Luca Brecel refuses to show up against Haris Tahir as brutal consequence issued

Luca Brecel's opponent received a walkover after the 2023 world champion failed to show up for his Wuhan Open qualifier. Haris Tahir will enter the last-64 after Brecel did not arrive for their match in Leicester.

Brecel was due to play Tahir at 2.30pm but is said to have not turned up for the game. The World Snooker Tour's website provided a live commentary of the proceedings, but fans quickly noticed that Tahir was being awarded frame after frame. That is in line with the tournament's rules for players arriving late for a match. Brecel's opponent was subsequently handed a 5-0 walkover and will move a step closer towards qualifying for the Wuhan Open.

It marked a bizarre start to the new season for Brecel. The Belgian lives in his homeland and is known to travel to and from his base between matches at tournaments.

That has often seen him almost miss matches before. During April's World Championship, Brecel arrived at The Crucible only hours before his second-round clash with Ding Junhui after flying into the UK on a private jet. He also nearly missed his first-round match at the Scottish Open several years ago.

Last season, Hammad Miah was awarded a 5-0 walkover during Xi'an Grand Prix qualifying after Brecel produced a no-show in Leicester. The 30-year-old was eliminated from the tournament with no prize money or ranking points. It is unclear whether Brecel was attempting to travel to his match against Tahir, or if he had skipped it altogether.

Brecel has suffered a remarkable dip since winning the World Championship two years ago. He has plummeted to 39th in the world rankings and lost the £500,000 he won at The Crucible two years ago from his ranking points.

Earlier this year, he explained that he is 'not interested' in winning a second world title. He instead prefers to entertain crowds. "I've not really thought about the possibility of winning a second world title." said Brecel. "I'm not that interested in it. If it happens it happens, but if it doesn't, then it's all good.

"I just don't really think a lot about winning tournaments and stuff like that. I just like playing the game. I'm more of a Ronaldinho type of player in snooker, so it's all about just entertaining and [having] fun. And also having a nice life around it, that's more important to me! So yeah, no pressure."