Luca Brecel thanks Arsenal star for his glamorous private jet Crucible arrival
'He gave me the number and I fixed it.'
Luca Brecel used his celebrity contacts to sort a private jet to the Crucible at the weekend, with Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard putting him in touch with the right people.
The Belgian Bullet scraped through his first round match with Ryan Day, but was in much better form against Ding Junhui in his second, romping to a 13-4 win.
The 30-year-old often drives back and forth from his home in Belgium and has been know to fly to and from Mallorca during tournaments, but he stepped up the glamour ahead of his clash with Ding.
He posted an Instagram story on Friday which read: ‘I’ve got a private flight booked to Sheffield tomorrow at 15:00, anyone from Belgium who wants to join? DM me.
Brecel flew into Sheffield on Saturday afternoon, only arriving at the Crucible shortly before his match began at 7pm.
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‘I don’t like to hang around too long,’ he said after thrashing the Chinese superstar. ‘I always try to get here as late as possible. Even today, I came here 15 minutes before the game.
‘That has always been my way. As long as it works, it’s good.’
Speaking to a room of journalists, few had a working knowledge of how to book a private jet, with Brecel explaining that he called upon his footballer friend to sort it out.
‘I just booked it the day before,’ he said. ‘Obviously, I know Trossard from Arsenal. He arranged it for me.
‘That was quite easy. He gave me the number and I fixed it. I’m not going to say the price.’
Asked if he was worried about delays or other problems just hours before a World Championship match, he said: ‘If there’s a delay, there’s a delay. I left enough time, I guess, to get here.’
Brecel has had a quiet time in terms of results since winning the world title in 2023 and while he says he is not playing as well as he did when he conquered the Crucible, he feels he is more relaxed on this campaign.
‘I’m not sure if I am playing as good as 2023 but I am more relaxed and not so worried about winning the title because when I got to the final, I felt it was a golden chance,’ he said.
‘I feel like I can get back there and win it again. Not that much pressure. It’s not taking too much energy out of me – yet.’
The Bullet has a huge task ahead of him in the next round as he faces world number one Judd Trump, who looks in tremendous form this year in Sheffield.
The 35-year-old made five centuries in a 10-4 win over Zhou Yuelong in his opening round and was fantastic again as he beat Shaun Murphy 13-10 in the last 16.
