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STEPHEN HENDRY is puzzled as to why the current world snooker champion, Luca Brecel, has seemingly allowed his performance to “plummet”.
The seven-time Crucible champion thinks that Brecel has diminished his effort and “cannot understand” why this is happening.
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Hendry, 55, is eyeing the Belgian Bullet as the 29-year-old’s recent struggles have jeopardized his position in next year’s professional tour.
Since his victory in the sport’s premier championship 19 months ago, Brecel celebrated by purchasing a Ferrari, a Range Rover, and a Porsche.
Over the following four months, he enjoyed his achievement by traveling to 14 countries and sharing images from different exotic locales on social media.
Recently, however, Brecel has sharpened his focus, notably making it to the Scottish Open quarter-finals in early December.
He confessed to finding the criticism regarding his situation “odd”.
He stated: “I don’t perceive any problem. I believe the next ten years will be my pinnacle.”
However, a legend of the sport remains doubtful.
On his self-titled Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips YouTube channel, the Scot expressed his discontent with Brecel to fellow player Dominic Dale.
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The once-cueist, now TV analyst remarked: “He has genuinely fallen off a cliff. Nonetheless, he is an extraordinary player.”
“It’s incredibly disheartening for me to see him, someone with phenomenal talent… still in his 20s, who has the capacity to win many tournaments in the next 10-15 years, earning significant income… yet seems apathetic.”
Stephen Hendry makes bold Ronnie O’Sullivan retirement claim and suggests something has changed in the seven-time world champion
“Everyone has their own way of life and methods, but in the end, if you excel at something, why wouldn’t you pursue it?”
Earlier this month, Brecel stated: “I feel like I’m getting back to my usual self.”
“I’m doing everything correctly, so it’s just a matter of time before I excel in tournaments again. I don’t see any problems.”
Yet, Hendry doesn’t seem convinced.
He told Dale, “It’s an odd predicament, isn’t it? He speaks as if he wants to engage in Iron Man competitions, yet I’m thinking, you’re a snooker player, my friend.”
“I simply don’t grasp it, but if he’s content, then that’s great.”
“Still, I believe he has such talent, why wouldn’t you dedicate the next decade to your profession… Talent to burn.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a complete list of snooker World Champions by year.
This record pertains to the modern era, which is considered to have commenced in the 1968-69 season when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The inaugural World Championships occurred in 1927 but were interrupted from 1941-45 due to World War II and from 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
During that time, Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis, and John Pulman (both 8) achieved the most success.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan hold the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
