WST has today announced the provisional calendar for next season up to the end of the year. No Chinese events have been scheduled for what remains of 2020.
The World Snooker Tour continues to lead the way to the return of regular live sport with the announcement of a packed calendar for the first half of the 2020/21 season, with nine tournaments between September and December.
Snooker has set the pace in recent months with a pioneering approach towards the return of live events. The Betfred World Championship was selected as the first indoor sporting event in the UK with a crowd, then following a revision of Government guidelines it reverted to being behind closed doors at this stage.
And despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the tour continues to thrive, with a packed pre-Christmas calendar.
As China has announced that international sporting events will not take place in the country until 2021, WST’s intention has been to reschedule certain UK tournaments into the slots usually taken by events in China.
The 2020/21 season will begin with the Matchroom Multi Sport promoted Championship League. Previously an invitation event, this has now been expanded into a full ranking event for all players on the tour.
This follows the ground-breaking success of this tournament when it was staged at the beginning of June, becoming the UK’s first major post-lockdown sporting event.
The Championship League will take place over three legs: the first from September 13-20, the second from September 28 to October 5 and the third from October 23-27.
The second ranking event of the season will be the European Masters to be played from September 21-27.
As usual, three of the Home Nations series tournaments will take place before Christmas: the English Open (October 12-18), Northern Ireland Open (November 16 to 22) and Scottish Open (December 7 to 13).
The quick-fire Shoot Out takes place from October 29 to November 1, followed by the Champion of Champions from November 2 to 8.
The first Triple Crown event of the campaign, the UK Championship at the York Barbican, runs from November 24 to December 6. And the first event of the Coral Series, the World Grand Prix, has been brought forward to December 14 to 20.
All venues for these events will be confirmed in due course, with decisions pending as to whether tournaments will be played with a live crowd or behind closed doors, depending on Government guidelines.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to announce a full calendar. In recent months there has been uncertainty for all sports in terms of future events but we have worked alongside all of our partners to find solutions. Our players and fans will be thrilled to see that we have a packed schedule for the first half of 2020/21.
“For the players there are plenty of opportunities to compete and I am delighted to confirm that there will be no reductions in prize money for the above events, despite the current Covid-19 crisis.
“We are excited to be working with our broadcasters including BBC, Eurosport, ITV, Discovery, DAZN, Matchroom Live and many other television companies, bringing top class sporting action to many millions of fans across the globe.
“Developing the Championship League into a full ranking event underlines the success of that tournament in terms of its viewing figures and its popularity among the players.
“We are working towards confirming plans for the second half of the 2020/21 season, with full details to be announced later this year.”
World Snooker Tour dates for remainder of 2020
September 13-20
Championship LeagueSeptember 21-27
European MastersSeptember 28 to October 5
Championship LeagueOctober 12-18
English OpenOctober 23-27
Championship LeagueOctober 29 to November 1
Shoot OutNovember 2-8
Champion of ChampionsNovember 10-14
German Masters qualifiersNovember 16-22
Northern Ireland OpenNovember 24 to December 6
UK ChampionshipDecember 7-13
Scottish OpenDecember 14-20
World Grand Prix
It’s a busy schedule but one that won’t imply traveling back and forth between continents and timezones. Much better this way.
Also the Q-school started today although nothing has transpired so far in terms of results.
Prior to the event WST shared this important information:
World Snooker Tour in consultation with the WPBSA can today announce that any player provisionally in a tour qualification position following the Betfred World Championship qualifiers, will be guaranteed to remain on tour next season.
This is an exceptional decision that will apply for this season only, due to the circumstances which will see the final stages of the World Championship completed alongside this season’s Q School over the coming two weeks.
This means that even if the provisional tour qualifying positions for next season were to change following results at the Crucible, players currently set to qualify have certainty of their tour card for next season. This avoids players having to unnecessarily play at Q School while their position is otherwise unclear.
This applies to players currently in position to qualify through either the provisional two-year or one-year list.
We can also confirm that any player who is able to retain their tour position through the one-year list and has qualified for the final stages of the World Championship, will earn their new card based upon their ranking position, not their Crucible qualification.
The revised draw and format for the Q-School events can be found here:
The draws and format for 2020 Q School are now available. The event will take place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, starting on August 3rd.
Sixteen players have withdrawn from Q School 2020, therefore the updated draws and format are below.
Click here for the updated event one draw
Click here for the updated event two draw
Click here for the updated event three draw
Click here for the updated format
Please note that the draws still include players that have qualified for the Tour, and that all players who qualify will be removed in one process. The updated draws will then be re-issued.
For more information about Q School click here.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Shoot out without a crowd LOL . Bit like fish without chips !
Yes a busy enough calendar, which will keep the game healthy financially. Part of the danger of cancelling tournaments is that they could disappear entirely. We hope that Riga Masters etc. will reappear in 2021-22.
The Q School draws have of course been impacted by the withdrawal of all those players who didn’t get relegated, but had to put their name down for Q School as a contingency. This means that there are players with byes through to the third round (best-of-7), whereas others have two best-of-5 matches to reach that stage. I really wish they would consider alternative tournament structures than just knock-outs – in that sense another ‘Championship League’ does that to an extent, whatever that format may be.
If they play a Shoot-out behind closed doors then they really will have to find a way to simulate an atmosphere, perhaps with some technical relays. The canned applause used at the Crucible is a bit lame – there are surely ways it can be made more compelling.
With one month gap, we might see some of the ‘snookered’ players return from China, but some others may wait until after the flight and VISA restrictions are lifted in October. I assume the players that did return were given some indication of when the new season would start, as it would have been a factor in their planning.
Oh, now that you mention it, the Shootout might be bearable to watch without the terrible crowd and the animal sounds, though I will still never forgive the ball in hand horror rule.
I think it would be better to hold the Shoot-out in China in early-2021, as part of a 3-4 week tour. If instead they play 3 identical tournaments it will get a bit monotonous, especially for players who are losing in the first round of the flat-128 draws. Breaking up the events with a Shoot-out might help, and could attract some crowds – it might help get the game back up and running in China (6-reds might also be a possibility).
The worst thing about the Shoot-out here is, as you say, the moronic chanting, which is the fault of that stupid MC who instructs them between frames. We could all do with a rest from that for a year, and hopefully things might develop differently when it comes back.