Former world champion Luca Brecel will not feature at this year’s Crucible after suffering a 10-5 defeat to Jak Jones in the final qualifying round of the World Snooker Championship.
Brecel, who captured the title in 2023, has struggled to replicate that form and has slipped to 46th in the world rankings. Although he progressed past Chang Bingyu in an earlier round, he was outclassed by Jones, last year’s runner-up to Kyren Wilson.
Jones took control early, opening a 7-4 lead with several century breaks. A pivotal moment came in frame 12 when Brecel missed an opportunity, allowing Jones to steal the frame on the final black. From there, Jones pushed ahead with another century and sealed the win in the following frame.
Elsewhere, Jack Lisowski also missed out despite a strong season that included his first ranking title. He was beaten 10-5 by He Guoqiang, who will make his Crucible debut. He dominated early, winning the opening five frames and maintaining control to secure his place among the final 32, contributing to a record 11 Chinese players in the tournament.
Veteran Ali Carter staged a comeback from 7-5 down to defeat Anthony McGill 10-7, winning the last five frames to reach the Crucible for the 22nd time.
China’s Zhang Anda delivered one of the standout performances of qualifying, sweeping aside Zak Surety 10-3 with a string of high breaks. Despite this being his sixth appearance at the venue, he is yet to win a match there.
Liam Highfield secured his return with a commanding 10-2 victory over Oliver Lines, marking his fourth Crucible appearance after a difficult period that included injury and time off the tour.
There were also wins for Fan Zhengyi, who beat Ben Mertens 10-4, and Lei Peifan, who defeated Ryan Day 10-5.
In the closest contest, Gary Wilson edged out Xu Si 10-9 in a dramatic encounter, overturning a late deficit before finishing with a decisive century break.
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