Ex-coach Luca Brecel: ‘He has extremely self-confidence and sincerely believes he can do anything’

From Saturday, Luca Brecel will defend his snooker world title in Sheffield, England. His ex-coach Chris Henry assesses his chances and his future.

He recently started working with Ronnie O’Sullivan, the best snooker player ever. In the past, Chris Henry (58) also guided another snooker icon, Stephen Hendry, and later world champions such as Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby. A famous track record as a coach, which also includes Luca Brecel (29). Henry had him under his wing for two periods, when the Limburger was still a promising teenager and in his early twenties. Today, the Briton, who has a Belgian wife and has lived in Varsenare in West Flanders for thirty years, still keeps in touch with Brecel and his family. When he celebrated his world title in Maasmechelen last year, Henry was also present to congratulate him.

You predicted back in 2008, when Brecel was only thirteen, that he would one day become world champion. You even put a year on it at the time: 2021. You were right and a bit wrong.

Chris Henry: (laughs) The later timing surprised me the most. But I remained convinced that he would one day win the world title. Luca is so talented, so special. After just one look at the table he knows exactly what to do, like Jimmy White and Alex Higgins then, and now O’Sullivan. Natural talents who think ahead not two, but four, five shots and execute it quickly. There is only one reason why Luca only won the title in 2023: he was not always driven and did not complete the required training hours.

It was therefore all the more striking that in the weeks before the World Cup he said he had barely or not at all been at the snooker table and had mainly played darts. How do you explain that?

Henry: He probably didn’t train four, five, six hours a day, like many top players, but not at all would surprise me enormously. In our brain, neural connections create mechanical and visual habits. You won’t suddenly lose the mechanical software, even if you don’t train for two weeks. The visual component breaks down first and fastest. That affects the touch and feel of a player: being able to estimate distances very precisely. Crucial in snooker is to position your white ball correctly every time for the next pot.

Even with a top talent like Luca, that ability can decrease. So he may have trained at least an hour a day. Not sustainable in the long term, and far from ideal for many players, but just enough for Luca at the time. Partly because he had already played many matches before the World Cup, so in terms of mechanics and technique it was good.

His exciting first round, 10-9 win against Ricky Walden, perhaps became an advantage?

Henry: Certainly. And if he did lack a bit of rhythm, he made up for it in the match. This way he could get used to the specific, intimate environment for a long time the Crucible Theater in Sheffield, where the spectators sit very close to the players. Above all, it was also a great relief: for the first time in his career he had cleared that first hurdle of the World Cup. A lot of pressure was released.

He recently had a new girlfriend, who stood by him throughout the tournament. Was that a positive factor?

Henry: Absolutely, that’s partly why he was so relaxed. Anyone who has ever been in love will recognize that feeling. Then you want to impress your new lover. Like a male peacock waving his colorful tail. (laughs)

Even when Brecel fell behind 10-6 against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, it didn’t seem to bother him.

Henry: What Luca did then was nothing short of sensational: win seven games in a row against O’Sullivan, the best player ever. I’d never seen that before. And not by suddenly playing differently, but by countering O’Sullivan with his own weapons: aggressive, attacking snooker. In this way he completely fed him of his milk. Luca thought: I’m going to lose anyway, and became so relaxed that he brought out the very best in himself.

How did the snooker world – fans, colleagues, analysts – view his sudden success?

Henry: Believe me: all his colleagues know what an immense talent Luca is. And he had already won major tournaments. So you couldn’t call him a one-hit wonder. The World Cup, with all those long matches over two weeks, cannot be won by chance or luck. The best always makes it. Moreover, Luca did that with sometimes peerless snooker, not through defensive, boring safety play. And he is also a charming personality. All those factors created a lot of appreciation and enthusiasm.

With the added element that Luca became the first player from mainland Europe to win the world title. Don’t underestimate how special and difficult that is. Especially because he never followed the usual path – moving to Great Britain and training for hours with the top players. Even more: during the World Cup he sometimes traveled back to Belgium between rounds. Typical Luca, he follows his own path.

This season has been much less successful so far: only 38th in the season rankings, often eliminated early. How did that happen?

Henry: The so-called curse of the Crucible Theater: never before has anyone who became world champion for the first time extended their title the following year. Don’t underestimate what that brings: much more attention from the media and fans, invitations to exhibition tournaments and parties… His life changed completely. Don’t forget that Luca has an introverted character and likes to have time for himself or with his close circle of friends and family. If you have to meet all those obligations, it is very mentally taxing. Partly because of this, he trained less and played fewer tournaments. That’s how his became touch and feel less, he missed more long balls and often lost control of his white ball. Moreover, as world champions, the expectations for each tournament are much higher. You also want to beat every opponent.

What do you recommend to him for the upcoming World Cup?

Henry: Do the same as last year: play his signature snooker with an open, free mind – aggressive, attacking, fast. This is very important for an instinctive player like Luca. This not only saves a lot of mental energy in such a long tournament, it is also the way to… in the zone To hit. Then he no longer really thinks, but almost unconsciously carries out everything he has learned automatically, without outside influences. The problem is that you can’t just switch to that zone. Your brain has to be ready for this, and that is only possible if you do things that suit you. Also important: what do you do when your mind is not in that zone? Then you also have to be able to focus. For Luca that is the biggest obstacle. Sometimes his mind is elsewhere, causing him to miss even the simplest balls and become frustrated. His concentration is nowherewhile you have to divide that word in two: now and here. Thinking about this moment, this shot, because that takes away all the stress.

If he follows your advice, what performance do you expect from him?

Henry: After his bad season you would say: not much. But I wouldn’t bet money on him not winning the title again. The first round will be crucial, just like last year. As defending champion, Luca plays the opening match of the World Cup, with all the spotlights on him. If he survives, he will receive a mental boost. And then you never know with him. Then Luca can just break the curse of The Crucible. Moreover, when Luca feels good, he has extremely high self-confidence: he sincerely believes that he can do anything, including becoming world champion a second time.

How do you think Brecel will perform in the coming years?

Henry: The World Cup will be important for his position in the world rankings: he is now fourth, but this is mainly due to the points he won with his world title last year. If he is now eliminated in the first round, almost all those points will be lost, he will be in danger of falling out of the top sixteen in the world in 2025 and he will not be allowed to participate in several top tournaments. It is important for Luca that he can play there, because that’s who he can be compensate for a smaller number of training hours. That was also one of the problems this year: because he was mentally tired, he couldn’t qualify for a few tournaments and it became difficult to get into rhythm.

If Luca can maintain himself in the top sixteen and really wants to go for it, then I have no doubt that he will win another world title, several even. He now knows he can do it. Moreover, he will have a long life, as he is only 29 years old – relatively young, in snooker. The question, however, is: does Luca want to put in the necessary training hours? He still has a great passion for his sport, but is he willing to put everything aside, or more than now, to become one of the best players ever? Now he is sometimes described as a ‘part-time professional’. Maybe he’ll make peace with that. That he can enjoy life and experience a peak every now and then. Luca may even block if he were to train six hours a day every day. It’s a very thin line.

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Why is training so important in a sport that is not very physical like snooker? Also for a super talent like Luca?

Henry: In English they say: ‘Practice makes perfect.’ (practice leads to perfection, ed), but that’s not entirely correct. Better is: ‘Practice makes permanent.’ Then you can create close connections between the nerves in your brain that allow you to perform actions on autopilot and efficiently. Compare it to driving a car: after tens of thousands of kilometers you can also drive without having to think.

The more continuous repetition, the more those neural connections become cables, not wires. Such strong habits that it becomes easier to feel comfortable even during the most exciting moments in a match, when you are more likely to neglect your technique.

If Luca doesn’t become world champion again, who will?

Henry: I’m biased because I’ve recently started working with him, but I’m still going for Ronnie O’Sullivan. He will be the only record holder with eight world titles. He has already missed a few tournaments this season, but won the Masters, has taken good physical care and will start the World Cup mentally fresh – very important for him. With his all-round game and experience in the Crucible Theater, he will be tough to beat.