World champion Luca Brecel is getting his new season underway next week, but he will be doing it without the cue that helped him to Crucible glory.
The Belgian Bullet is yet to play a match since he beat Mark Selby to win the World Snooker Championship in May, enjoying his time off by travelling the globe.
The 28-year-old is back in action at the European Masters on Tuesday in Nuremberg, but he admits that he is not feeling that confident, not only because he has been on an epic holiday, but because he will be without his cue.
The wood that he won the World Championship with, which he describes as his favourite ever cue, has been lost by an airline which brought him back to Europe from the States, and there is no sign of it turning up yet.
Speaking to World Snooker Tour about the season to come, Brecel said: ‘Very excited. It’s a shame, though, that my cue got lost. When I got back from Seattle to Frankfurt, the cue didn’t show up.
‘It was my favourite cue, I won the World Championship with it. I’ve had it for maybe two years, but I got really used to it, it was the best cue I ever had, my favourite cue ever.
‘It’s a nightmare to travel with, sometimes I wish I was a darts player with a small case.
‘They [the airline] said to report it online and fill in a form and hope you get it back. I’m still waiting, when I check the status online it says they are still searching for it.’
The Belgian is famously relaxed but he admits that without his favoured cue, he is not expecting much at the European Masters, already turning his attention to the Shanghai Masters in September.
‘Normally I don’t worry about it but this time I do because my other cue is not that good, I’m not that used to it,’ he said.
‘The other one was so good, I felt like I couldn’t miss sometimes and now it’s going to to be different.
‘Obviously I’ve travelled a lot, I’m still a bit tired, so I’m not quite confident in the first one. Maybe the first one is a bit of practice and Shanghai [Masters] is going to be the first proper tournament.’
The world champion takes on Jackson Page on Tuesday in the opening round of the European Masters.
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