Luca Brecel revealed the reason for missing tournaments: what is known about his mysterious illness.

According to The Sun: Luca Brecel shared that he has hardly played in snooker this season due to a mysterious illness that causes him constant fatigue.

The 25-year-old Belgian participated in the English Open last week, where he lost to Zhou Yuelong in the quarterfinals in Brentwood. This was his first tournament since the World Championship at the Crucible in April.

Luca Brecel admits he has health issues Alamy Getty

Brecel also withdrew from the qualifiers for the Masters in Saudi Arabia due to medical reasons and was unable to participate in the Wuhan Open due to health issues.

The former world champion only reached the qualifiers in Leicester for the Grand Prix in Shiyan, where he had to borrow a cue and he conceded during his match.

When his problems became a topic of discussion online, many users began to speculate that they might be mental health issues.

However, in a conversation with SunSport, Luca stated that it is an undetermined medical issue that raises many questions from doctors.

Sometimes he feels extremely exhausting fatigue without apparent reasons, which required a reduction in physical loads and negatively impacted his plans to participate in a triathlon.

“Some people approached me and asked: ‘Oh, is it mental health?’ and tried to help.

“It’s not in my head. I’m absolutely fine. I have no issues with my psyche.

“These are physical problems in my body. Weird. I have visited doctors many times, maybe 18 times in three to four months.”

“Something has to be wrong. But they can’t find anything. I have to deal with it. At least I can play again. I’m happy to be at the table.”

“Everything happened suddenly, and no one knows what it is. I am still trying to figure it out; I need to undergo more examinations.”

“Obviously, I would like to feel well first, and then participate in tournaments, so I waited for improvement. But that didn’t happen.”

“So I decided that I will just play. Whatever happens, I will just play, no matter how I feel.”

“I feel fine while playing. Not always, but acceptable.”

Instagram @Luca.Brecel Instagram @Luca.Brecel

“So it’s a bit sad that it happened. But that’s life. There are highs and lows.”

It should be noted that Brecel earned 500,000 pounds when he won the World Final in 2023, becoming one of five non-British players who lifted the trophy at the Crucible, but this money no longer counts towards his world ranking.

If he continues to miss major tournaments, he risks losing his place among the top 64 and will be forced to qualify in January 2026.

However, Brecel remains calm about this situation.

“Actually, I’m not worried about it. I would like to play at Q School one day. Why not?”

“I don’t think that will happen because I am quite good. But it is what it is.”

“If I really cared, I wouldn’t be skipping tournaments, right?”

“I am not playing at the British Open. But I will return for the qualifiers for the International Championships in China at the end of September.”

Earlier this year, Brecel hinted at his problems, admitting on social media about the difficulties due to his health condition.

List of all World Snooker Champions

BELOW is the list of World Snooker Champions by year.

This record refers to the modern era, which began in the 1968-69 season when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.

The first World Championships were held since 1927 – interrupted in 1941-45 due to World War II and from 1958-63 due to disputes in the sport.

Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (8 each) were the most successful players of that period.

Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan hold the record for the most titles in the modern era, each having won seven titles.

• 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
• 2025 - Zhao Xintong

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