Chang Bingyu and Daniel Wells won their respective groups to reach Winners’ Week of the 2022 BetVictor Championship League Snooker at the Morningside Arena, Leicester…
China’s Chang opened Group 20 with a 3-0 win over Mark King, but then lost his second match 3-0 against Zhou Yuelong, who made breaks of 95, 96, and 132. Chang hit back to beat Fergal O’Brien 3-0 in his third and final game.
The picture was clear for Zhou in the last match of the day against King, as victory would see him through while a draw would not be enough. King took the opener, then Zhou took the second frame with a fine clearance of 135 to keep his hopes alive. But King won a scrappy third frame, and though Zhou won the fourth for 2-2, it wasn’t enough as Chang finished the day on top.
In Group 18, Matthew Selt, Dominic Dale, Duane Jones and Daniel Wells did battle, and Welshman Wells snatched his opportunity to become the first amateur to progress to stage two. Wells drew 2-2 with Selt, then came from 1-0 down to beat Dale 3-1. And an impressive 3-0 success against Jones gave him top spot.
Wells said: “I felt like I cued well. I have been under the radar and in the doldrums for the last few years. Previously, when I had opportunities to clear the table, I wasn’t doing so. But I did today. I have that bit of extra trust in myself. The more matches I keep winning the better for my confidence.”
Selt made the highest break of the tournament so far, a 141 total clearance against Jones.
…
and the table
Chang played really well and it’s a shame that he wasn’t interviewed.
Group 20 was a group of contrasts: two young Chinese players, scoring heavily and two veterans from the British Isles, determined and cunning. Both Fergal and Mark turned pro in 1991 and have been on the tour ever since, which, in itself is a remarkable achievement. Both have won one ranking event and both have been in the top 16. Zhou was born in 1998 and Chang in 2002, 7 and 11 years after their opponents in that group turned pro… it’s all quite extraordinary really.
Today we have Group 17 with Ali Carter, Louis Heathcote, Wu Yize and Robbie McGuigan and Group 25 with Ryan Day, Pang Junxu, Reanne Evans, and Dylan Emery. Those are two interesting groups featuring five young players in total. I’m not expecting too much from Reanne.
The top seeds prevailed in both groups yesterday at the 2022 ranking CLS.
It was in many ways an interesting day.
It marked the return od Marco Fu and it wasn’t a happy one. The weird thing is that Marco played decent stuff at the start of the day but looked completely out of sorts by the end of it. He finished last in his group. He looked exhausted actually. He wasn’t thinking clearly. It was very hot and humid and it was a very long day. He’s probably no more used to playing so much in a day. Losing 3-0 to Ian Martin, an amateur, was the final blow…
Si Jiahui impressed. He was the lowest ranked player in his group. He finished second, on same points as the winner, undefeated, with one win and two draws. He lost one more frame than Maguire. That’s what made the difference. It was a tough group too with Maguire, Stevens and Mann …. but not a word about his performance in the report!
Robertson was pitted agains Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Marco Fu, and Ian Martin in Group 22. Robertson got off to the best of starts as the former European Masters winner brushed aside Martin 3-0 in under an hour. Thailand’s Un-Nooh got his season underway with a 2-2 draw against Fu.
Un-Nooh then went straight back on to beat Martin 3-1, thanks to breaks of 55, 69, and 51, to sit at the top of the group heading into the evening action.
Robertson drew his first game of the evening, 2-2 against Fu. To leave the group in the balance and set up a deciding tie in the last match against Un-Nooh.
Robertson knew a point would put him into Winners’ Week whilst Un-Nooh needed to win, due to the frame difference between the pair. It didn’t take Robertson too long to secure his spot in the next phase coming from 1-0 down to take the following two frames thanks to breaks of 45 and 66. Un-Nooh claimed the last frame to draw 2-2, but it was Robertson who went through.
“I am delighted. It was tough. Tough conditions with it being so hot. I knew I needed two frames in the last match. It was left in my own hands. I was a little bit rusty; it was a tough group. I am happy to come through.” – Robertson speaking to David Hendon.
“I hope for similar and even better than last season. Hopefully, I can kick on from this and win more matches this season,” added Robertson.
Over on Table 2 Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stevens, Mitchell Mann, and Si Jiahui did battle.
It all came down to the final tie of the day, where Maguire required a 3-0 defeat of Stevens to progress. He won the first two, 56-32 and 69-41 respectively, to leave himself on the verge of progression. The Scot fired in a gutsy break of 39 to clinch the frame and secure the 3-0 win he needed.
…
and the table:
Today we have Group 20 with Zhou Yuelong, Mark King, Chang Bingyu, and Fergal O’Brien and Group 18 with Matthew Selt, Dominic Dale, Daniel Wells, and Duane Jones.
I must confess that I have very little interest in Group 18. Group 20 features two very experienced hard match players and two young Chinese players. Zhou though is solid tactically. We could have long matches here today!
The 2022 ranking CLS continued yesterday after a extended week-end break. From what transpired in commentary, it was extremely hot in the venue; players and referees were allowed short sleeves… (french/english pun aware). The tables still appeared to play OK.
I will admit it: I struggled to get interested in yesterday’s action.
In group 5, Willo had little opposition in his group except fot Li Hang. Li is a very, very good player, solid, reliable but … not really enthralling to watch. I was glad to see Andrew Pagett looking healthy again though after all the very serious healths issues he suffered in recent years.
In group 28, Barry Pinches proved once again that he’s very hard to beat, despite struggling to win. He finished the day undefeated on three draws. Harvey Chandler was never at the races. Gary Wilson was the highest seed and the best player all day.
Williams started the day with a 3-1 defeat of Rory McLeod, in which his top score was a run of 65. Li Hang began with a 3-1 victory over Andrew Pagett, before a draw with McLeod left the Chinese cueist top of the group heading into the evening session.
At the top of the evening session, Williams got one over his compatriot Pagett in a 3-0 whitewash win. The Welsh Potting Machine’s six points from two matches put him two clear and ensured he would only need a point against Li to pass through to the second stage.
Williams took the decider by a 3-1 scoreline. The three-time Crucible king fired in a superb break of 140 en route to the win.
“I am quite happy with how the day went with three wins out of three. He hits the ball lovely, nice, and smooth. I don’t know why he hit it so hard. It was a tricky pink that I had in the middle. I am through to the next group now. I am over the moon I got through and I am over the moon with the way I played.”
Group 28 also came down to the last match, with Gary Wilson and Jak Jones battling it out for progression.
It was Wilson who took the initial advantage by claiming the opener to lead 1-0. A break of 62 from Wilson in the second put him one away from the next stage, whilst Jones needed the next two. Wilson kept his cool and wrapped up the 3-0 win with a clearance of 115.
And here is the table:
Today promises to be more interesting as we have Group 22 with Jimmy Robertson, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Marco Fu, and Ian Martin and Group 21 with Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stevens, Mitchell Mann, and Si Jiahui.
Si Jiahui turned 20 yesterday …
Happy belated birthday Si!
He celebrated with his friends at Victoria’s Academy
Hopefully, he has some energy left for today. I would love to see him do well.
And, today, we also celebrate the birthday of a true legend in the world of billiards games:
Raymond is the most decorated player in 3-cushions billiards, a discipline that remains little known and appreciated in the UK. It’s a very, very skillful game, despite the very simple rules. There are only 3 balls on a pocketless table that is only slightly smaller than a snooker table: one white, one yellow, one red. One of the players plays with the white, the other with the yellow. The goal for the player at the table is simple: on each “turn”, they have to hit the red and their opponent’s ball, in any order, but before hitting the second ball they have to hit at least 3 cushions. Simple? yes. Easy? Not at all … If the player manages, they get one point and stay at the table. If not, their opponent comes to the table. A match is played over a certain amount of point or over a specific duration.
Here is one of the best in the business, Frédéric Caudron from Belgium, in action:
World Snooker Tour and Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council (HKBSCC) are pleased to announce the return of the Hong Kong Masters to the WST calendar in October this year.
This prestigious invitation event was last held in 2017 and was a tremendous success. The last edition in 2017 was held in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium, which was recognised by many players as one of the best venues for a snooker tournament. Neil Robertson beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.
Neil Robertson won the Hong Kong Masters in 2017
This time it will be staged, for the first time, in the Hong Kong Coliseum, the largest indoor stadium in Hong Kong with a maximum capacity of 10,000.
HKBSCC will invite eight top players, including Hong Kong’s snooker icons Marco Fu and Ng On Yee, to compete over four days from 6 to 9 October 2022.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are excited to bring this event back to the calendar for the first time in five years and we are thrilled to be working with HKBSCC on what will be a fantastic tournament.
“Many of the world’s top players described the 2017 Hong Kong Masters as one of the best atmospheres they have ever played in, and this is another opportunity for them to experience the support of the local fans.”
HKBSCC Chairman Vincent Law said: “The Hong Kong Masters will be the first major international sport event in Hong Kong since we were hit by the pandemic. There is no better occasion to show to the world that Hong Kong is back for business. We hope the tournament this time will set more records and bring excitement that the public have been longing for. We are thankful to WST for its support to billiard sports in Hong Kong. We hope the players and the people of Hong Kong will have some fun.”
The player line up and ticketing information will be announced by HKBSCC shortly.
Snooker returning to Asia is good news. It will be interesting to see who are the 6 “other” invited players and who will want to make the trip. I’m not sure though that 10000 persons around one table will work … already at the Crucible, with less than a thousand spectators, the table looks minuscule from the rafters.
Ding Junhui, Fan Zhengyi and Mei Xiwen were the members of the victorious Shaanxi team at the CBSA Cup in Xi-an, which concluded on Saturday.
Running from July 5th to 9th at the Xi’an Aerospace International Conference Centre, the CBSA Cup is regarded as one of the most prestigious national events staged in China.
Over the five days, 29 teams from all over China attended, featuring professional World Snooker Tour players, as well as leading amateur players and rookies.
The Shaanxi team, named by Shaanxi Tourism Group, beat Guangdong 4-2 in the final. Zunyi and Beijing shared the third place.
WST congratulates the CBSA on the successful staging of this fantastic event.
Congratulations to the Shaanxi Team!
All three members are or were professionals. I find it a bit funny that Fan Zhengyi is only mentiommed “en passant”, when, of the three, he’s the one who won a professional event most recently… anyway…
Jamie Curtis-Barret won the 2022 English Amateur Championship
The English Snooker Championship is the longest running competition in snooker. It was first help in 1916. There are many prestigious names on that trophy, but not Ronnie’s 😉
Congratulations Jamie!
The Under-18 English Snooker Championship was won by Stan Moody, who defeated Aidan Murphy (7-0 !!!) in the final.
Congratulations Stan!
Mink has joined Victoria’s Snooker Academy …
This can only be a good move for her. First class practice facility, first class support and first class practice opponents!
Ronnie was in Dundee for snooker exhibitions …
Not much transpired so far, maybe Csilla will be able to tell us more.
From what I could find …
… Ronnie insisted to drive the “taxi” himself
… the club and its owners made him feel very welcome
… and one of these two had a 147 yesterday evening
And that’s it (for now).
The report by Csilla is in the comments section. Thank you Csilla!
and here is the 147 as shared by Snooker Legends on Facebook
With the 2021/22 World Snooker Tour season getting underway at the BetVictor Championship League, we asked three of snooker’s top analysts and journalists to give their predictions for the year ahead…
Most Likely Maiden Ranking Event Winner
Neal Foulds, Former World Number Three, TV Pundit and Commentator
Pang Junxu – He had an impressive first season on tour back in 20/21 and I expect him to do very well this season. It was a massive shock to see Fan Zhengyi win the European Masters and I think Pang is actually a better player. He practises very hard and I know that he really puts the effort in. I think that he is going to take a big step forward and I am going to back him to land a first title.
David Hendon, Snooker Commentator and Journalist
Jack Lisowski – I know someone tips him every year, but it felt like he’d turned a corner at the Crucible. His victory over Neil Robertson was well earned and he came very close to beating John Higgins. He’s such a nice guy but you need that inner steel once you get into the arena, and the self-belief. He demonstrated that in Sheffield. That’s what he needs again if he reaches another final. He is good enough, he just really needs to believe it.
Michael McMullan, Snooker Commentator and Journalist
Tom Ford – Ford is one of those players whose best performances are so good that you end up wondering why he hasn’t crossed this barrier yet. I had a really long chat with him earlier this year and he was talking about the things he has been doing to get himself in the right place mentally. He also said that he sees himself as a ranking event winner because of the PTCs he has already won. It’s a fair point, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he put it beyond debate by winning a full-scale tournament soon.
Surprise Package of the Season
Neal Foulds
Aaron Hill – I’m going to go for youth again. Hill beat Ronnie O’Sullivan at the European Masters a couple of seasons ago and showed his potential. He then experienced a problem that a lot of youngsters have. It isn’t about what happens when you win, it is what happens when you start losing. He went to a difficult place and his results went downhill. This is a little bit of a leap of faith, but now he is back on the tour, I think this will be a bit of a second coming for him at a young age. I know he is very hungry and I’m not saying how far he will go, but I think he is a lot better than where he is ranked. With two seasons under his belt, he can improve off the back of that experience.
David Hendon
Chris Wakelin – He’s much improved. He produced an incredible display against Stephen Hendry at the English Open last season, making two total clearances. 30 years ago the world number 60-something would never have been capable of that. These players ranked 32-64 are far better than they used to be. They are all dangerous.
Chris is one of the players who has made a conscious effort to work on his fitness, to try and make changes which will help give him an edge. I think a long run in a tournament is coming.
Michael McMullan
Aaron Hill – Anyone who gets on to the tour and reaches a ranking last 16 within a few years of taking up the game clearly has talent to burn. What followed after that great start was a big disappointment, but after dropping off the tour he seems to have benefitted from good advice and guidance from the right people. Now he has come through Q School to get straight back on, I can see a lot more consistency ahead for him.
Star Player Of The Season
Neal Foulds
Yan Bingtao – I think Neil Robertson was clearly the star player last year. This year I am going to go a little bit away from that. I thought Yan was one of the top three or four players in Sheffield this year at the World Championship. It took an inspired Mark Williams to beat him. I think he is going to have a very good season and he is capable of winning one of the big ones, he has already won the Masters of course. He is another young player who I think will step forward.
David Hendon
Judd Trump – It depends on your definition of star player as winning the World Championship is the greatest achievement in the sport. In terms of who will win the most trophies, I expect Judd Trump to challenge strongly again. People said he had a bad season last year, but he won two titles and reached the world final. It was just that in comparison to the stellar three previous years he’d enjoyed, it wasn’t quite as good.
Trump has that single-mindedness that multi-champions possess. If he starts winning again early in the season it could set a pattern for the rest of the campaign.
Michael McMullan
Judd Trump – Winning two big events and getting to the World Championship final would be a great season for almost any other player, so the fact that it was seen as disappointing for Trump just underlines what we’ve come to expect from him. He seemed to get into a bit of a rut, but had a lot of good tournaments towards the end of the season, and after a few months’ break from the tour I can see him coming back refreshed and ready to step things up further.
World Number One at the End of the Season
Neal Foulds
Ronnie O’Sullivan – It’s got to be O’Sullivan. I think he will pick and choose a bit more this season, but to keep things simple I cant see any reason why he won’t be number one at the end of the season. Mark Selby has a lot of points to come off, so I don’t think he will be challenging him.
David Hendon
Ronnie O’Sullivan – He has all those World Championship points and on top of that he rarely loses early in tournaments – he’s never lost in the first round of a Home Nations event since the series started in 2016. It’s hard to imagine he won’t be in more finals this season so I think he’ll do enough to remain at the top.
Michael McMullan
Ronnie O’Sullivan – Quite simply, the way the system is structured now, the world number one is nearly always going to be one of the last two winners of the World Championship. O’Sullivan will definitely still fall into that category come the end of the season, so it seems an even money bet he’ll finish as he starts, at number one.
And here are mine …
Let’s start with the easy one. Ronnie has currently a “cushion” of 335500 points over Neil Robertson and 340500 points over Judd Trump in the “end of season” projection by snooker.org. It would take for him to have a terrible season,, and for one of Neil or Judd to have a really exceptional one for one of them to overcome that deficit. All experts agreed that Ronnie is likely to finish as World Number one and I’m with them on this.
Maiden ranking title event winner
I would love to see David Hendon proven right on this one, but I’m not sure. Actually I’m not sure that we will have a “maiden” ranking event winner this season other than, maybe, in the Shoot Out and that could possibly be anyone on their lucky day. So, I’m going with this: Hossein Vafaei to win a “proper” ranking event this season. By proper, I mean other than the Shoot Out.
Surprise package of the season
Two of of three experts went for Aaron Hill. I do expect Aaron Hill to do well this season, but it would not come as a “surprise” to me. Obviously, he found it much harder on the tour than he expected and finished last season outside the top 64, but he came back immediately through the Q-School and what he told to the media afterwards is a clear indication that he has matured a lot. For me the surprise package of the season could well be Yuan Sijun. I expect him to do very, very well … actually he might even win something.
Star player of the season
We have a few obvious “usual sustects” coming to mind for this one: Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, Ronnie, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Mark Selby… They all could be “the Star” this season. Judd and Mark Selby will be particularly motivated after relatively disappointing seasons in 2021/22. But is there a “less obvious” candidate? I’ll go for Jack Lisowski here. I’m not sure that he will actually win a title, but I expect him to deliver some serious fireworks this season.
Following its successful inaugural season which saw Sean O’Sullivan and Julien Leclercq earn professional status for the next two years, Q Tour will continue to provide a clear pathway to the World Snooker Tour for elite amateur talent within our sport.
The series will be expanded to a minimum of six Q Tour events held, with four to be staged within the UK and a further two in mainland Europe. The top ranked player at the end of the season will be guaranteed to earn a two-year tour card, with a 16-player playoff tournament to run with its winner also to be awarded a main tour place.
There will be a prize fund of £12,000 to be won at each tournament with the overall Q Tour ranked number one and the final play-off winner each earning a bonus of £2,000 upon joining the professional circuit.
THE DATES
The provisional dates for this season’s Q Tour are:
2-4 September 2022
16-18 September 2022
14-16 October 2022
25-27 November 2022
9-11 December 2022
6-8 January 2023
4-5 March 2023 (Playoff)
Venues will be announced in due course. All dates are subject to change.
As was the case last season, each weekend tournament will be made up of 64 players comprising the following:
The top 32 eligible players from the 2022 UK Q School Order of Merit eligible to compete.
Zhao Jianbo, Steven Hallworth, Sunny Akani, Ross Muir, Daniel Wells, Florian Nuessle, Farakh Ajaib, Ian Martin, Ross Bulman, Kurt Maflin, Michael Holt, Haydon Pinhey, Andrew Higginson, Michael Georgiou, Soheil Vahedi, Brandon Sargeant, Rory McLeod, Cheung Ka Wai, Luke Simmonds, Ben Hancorn, Peter Devlin, Robbie McGuigan, Harvey Chandler, Leo Fernandez, Lee Walker, Lewis Ullah, Gao Yang, Daniel Womersley, Tyler Rees, Liu Hongyu, Rodney Goggins, George Pragnell
The top 8 from the 2022 Asia-Oceania Q School Order of Merit
The eight highest ranked junior players on the 2022 UK Q School Order of Merit, not already qualified.
Sean Maddocks, Iulian Boiko, Liam Davies, Ryan Davies, Luke Pinches, Alfie Lee, Nattanapong Chaikul, Jamie Wilson
EVENT ENTRY
The 48 qualified players will be contacted directly by email with entry instructions. Each player will be required to pay a block entry fee of £300.00 by 12:00pm on 22 July and will be guaranteed a place in the last 64 of each tournament.
Following this date, subject to the number of players who have accepted and paid for their Q Tour place, we will contact top up players as required until we have 48 confirmed players for each event. These players will have until 12:00pm 26 July to claim their place.
Open entry for all Friday qualifying tournaments will be opened to all players from no later than 27 July. We aim to accommodate all players who wish to enter, however, we do reserve the right to limit entries for each qualifier subject to the number of tables available at the club and time available.
Further information including venues and full entry details will be released in due course.
This is all good and well but do they really any of the Asia-Oceania Q-School order of merit top 8 to be able to compete in this series? Unless they get the certainty that there will be at least a couple of events in Asia, this is financially and logistically totally unrealistic, especially as they need to commit with a £300.00 entry fee by 22 July, which is less than two weeks away.
Sunny Akani is unlikely to enter. Only a couple of days ago, on his facebook page, he repeated that the plan was the stay and play in Thailand, heal and fully recover and try to get back on Tour via the 2023 Asia-Oceania Q-School.
The full list of WST players for the 2022/23 season is now available.
In all there are 131 tour players this season. To read more about them, click here.
The Top 64 (64)
These players finished inside the top 64 of the official world ranking list at the end of last season and so will retain their places on the circuit, with a one-yearcard.
End of season rankings:
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Judd Trump
Mark Selby
Neil Robertson
John Higgins
Zhao Xintong
Mark Williams
Kyren Wilson
Shaun Murphy
Jack Lisowski
Barry Hawkins
Luca Brecel
Stuart Bingham
Mark Allen
Yan Bingtao
Anthony McGill
Hossein Vafaei
Ricky Walden
David Gilbert
Ali Carter
Matthew Selt
Jordan Brown
Zhou Yuelong
Stephen Maguire
Jimmy Robertson
Joe Perry
Robert Milkins
Ryan Day
Martin Gould
Tom Ford
Jamie Jones
Ding Junhui
Gary Wilson
Lu Ning
Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi
Noppon Saengkham
Xiao Guodong
Liam Highfield
Liang Wenbo
Jak Jones
Ben Woollaston
Chris Wakelin
Sam Craigie
Lyu Haotian
Scott Donaldson
Joe O’Connor
Li Hang
Jamie Clarke
Anthony Hamilton
Mark King
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Pang Junxu
Mark Davis
David Grace
Matthew Stevens
Oliver Lines
Mark Joyce
Dominic Dale
Elliot Slessor
Robbie Williams
Alexander Ursenbacher
Tian Pengfei
Stuart Carrington
The Two-Year Cards (31)
These players competed on the main tour in 2021/22 and will start the 2022/23 season on the second year of their two-year tour cards.
Cao Yupeng
Jackson Page
Andy Hicks
Yuan Sijun
Wu Yize
Zhang Anda
Hammad Miah
Mitchell Mann
Peter Lines
Zhang Jiankang
Duane Jones
Xu Si
Lei Peifan
Louis Heathcote
Gerard Greene
Craig Steadman
Chang Bingyu
Andrew Pagett
Barry Pinches
Fraser Patrick
Ian Burns
Jamie O’Neill
Michael Judge
Dean Young
Alfie Burden
Jimmy White
Ng On Yee
Chen Zifan
Reanne Evans
Marco Fu
Igor Figueiredo
The Top Four (One-Year Ranking list) (4)
The top four players on the 2021/22 one-year ranking list, not already inside of the top 64 of the two-year ranking list or on the first year of a two-year card. They receive a fresh two-year tour card, starting on zero ranking points.
Ashley Hugill
Michael White
Allan Taylor
David Lilley
Q School UK (12)
A further 12 will be promoted from Q SchoolUK and again they will receive a two-year tour card.
Rod Lawler (Event One semi-finalist)
Fergal O’Brien (Event One semi-finalist)
Andy Lee (Event One semi-finalist)
Bai Langning (Event One semi-finalist)
Adam Duffy (Event Two semi-finalist)
Zak Surety (Event Two semi-finalist)
Aaron Hill (Event Two semi-finalist)
Sanderson Lam (Event Two semi-finalist)
Lukas Kleckers (Event Three semi-finalist)
Jenson Kendrick (Event Three semi-finalist)
John Astley (Event Three semi-finalist)
James Cahill (Event Three semi-finalist)
Q School Asia-Oceania (4)
A further four players will be promoted from Q School Asia-Oceania and again they will receive a two-year tour card.
Muhammad Asif (Event One finalist)
Dechawat Poomjaeng (Event Two finalist)
Himanshu Jain (Event Two finalist)
Asjad Iqbal (Order of Merit)
World Snooker Federation (2)
Two players have qualified via the 2022 World Snooker Federation Championships. They will be awarded a two-year card.
Si Jiahui (WSF Championship winner)
Anton Kazakov (WSF Under-21 Championship winner)
WPBSA Q Tour (2)
Two players have qualified via the 2021/22 WPBSA Q Tour. They will be awarded a two-year card.
Sean O’Sullivan (Highest ranked eligible player)
Julien Leclercq (Playoff Winner)
World Women’s Snooker Tour (2)
The top two eligible players from the World Women’s Snooker Tour rankings will be awarded a two-year card.
Mink Nutcharut (No.3 Ranked / 2022 World Champion)
Rebecca Kenna (No.4 Ranked)
China Tour Qualifiers (1)
One player has qualified via the CBSA China Tour. He earns a fresh two-year tour card.
Peng Yisong
Regional Champions (7)
Seven players have qualified as regional champions. They will be awarded a two-year card.
Oliver Brown (2021 EBSA European Champion)
Dylan Emery (2021 EBSA European Under-21 Champion)
Andres Petrov (2022 EBSA European Champion)
Ben Mertens (2022 EBSA European Under-21 Champion)
Ryan Thomerson (2022 APSBF Champion)
Victor Sarkis (2021 PABSA Champion)
Mohamed Ibrahim (2022 ABSC Champion)
Invitational Tour Cards (2)
Two players have been awarded a new two-year Invitational Tour Card for the upcoming season.
Neil Robertson beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the last Hong Kong Masters in 2017 (Picture: Getty Images)
The Hong Kong Masters could still return this season, with organisers hoping to host the tournament in October after an August date become unworkable.
Snooker bosses are keen to get the professional tour back on the road, with the circuit still UK-focussed since the pandemic hit and wiped out the numerous events in China.
Competitions have returned in central Europe and the Turkish Masters sprung up last season, while there is an encouraging sign that the Six Red World Championship will be held in Thailand in September.
It was hoped that the Hong Kong Masters would be back on the calendar for the first time since 2017 in August, but travel restrictions are still too strict for that to happen.
However, it may only be a short delay, with World Snooker Tour still leaving the dates of 6-9 October clear on the calendar and organisers in Hong Kong hopeful that arrangements can be worked out.
The South China Morning Post quoted a source close to the Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council as saying: ‘We are still in discussion with government regarding the quarantine requirements but they can’t promise anything at this stage.
‘They have asked us to prepare everything in accordance with the current situation, which means a seven-day isolation is required for all inbound travellers.
‘This will be very difficult for the players to accept, with the rest of the world having opened to all travellers.
‘The world governing body of the sport could not believe it and has questioned us about it. The proposed date in August is therefore not feasible, because we can’t confirm anything at the moment.’
The quarantine period is a big problem, but so is the threat to airlines that carrying in passengers who are infected will result in a flying ban in Hong Kong.
O’Sullivan at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, a venue which was loved by the players who played there in 2017 (Picture: Getty Images)
However, the SCMP’s source is hopeful and optimistic that the October dates can be met, even if restrictions remain in place.
‘October should be more feasible because we can have more preparation time,’ he continued.
‘Even if the quarantine requirement is still there, we can apply a safety bubble for the players, but they can only travel point-to-point from hotel to venue, without any interaction with spectators – which we do not prefer, and nor do the players. The cost will also be much higher.’
Speaking in May, WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson explained that talks were ongoing over the return of the Hong Kong Masters, with travel restrictions were the problem then, as they are still now.
He also explained that it would be a small field, invitational event, as it was last time in 2017 when just eight players were involved.
‘We are in discussions over it, it’s not finalised as yet, but we’re very optimistic about it,’ Ferguson told Metro.co.uk in May.
‘A lot of it is down to travel restrictions. Demand for us to put on events in Asia is huge, but it’s down to whether we can make it work from a travel perspective.
‘The idea is to try and put a marker down, push to get an event on in Asia, put those protocols in place and then push to expand on that.
‘We can’t be too ambitious at this stage, so I imagine it will be a fairly small field if we do it.’
The last Hong Kong Masters was held in July 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, rated by the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson as one of, if not the best arena they have ever played in.
Robertson won that event, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.
In 2017, the players and the fans enjoyed it immensely. It would be good if it could be organised, and hopefully available to watch for fans in Europe as well.
Fan Zhengyi will begin the defence of his BetVictor European Masters title against Michael Judge when the world ranking event takes place in August in Germany.
Last season, China’s Fan caused one of snooker’s biggest ever upsets when he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-8 in the final in Milton Keynes. This time the 21-year-old will be up against experienced Irishman Judge in the opening round.
The tournament runs from August 16 to 21 at the fantastic Stadhalle venue in Fuerth, Germany. Tickets are on sale now, for details CLICK HERE
World Champion O’Sullivan will be up against his (unrelated) namesake Sean O’Sullivan in the opening round. Judd Trump will face Noppon Saengkham while Mark Selby will take on Yuan Sijun.
Those four matches have been held over to the venue in Fuerth, while all other first round ties will take place during the qualifying round, to be staged at the Morningside Arena in Leicester on July 15-17 and July 22-25.
Matches to look out for in the qualifying round include:
John Higgins v Scott Donaldson, Sunday July 24 at 7pm Ali Carter v Reanne Evans, Friday July 22 at 7pm Mark Williams v Liam Highfield, Friday July 15 at 2.30pm Stephen Hendry v Mark Joyce, Saturday, July 23 at 7pm
The winner of Hendry against Joyce will meet the winner of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Sean O’Sullivan in round two, raising the possibility of snooker’s two seven-time World Champions going head to head.
Details on how to watch the qualifiers and the main event will be announced soon.
Number of frames: Up to and including QFs best of 9 frames SFs best of 11 frames Final best of 17 frames (8/9)
Seeding Structure: Seeds 1-32 placed in specific positions in the draw so if top seeds win in Round 2, seed 1 meets seed 32 in Round 3, seed 2 meets seed 31, and so on. Seeds 33-128 Drawn at random in Round 1
Well … I’m glad that Ronnie has entered this event. I wasn’t sure he would. He has a very winnable opening match. He could face Yan Bingtao in the last 16 .though …
The defending Champion, Fan Zhengyi, also has a winnable match provided he doesn’t allow his opponent to dictate the style of the match. Michael Judge can play and is very experienced.
Stephen Hendry has also entered the event, which, hopefully, is an indication that he will actually make good use of his invitational tour card in the coming two seasons.
The other two top players whose matches are held over, Mark Selby and Judd Trump, have not got particularly easy openers. Noppon Saengkham is no slouch and we have just seen Yuan SiJun in action this week at the 2022 ranking CLS; he played really well en route to winning his group.
Ding isn’t there. That was to be expected. He’s due to play in a Team Event in China and currently covid measures are still in place, most notably a long isolation period upon return from abroad trips. That make it impossible for him to play in the qualifiers even if the dates do not conflict. Fan Zhengyi is also in China, but, being the defending champion, his match is held-over to the main venue.
My selection of “qualifiers matches to watch” is, as you would expect, different from WST “choices”:
Ross Muir v Lyu Haotian
Kyren Wilson v Sam Craigie
Wu Yize v Jenson Kendrick
David Grace v Ben Mertens (definitely split loyalties in this one!)
Neil Robertson won the Hong Kong Masters in 2017
Ding Junhui, Fan Zhengyi and Mei Xiwen were the members of the victorious Shaanxi team at the CBSA Cup in Xi-an, which concluded on Saturday.
Most Likely Maiden Ranking Event Winner
Surprise Package of the Season
Star Player Of The Season
World Number One at the End of the Season
The tournament runs from August 16 to 21 at the fantastic Stadhalle venue in Fuerth, Germany. Tickets are on sale now, for details 
Ronnie O'Sullivan 