Fighting talk from Luca Brecel on return to form and fitness at British Open

It has been a tough time for Luca Brecel on the snooker table, but he feels like he has turned a corner, returning to form and fitness and confident about lifting silverware again.

After winning the 2023 World Championship in stunning fashion, the Belgian Bullet had an underwhelming campaign to follow and his title defence ended with a first round defeat to Dave Gilbert.

A poor start to this season meant his victory over Anthony Hamilton at the English Open last week was his first match win since March in a remarkable barren spell for a player of his immense talent.

The 29-year-old is into the third round at the British Open this week in Cheltenham, beating Mohammed Shehab and Tian Pengfei so far and looking encouragingly good in doing so.

He has been working hard to get back into shape off the table and feels his game is in very decent condition as well.

‘I’m playing the best I have ever played in practice, and in matches I am making progress,’ he said after beating Tian 4-2 on Tuesday night. ‘Everything is sharp and I am in a good space. I am looking forward to this season more than ever.

‘There are a couple of things to improve and I have not been used to winning a lot of games in a row, but I feel I am playing well enough to win the tournament.

‘I have lost around ten kilos so I am feeling fit off the table. Cycling is great because I love being outdoors, it’s good for my body and mind.

‘I used to look at rankings but not any more, I don’t even know where I am. It doesn’t matter because the way I am playing, I am never going to be really low. People keep busy with rankings. Did they really believe that Neil Robertson was never going to come back? If you are good, then you will always be good.’

A player with no concern about rankings is world number one Judd Trump who is also into the third round in Cheltenham after wins over Rob Milkins and Ryan Day.

Trump knocked in his 999th century against the Milkman but failed to make a ton in the 4-2 win over Day, although he says he is happy to save his 1000th for a bigger game.

‘It’s not on my mind while I’m out there at all,’ he said of reaching the milestone. ‘In none of the frames was there really a great chance, the balls were running quite difficult. There was the odd thing here and there which meant the game wasn’t able to really flow. I didn’t really have an opportunity.

‘I’m not too disappointed about that, I’d rather try and save it till later in the tournament.’