the scene of his greatest triumph when he won the World Championship in 2023, beating Mark Selby in the final.

He also downed O’Sullivan on his way to the Sheffield showpiece and left an impression on the Rocket, who is a huge fan of his style.

‘There are some great players out there right now who are exciting to play the game,’ the seven-time world champion told Socrates Magazine.

‘Luca Brecel, for example… he’s incredible! I could watch him all day long. Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui… they’re all great snooker players worth watching.’

The 30-year-old was pleased to hear that from O’Sullivan and put the Rocket on a list of three players that he would buy a ticket to watch.

‘I didn’t know that, so that’s a nice compliment,’ he said. ‘I can understand because I’m really open, very attacking, quite quick, so I understand.

‘I’m the same, if I had to pay I would pay for Ronnie or Zhao Xintong or [Jack] Lisowski.’

Brecel plays in an attack-minded, free-flowing style, something that comes naturally to him and he has no intention of moving away from, even if some think he could be more circumspect at times.

‘That’s just natural for me, for me it’s really tough to really knuckle down and fight for every ball,’ he said. ‘I don’t see the point. I can see why other people do it but for me there’s no point because it’s just a game.

‘I just want to enjoy the game like I’ve always done, as a kid, it’s more about fun and entertainment than winning.’

When fighting for big sums of money and ranking points, many players struggle to play their natural games, but the Belgian does not find it difficult.

‘For me it is [easy] because I don’t really think about the money,’ he said. ‘I think if you’re good and skilful you’re always going to get money.

‘It’s just about the game. I think this mindset always helps because when I see the winning line I never panic, I just play the same game and get over the winning line quite easily.’

Brecel has not played since the Welsh Open, but he did look in good form in that event, reaching the semi-finals and had played well in the previous events too.

He takes on Ryan Day in his Crucible opener, starting on Wednesday afternoon, and is hoping that good form is still flowing.

‘Maybe, in practice it’s been the same every day, playing well,’ he said.

‘Even before Wales I was playing well, got to the Saudi final, quarters in the Scottish Open, so it’s been good, it’s up to me to keep the streak going.’