Luca “The Belgian Bullet”
Brecel

Nationality

BEL

Date Of Birth

08 Mar 1995

(30 Years)

Turned Pro

2011

Last Tournament Win

2024 World Mixed Doubles

Current World Ranking

#39

CAREER STATS

Triple Crown Titles

1

Ranking Titles

4

Ranking Finals

7

147s

1

TRIPLE CROWNS

X1
X0
X0

SEASON STATS

0% Wins / Matches 0 / 0

Tournaments Won

0

Points Scored

0

Average Shot Time

0

Breaks 50+

0

Breaks 100+

0

Highest Break This Season

0

147s

0

Bio

After becoming the youngest ever Crucible competitor as a 17-year-old in 2012, Brecel again went down in snooker history as the first ranking event winner from continental Europe at the 2017 China Championship. He enjoyed a memorable finish to 2021, reaching the UK final and winning the Scottish Open in consecutive weeks, but is best known for his exploits at the 2023 World Championship. Big fight-backs against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals and Si Jiahui in the last four were followed by victory over Mark Selby, making Brecel the first Belgian winner of the sport’s biggest title.

Career History

Year Description
2009 Becomes the youngest ever winner of the European Under-19 Championship, age just 14.
2012 Becomes the youngest player to compete at the Crucible, aged 17, and underlines his potential with a run to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship.
2015 Makes the semi-finals of the Welsh Open in Cardiff.
2016 Reaches maiden professional final at the Shoot Out, before reaching his first full ranking final at the German Masters, losing out to Martin Gould.
2017 Wins first ranking title with victory at the China Championship in Guangzhou, knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan on his way to the final before beating Shaun Murphy 10-5. This makes him the first player ever from continental Europe to win a ranking event.
2019 Semi-finalist at the China Open.
2020 Wins his second professional title at the Matchroom.Live Championship League, making a break of 111 in the last frame of the tournament against Ben Woollaston to clinch the trophy.
2021 Reaches the final of the UK Championship, becoming the first player from mainland Europe to compete in a Triple Crown final, but loses 10-5 to Zhao Xintong. Wins his second ranking title at the Scottish Open, beating John Higgins 9-5 in the final.
2022 Wins his third ranking title with victory in the Championship League. After coming through the group phases, he beats Lu Ning 3-1 in the final. Reaches the final of the English Open before losing to Mark Selby.
2023 Enjoys his best career moment, beating Mark Selby 18-15 in the final of the World Championship to become the first player from mainland Europe to conquer the Crucible. Brecel knocks out Ricky Walden, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams to reach the semi-finals before a Crucible record comeback against Si Jiahui, from 14-5 down to win 17-15. The £500,000 top prize boosts him to second in the world rankings. Reaches the final of the Shanghai Masters before losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
2024 Reaches the final of the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker - the first ever WST event in Saudi Arabia - before losing 5-2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Wins the World Mixed Doubles alongside Reanne Evans. Runner-up to Mark Allen at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
2025 Semi-finalist at the Welsh Open.