Snooker will be back right after the New Year celebrations and the first big event will be the 2023 Masters. WST has confirmed what we all expected.
David Gilbert will replace Yan Bingtao in the draw.
Gilbert Joins Cazoo Masters Field
David Gilbert has been awarded a place in the 2023 Cazoo Masters and will face Mark Williams in the opening round at Alexandra Palace in London on Tuesday January 10th at 7pm.
Click here for the updated draw
Gilbert directly replaces Yan Bingtao, who was suspended by WPBSA on December 12th. Yan’s 14-day window to appeal the suspension has now passed. Gilbert was 17th in the world rankings at the cut-off point for the Cazoo Masters so he is the next player in line.
Tamworth’s Gilbert reached the semi-finals on each of his previous appearances at the Masters, in 2020 and 2021.
WPBSA/WST have also published the draw for the Q-Tour Event 6
Q Tour Event Six Draw
Tournament information including the draw and format for the sixth and final event of the WPBSA Q Tour is now available to view via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The event will take place at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds and will run from 6-8 January 2023.
Q Tour is one of the premier pathways to the World Snooker Tour with two professional places to be won across the season. Sean O’Sullivan and Julien Leclercq both earned main tour cards via the Q Tour last season.
This season’s first five events were won by Ross Muir, Martin O’Donnell, Farakh Ajaib, Billy Castle and Daniel Wells.
Unsurprisingly all the winners so far are British, all are male and all are former pros.
In fact all players in the top 16 Q-Tour rankings are British, only four have never been pros and only one of those is teenagers. The highest ranked “non-UK” players are Florian Nuessle (Austria), Gao Yang (China) and Brian Ochoiski (France) and they are 19th, 20th, and 21st in the Q-Tour rankings.
And, the final piece of news I’ m sharing in this post is a sad one and was shared by WST on Christmas’ Eve : Frank Adamson passed away.
Frank Adamson Passes Away
Frank Adamson, a renowned coach who worked with players including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Lee and Jack Lisowski, has passed away at the age of 93.
Adamson, from Bristol, was well known in snooker circles as one of the sport’s best coaches. He helped countless young players to improve their technique.
O’Sullivan said: “Frank was a great student of the game, and knew his stuff. If it wasn’t for Frank, I don’t think I would have won one world title. So Frank helping me out enabled me to win seven. We worked so hard for a year. It was amazing. It was probably the best and the hardest time of my snooker career. I knew I had to sort my game out, and I knew he was the person to do it. So big love and respect to Frank, and his wife Loretta. Amazing family. Amazing couple. Love him to pieces. I loved his cheese and ham sandwiches. Just a great guy. Sorely missed.”
Daniel Wells, who was coached by Adamson, said: “Frank was an incredible coach and he had the ability to work with players of all standards, from beginners to World Champions. He dedicated most of his life to snooker and helped so many players. He was also a lovely guy and he will be missed by everyone who knew him.”
Coach Nic Barrow added: “Frank was instrumental in helping me understand the game as a player. He later spent many years helping me find my own coaching style and methods. He always viewed himself as a student of the game first and foremost which is why I trusted him so deeply. I told him on more than one occasion, that if I had to have another Dad, I would want Frank to be my Dad.”
WST and WPBSA send our condolences to all of Frank’s family and friends.
There were plenty more heartfelt tributes on social media, including by Paul Mount who in the days set-up the wonderful South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester and was manager to many great players, as well as from Andrew Norman who worked closely with Paul.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 