Luca Brecel answers Stephen Hendry's comments made after Mark Selby victory

Luca Brecel has responded to the doubters after his world championship win, including Stephen Hendry, with a superb run at the Welsh Open snooker.

Since claiming victory over Mark Selby in the 2023 World Championship final, Brecel has slid down the rankings but will now face Selby in his first semi-final since that remarkable win at the Crucible. The 29-year-old's form has nosedived to such an extent that he was in danger of losing his tour card.

Under the two-year ranking system, he must win the 2025 world title to fully defend the £500,000 he banked for lifting the title two years ago. However, his form has been trending upwards recently and he impressed in reaching the quarter-finals at last month's Masters.

During the Welsh Open, Brecel expressed his renewed enthusiasm for the game, telling Eurosport: "When I turn up at tournaments now, I really want to go deep. Before, if I wasn't in a really good place, I wanted to go home. Now I want to win the tournament. It's fantastic to be in the mix again."

His nonchalant attitude towards the sport has perplexed many, including Scottish legend Hendry. Ahead of the UK Championship, the seven-time Crucible king said: "As a snooker player, I cannot buy into what he's doing, flying in from Majorca between matches and stuff. But then, I don't know what his priorities in life are. Maybe snooker isn't his priority anymore, and you've got to respect that.

"You could criticise if he wants to win snooker tournaments, because that's not the way to do it. But if he's not bothered whether he wins or loses, if he wants to do this Ironman stuff and play snooker as a hobby, then good luck to him. For me, as someone who dedicated their whole life to win, I don't understand it. But it's his