Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins hit out at Scottish Open champion Luca Brecel not competing at the Masters

ByEurosport

Published 13/12/2021 at 13:02 GMT

Luca Brecel is ranked 15th in the world following his Scottish Open triumph and run to the UK Championship final and is second on the one-year list, but won't be playing at the Masters next month. What is the reason behind Brecel's absence from snooker's biggest non-ranking tournament? Stream the Masters and top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+

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Luca Brecel won the Scottish Open in style a week after reaching the final of the UK Championship, but why is Belgium's leading player not competing at the Masters?

In the game's world rankings, Brecel is up to 15th and also occupies second spot on the one-year list following his 9-5 victory over John Higgins in the Scottish Open final on Sunday with a second career ranking title.

The 2017 China Championship winner lost 10-5 to Zhao Xintong in the UK final in York a week ago to cement his status as one of snooker's in-form players.

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Yet it seems bizarre that he won't be challenging for the £250,000 top prize in the Masters – the sport's biggest non-ranking event – at Alexandra Palace (9-16 January) in London.

Brecel has been victim of a traditional ruling in snooker that dictates the Masters line-up is finalised following the UK Championship.

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Brecel knew he would have qualified for the Masters if he had overcome Zhao in the UK final, but the remaining place went to the 24-year-old Chinese player, who jumped from 26th to 10th in the standings after collecting a £200,000 winner's cheque.

Brecel moved up from 40 to 18th spot after earning £80,000 as a runner-up in York, but it was not enough to qualify for the Masters despite collecting the £70,000 first prize at the Scottish Open in Llandudno a week later.

Brecel defeated defending champion Mark Allen 6-5 in the first round in his last appearance at the Masters in 2019 before losing 6-5 to Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals.

Higgins will face Zhao in the first round at the Ally Pally next month, but believes Brecel should also be competing at the prestigious tournament.

It was a sentiment shared by the six-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, working as a pundit for Eurosport.

“It is absolute folly that we have got Luca not being at the Masters,” said Higgins, who lost 10-8 to Yan Bingtao in the Masters final in January.

“He is Scottish Open champion, runner up in the UK, the way he’s playing he could become Grand Prix champion (next Sunday) and he’s not at the Masters.

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“Something has got to be changed as he would be a fantastic asset at the Ally Pally.

“It’s a shame, but hopefully that won’t happen again.”

Brecel opens his World Grand Prix campaign involving the world's top 32 after the Scottish Open on the one-year list against Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown on Wednesday afternoon with Higgins facing Tom Ford in the first round on Tuesday afternoon.