Brecel Stumbles Again as English Open Qualifying Produces Notable Upsets in Leicester

Qualifier Stage Concludes at Mattioli Arena

The preliminary rounds of the 2026 English Open wrapped up at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester across the weekend, with 32 players securing their spots in the venue stages at Brentwood Leisure Centre in September. The tournament, scheduled for 7–13 September, marks the opening event of the Home Nations Series for the 2026/27 campaign and will feature world champion Wu Yize, world number one Judd Trump, and defending champion Mark Allen among the top 32 seeds who enter automatically at the last-64 stage.

Brecel's Tour Survival Concerns Deepen

The most high-profile casualty of the qualifying weekend was Luca Brecel, who fell 4-3 to Antoni Kowalski and will play no further part in the 2026 English Open. The result continues a troubling downward trend for the Belgian, whose provisional ranking currently hovers dangerously close to the top-64 cut-off point that determines tour card retention. Brecel's 2023 World Championship triumph at the Crucible now feels a distant peak — in the three-plus seasons since that crowning achievement, the 29-year-old has failed to replicate anything approaching that level of consistency on the ranking circuit. A 4-3 defeat to a player of Kowalski's standing will only intensify scrutiny on his position heading deeper into the season.

Chang Bingyu Continues Rapid Ascent

While Brecel's trajectory has pointed firmly downward, Chang Bingyu represents precisely the opposite narrative. The Chinese player, who reached the Scottish Open final on last season's Home Nations Series, booked his place in Brentwood with a 4-3 victory over Cheung Ka Wai — a win that underlines just how swiftly he has established himself since returning to the professional circuit at the start of last season. Few players across the 2025/26 campaign generated as much momentum as Chang, and his progression to the English Open main draw suggests that upward curve shows no sign of flattening.

Round of 128 Results in Full

Among the other qualifiers to advance were Tom Ford, Anthony McGill, Ricky Walden, and Aaron Hill — a mix of established tour professionals and players with points to prove early in the new season. Stan Moody required a deciding frame to see off David Grace, while teenage prospect Wang Xinbo edged Long Zehuang by the same one-frame margin, a result that will attract considerable attention given the youngster's rapidly developing profile on tour.

There were, however, several names of note who exited at the first hurdle. Noppon Saengkham suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Florian Nuessle, whilst Matthew Stevens — a two-time ranking event winner whose career has extended across three decades of professional snooker — was beaten 4-0 by Ashley Hugill. Ryan Day, Ben Woollaston, and He Guoqiang were further casualties among the higher-ranked contenders who will not be making the trip to Brentwood.

A selection of Round of 128 results from the weekend (via CueTracker / snooker.org):

• Sam Craigie 4-3 Sean O'Sullivan
• Florian Nuessle 4-2 Liu Yang
• Dylan Emery 4-0 Paul Norris
• Ashley Hugill 4-3 Chatchapong Nasa
• Leone Crowley 4-3 Andrew Higginson
• Marco Fu 4-0 Hammad Miah
• Cheung Ka Wai 4-0 Jimmy White
• Mateusz Baranowski 4-0 Bai Yulu
• Florian Nuessle 4-0 Matthew Stevens
• Ashley Hugill 4-0 Noppon Saengkham
• Chang Bingyu 4-3 Cheung Ka Wai
• Antoni Kowalski 4-3 Luca Brecel
• Stan Moody 4-3 David Grace
• Wang Xinbo 4-3 Long Zehuang

What Comes Next

Attention now shifts away from Leicester as the professional circuit moves on to the 2026 Shanghai Masters, where the bulk of the world's elite will make their first competitive appearances of the new campaign. For those who qualified in Leicester, the focus turns to Brentwood in September, where 32 venue-stage qualifiers will join the top 32 seeds in what promises to be a competitive field for the English Open title.