Snooker world champion competes for £855 on TV show despite being a millionaire

One World Snooker Championship winner has surprised fans by appearing on a game show.

Reigning snooker world champion Luca Brecel recently made an unexpected appearance on a Belgian TV game show, vying for a shot at winning £855, despite raking in £500,000 last year at the Crucible. Brecel, who shocked the world by defeating Mark Selby and clinching snooker’s top crown in 2023, shifted his focus to television quizzes.

He appeared on Tuesday evening’s edition of the Belgian show ‘Blokken’ and revealed that he is a big fan of the programme. Brecel was tasked with playing the game based on Tetris just days after exiting the Welsh Open semi-finals.

However, he did not get invited on the show due to his snooker fame and instead qualified the same way as any other competitor. “He, like everyone else, registered for the quiz a few years ago,” host Ben Crabbe told Het Laatste Nieuws.

“At first we thought it was a namesake. But when we invited Luca, like all other candidates, for a current affairs test, it turned out that it was indeed the world champion. He passed the test and was therefore able to participate.”

The show has been running since 1994 and after over 5,000 episodes Brecel took on his opponent Ann in the first round, where the fastest player on the buzzer wins points for each correct answer to a general knowledge question.

They can place blocks around the Tetris-like board strategically before then taking turns in round two. The third round sees the contestants go head-to-head and the winner goes through to the final round and must answer as many questions as possible in two minutes to try and discover a hidden word by each letter.

If they guess the correct word, the winner takes the €1,000 (£855) cash prize and can return the following day for another chance at victory and a second opportunity to double their money.

Brecel began his appearance by stating how much he enjoys watching before aiming a cheeky dig at the host. “I have watched it many times and I just think it is a very nice programme,” he said. “But I also enjoy your lame jokes, Ben.”