The second 2023 European Q-School event and the first 2023 Asia-Oceania Q-School started yesterday.
WST eventually published the draws for both 2023 Asia-Oceania Q-Schools held in Thailand.
Thursday 1 Jun 2023 07:03AM
Asia-Oceania Q School kicks off on Thursday. Click below to see the draws.
Click here for event one match schedule
Click here for event two match schedule
The event will run from June 1-12 in Bangkok. There will be two tournaments, with the finalists from each tournament earning a place on the professional tour for the next two seasons.
About time… the first event had started already!
And whilst the European Q-Schools are only streamed in China, the Asia-Oceania Q-School is streamed on Facebook by the Billiards Sports Association of Thailand (BSAT). Yesterday there were quite a few issues with the streaming but today that seems to work well although the scores are not shown on some streams. Tell me about an oxymoronic situation…
On the other hand, live scores are available on the WST site for the European Events, whilst following live scores for the Asian events is trickier. BSAT publishes various files with draws/live scores/results but it’s not easy to follow.
As usual the snooker.org team does everything in their power to keep fans up-to-date with both events
WST has published reports on what happened yesterday …
Powell Powers To First Win
Welsh 14-year-old Riley Powell secured his first ever Q School victory, beating Bradley Cowdroy 4-2 in the opening round of Event Two in Leicester.
Powell made his World Snooker Tour debut at the Shoot Out earlier this year and scored a sensational maiden win over world number eight Kyren Wilson, before bowing out against compatriot Daniel Wells.
The talented youngster practises with legendary three-time World Champion Mark Williams, who advised him to savour his Q School experience and not put too much pressure on himself. That is a philosophy which Powell is determined to adopt. He faces a tricky test in the second round against Austria’s Florian Nuessle, who beat Jedd Mann 4-1.
Powell said: “You just learn so many things from Mark. He is so much better than people think he is. In practice he is unbelievable and I am so thankful to him for helping me with my journey so far. Before I came up here, he just told me to go out there and enjoy it. All I am here for is a bit of experience. I want to win, but if I lose I will go back to the practice table and come back next year.”
China’s 19-year-old Bai Yulu won her second Q School match with a 4-1 defeat of Zac Cosker. She will now go straight through to the third round, with her scheduled second round opponent Andrew Pagett having already earned a tour card through event one.
Bai has showcased her talent on the World Women’s Tour this season. She was runner-up in the World Championship and won the British Open. Bai composed breaks of 50 and 61 in today’s victory.
Steven Hallworth recovered from the disappointment of losing in the penultimate round of event one, beating Jeremiah Connors 4-0. Former Shoot Out quarter-finalist Hallworth crafted breaks of 69 and 55 on his way to the win and now faces Malta’s Aaron Busuttil.
Fraser Patrick earned his second round spot with a 4-2 win over Ian Barlow, while English pool player Jordan Shepherd beat Andrew Robson 4-1.
I don’t doubt young Riley’s talent but at fourteen I think he’s far too young to be thrown into the cut-throat competitive environment that is the main tour. It is NOT true that if you are good enough, you are old enough. We hear so many stories about adult snooker players suffering from mental health issues because it’s such a hard and lonely sport. Exposing a 14 years old kid to that – no matter how good he might be technically – is irresponsible and potentially extremely damaging.
Lei Off To Winning Start
Former professional Lei Peifan made a strong start to his Asia-Oceania Q School campaign in Bangkok, whitewashing Pakistan’s Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir 4-0 to reach the second round.
Lei lost his tour card at the end of last season and is seeking an immediate return to the professional ranks. His best performance on the circuit to date saw him make Judgement Day at 2022 World Championship qualifying. Lei came within a single frame of the Crucible, but lost out 10-9 against Hossein Vafaei.
The Chinese 20-year-old crafted breaks of 55 and 62 on his way to victory. He now faces Singapore’s Kingsley Tian Yi Ang in the last 64.
India’s Asutosh Padhy showed his steel with a gutsy final frame to edge out Hong Kong’s Kai Sang Yeung 4-3. Padhy had led 3-0, before being hauled into a deciding frame. However, he fired in a break of 82 to get over the line.
Filipino Jeffrey Roda booked his second round slot with a 4-2 win over Shrikrishna Suryanarayanan. Roda top scored with a contribution of 122.
And BTW, BSAT has completely outplayed WST when it comes to the “glamour” of the environment and the look of the players seats … at least on table 1!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yes, Bai started poorly but got stronger as the match went on, and could have finished with two centuries. It must still be a daunting situation for her. But her opponent was only 16 and just starting out himself. Nevertheless, Bai Yulu continues to be the story of the summer. Let’s hope it doesn’t get lost when the new season starts.
The match in your picture featured Gong Chenzhi’s win over Wang Yuchen. Gong is a promising junior, who last year led his team to the final of the CBSA City Cup, the only tournament in China during 2020-2022. In the final, Gong beat Fan Zhengyi and Mei Xiwen, but Ding Junhui won all his matches. Gong is originally from Shandong and coached by Yan Dong, Yan Bingtao’s father.
However, he stands little chance here. There are 6 players with professional experience in the Asia/Oceania Q School. All of them are in the top half of the knockout draw.
Yes, I watched that match and was impressed by Gong. On the other hand, seeing Wang Yuchen playing rather poorly saddened me. I met him in Yixing some 11 years ago and maybe my memory “tricks” me but from what I remember he was better back then. That said, he told me that his father insisted that university should be his priority so maybe he didn’t play as much or as regularly as most other Chinese youngsters.
Your memory is correct. What also damaged Wang Yuchen’s comeback was the covid lockdowns in Hong Kong, where he is now based. I hope one of the Hong Kong players qualifies, with the funding situation still critical. Cheung Ka Wai is an exciting prospect, and Chang Yu Kiu and of course Ng On Yee have an outside chance.
I certainly hope they will continue paying attention to Bai Yulu, and not like as a good woman player, better that Evans, but mainly playing in the women’s tour.
It does create a potentially embarrassing problem for WST. They will be wanting to promote their players, in particular when the Mixed Doubles comes around. But actually it might not be such a bad thing for Bai personally if she’s not in the headlights too much for the next 12 months.
Covid lockdowns certain damaged a lot, as HK forced to close all snooker clubs(it was a global restriction) back then. (in China, if a player was dedicated enough, he could go to other provinces or even lived in a snooker academy rather than stuck in a place. Unhuman though)
m.huya.com streaming is available on the phone, (UK at least): at least I could follow Bulcsu and Bai on it yesterday. I enjoyed both, Bulcsu finished with a century. Now I’m not a century-fetishist, but it was good to see both of them scoring and building breaks instead of the potting one, making a safety (or missing the next pot), so often seen with youngsters or women.
I don’t think there is a need to worry about Powell making it to the main tour and a few matches in q-school can’t hurt.