Between green tables, hangovers and balls in the hole. The rise of Luca Brecel in snooker

And while everyone talks and talks about the Finnish striker from Venezia Joel Pohjanpalo and of his clear fresh sweet beer gulped on the sidelines, well, here comes an Italian-Belgian snooker champion. AND’ Luke Brecelknown as “The Belgian Bullet”, became world champion beating everyone: him (yes, him) “The Rocket” Ronnie O’Sullivan, but also Mark Williams and in the final Mark Selby. In short, Luca bought them all. Including clichés, etiquette, slogans. And the hangovers. Like the one before the quarterfinals. “After beating Williams, I came home at 7 in the morning and went out with friends in the evening until 5 or 6 in the morning. I was completely drunk. The next day I had to take the car back for the quarterfinals, so It was a bit of a special game.” In the end it went well. Luca defeated Selby 18-15, drawing a draw in the third session. Now he will rise to number 2 in the world rankings.

However, Luca’s is mainly a story of passion, and his is all about it snooker. “The first time I played billiards was in Italy, during a holiday in Sardinia with my family. My father took me to a games room. There he immediately realized that I had a certain predisposition for the game. As often it all started for fun, then things got a little more serious.” Son of Carlo and Mirella, Italians who emigrated to Belgium, Luca has always received the support of his family. Grew up in Dilsen-Stokkem, a sister (Jessica), cold blood and will to win (with respect, though). “I’m quite good under pressure, I always have been. I hope to win, but if they beat me I’m very happy for my opponents.” At the age of 9, Luca was already serious. At 16 he was already a professional. Now that he is 27, Brecel is a star of this sport that exploded in Belgium already in the seventies. In Flanders it is super popular despite the tradition of three-sided carambola. The snooker boom then spread. In the 1980s, for example, it found fertile ground in the United Kingdom. And ten years later or so there was the definitive explosion, with the number of clubs and tables growing exponentially.

And now? Brecel believes snooker will “run rampant”. It’s not easy to believe him, as he is the fourth non-British Crucible Theater winner in history. “My dream came true, this is the best moment of my life.” In Italy, however, the numbers are growing. From 24 May (until 28) the finals of the Italian championship will also be played in Turin. It is the eighth in the history of this discipline, the future is yet to be written. And the road is still very long. Another story in the United Kingdom, which sees this sport from another point of view. It is no coincidence that Brecel, a Belgian, has received huge praise from the British press: “Until now, Leandro Trossard was Maasmechelen’s best-known export, but now Belgium has a new rock star. Luca Brecel is no classic champion of billiards” (The Guardian). Well, classic classic actually maybe not. “Before the tournament, I would party and go to bed late, at 6 or 7 in the morning, playing Fifa with my friends,” he said. We like it that way.