Brecel out of Xi'an Grand Prix after failing to appear for qualifier as Carter loses

Mystery surrounded former world champion Luca Brecel in Leicester on Friday after he was eliminated from the Xi’an Grand Prix for failing to appear for his match.

The 2023 world champion was due to face England’s world No. 83 Hammad Miah at 2:30pm in his opening match of the season’s second ranking event, but his opponent was handed a walkover 5-0 win after the Belgian player did not turn up.

“Luca Brecel has not arrived for his Xi’an Grand Prix qualifier this afternoon in Leicester,” said organiser World Snooker Tour on social media.

“His opponent, Hammad Miah, has been awarded the match 5-0 and will be heading to China next month.”

Brecel, the world No. 4, competed at the Shanghai Masters last week, but lost 6-2 to Si Jiahui in the first round.

Elsewhere on Friday, recent Championship League winner Ali Carter suffered a shock 5-4 loss to world No. 65 Daniel Wells.

The world No. 10 levelled with a 98 break from 4-2 down, but was edged by 12 points in a taut decider against Welshman Wells, who progresses to a match with Ben Woollaston or Julien Leclercq.

There was better news for three-time world champion Mark Williams, who eased to a 5-0 win over Liam Graham with fine breaks of 72, 104 and 140.

Crucible finalist Jak Jones showed his fighting qualities as he won the final three frames from 4-2 behind to edge newcomer Robbie McGuigan on the final black in a 5-4 success.

Meanwhile, former Shoot Out holder Chris Wakelin weighed in with knocks of 112, 135, 74, 63 and 87 in a 5-4 win over Rory Thor to set up a last-64 meeting with Elliot Slessor.

New Shanghai Masters champion Judd Trump begins his title quest against Poland’s Antoni Kowalski on Saturday afternoon with six-time world finalist Jimmy White up against Si.

Qualifying for the Xi’an Grand Prix is staged between Thursday and Saturday at the Mattioli Arena, with the tournament proper getting underway on Monday, August 19 in China.

It runs until Sunday, August 25, with a first prize of £177,000 on the table.

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s match in the round of 128 against Wang Yuchen has been held over to the finals venue, with world champion Kyren Wilson opening his campaign against Haris Tahir.