STEPHEN HENDRY has slammed Luca Brecel after missing out on a place at the UK Championship – less than three years on from being crowned world champion.
The Belgian was stunned after suffering a 6-3 loss to the 106th-ranked Ian Burns in the third qualifying round earlier this week.
It is a fresh low point for Brecel, who has been struggling to rediscover the form that allowed him to win the 2023 World Championship.
He has failed to get his hands on any silverware since the World Mixed Doubles, alongside Reanne Evans, last year.
Brecel has also dropping to 40th in the world rankings and missed a Scottish Open qualifier against Steven Hallworth last month.
And Hendry has brutally torn into the one-time Triple Crown winner, questioning whether he is capable of reigniting his career.
The seven-time world champion, speaking on the Snooker Club podcast, said: “We’ve talked about Luca a lot since winning the world title. Will he ever come back to that level?
“I saw a picture on his Instagram saying he was going to ‘work, work, work’.
“With Luca, I don’t know what that means. Does it mean half an hour?
“Are we ever going to see him back in the semi-finals or finals of a tournament? It’s scandalous (how far he has fallen).”
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Brecel revealed in September that he has been fighting a mystery illness that has left him feeling fatigued.
The English Open, which was held two months ago, was his first tournament appearance since heading to the Crucible for the World Championship in April.
A lack of action has resulted in Brecel, 30, plummeting to 85th on the one-year rankings list.
And he has only notched five wins over the course of his 13 matches this season.
Brecel is set to face Long Zehuang in round one of the Shoot Out on December 10.
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