Ex-snooker world champion stuns opponent with shock withdrawal after two frames

Luca Brecel’s snooker return ended after less than three frames on Tuesday.

The former world champion had been in action at qualifying for the Xi’an Grand Prix.

WST

WST

It was his first competitive action since being knocked out of the World Snooker Championship by Judd Trump in April.

Brecel faced Sunny Akani in round one in Leicester, with the Thai cueist taking each of the opening two frames.

Akani then found himself 40 points clear in the third frame in the first to five encounter.

As he lined up an easy blue, Brecel conceded the match by standing up and shaking his opponent’s hand.

The withdrawal resulted in Akani being handed a 5-0 walkover victory as well as a place in the main draw.

He will now face either 17th seed Gary Wilson or a wildcard player in China next month.

The world number 74 has also guaranteed himself at least £5,350 in prize money by reaching the last 64.

Next month’s Xi’an Grand Prix is only the second staging of the event after Kyren Wilson took home the title last year.

The tournament’s main draw is scheduled to run from October 7 to 13.

Why has Brecel not been playing?

As for Brecel, the Belgian Bullet is yet to address his decision to withdraw from the match.

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Just two years on from being crowned world champion at the Crucible, he has slipped to 41st in the world rankings.

It follows a five-month absence from the cloth after pulling out of several tournaments.

Brecel has given little explanation for his lack of action but cited health issues last month after withdrawing from the Saudi Arabia Masters.

In a statement, the 30-year-old said: “Hi everyone, some of you might have been wondering why I am not participating in snooker events since April. The truth is that I am suffering with health problems.

“Me and my team are doing everything we can to come out of this stronger and better than before.

“It’s been really frustrating to not be able to travel and compete in tournaments! But I always choose to be optimistic! Tough times often lead to something great!”

Brecel is next scheduled to play in qualifying for the Northern Ireland Open on Sunday.

He will face the winner of the first round clash between Liam Davies and Onyee Ng.