and it’s not the best of starts …
Indeed it starts with the first day of the ranking 2023 Championship League Snooker and it doesn’t start in the best fashion …
Indeed this is the program for tomorrow as shared by the organisers
What was supposed to be the strongest group of the two has now been moved to table 2 as Neil Robertson and Liam Highfield are being replaced by Craig Steadman and Sean McAllister.
So we already lost one of the poster boys… and it’s a pretty horrible poster too TBH
McAllister is ranked 22 in the Q-School order of merit, Craig Steadman is ranked 25.
It’s also unclear whether we will have live scores ….
Sunday 25 Jun 2023 02:00PM
Later this year, we will be launching a new website and app, built by leading agency Urban Zoo.
In the interim period we will have a temporary match centre, which you can find here.
The new website and app, to launch later in 2023, will offer a much-improved experience for fans worldwide. We are working with new partners on building a digital offering which, once complete, will provide fans with new insights and opportunities to engage with snooker online.
Following the link to the temporary match centre currently sends you to this…
Well I suppose they still have the coming night to make it work …
in better news …
This was shred today on twitter …
It’s both good and not so good news actually
The good news is that Bai Yulu, who impressed at the Q-School shows again that she can certainly compete with the guys. She’s the best news ever (so far, of course) for those who support women in snooker. The not so good news is that she’s back in China and whether she may be able to compete in the Q-Tour – provided that she is invited in the first place – is far from certain.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
So, with the first matches well behind us, it’s still amateur hour over at wst.tv. Instead of the flashy new “Improved Scores Centre” we’re being presented with the Green Screen of Death. But it comes with the assurance that, sure enough, Godot will alight. One fine day…
The best news for those who support women in snooker is, I find, the presence of women in (main tour) snooker. The expectation that women would arrive at the scene and conquer the place was overblown, and probably illusory, which I had to learn the hard way. Now, as it stands, I am settling for women to settle in, to give their best, use the chances they get, even when and while wins might remain out of reach in all but a few instances. Meanwhile, however, snooker as a whole evolves from the “No women and dogs allowed” stage towards something more akin to 21st century standards. Provided fans make themselves heard, even snooker and media executives cannot but, occasionally, put a women with a cue in hand on television. As males generally lag behind by several decades in their cultural development, I have to repeat myself: One fine day…
So, on to more serious matters now:
“The not so good news is that she’s back in China and whether she may be able to compete in the Q-Tour – provided that she is invited in the first place – is far from certain.”
Here is how the Q Tour worked last year (assuming this year’s will be the same procedure as last year’s):
https://wpbsa.com/wpbsa-q-tour-2022-23/
“The Players
“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.
“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.”
[Players’ names removed.]
Bai Yulu is #41 in the Q School Order of Merit.
https://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?template=46&season=2022
Upon removing the eight ahead of her who gained a tour card, she moves to #33. That means, she’s just outside of the 32 who will be invited in the first instance.
However:
“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.”
So, if one of those ahead of Bai declines (or doesn’t pay up), Bai is next in line to be contacted, and there’s a good chance she will be. Maybe (not sure about the age limit) she’ll top the list of junior players to be invited.
However, if not:
“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.”
So, Fridays are open season for all those not already invited to apply and to play qualifying matches and to enter the last 64 – that is, 48 invited players plus 16 remaining – after the required number of qualifying rounds – from those who apply in addition to the former.
So, provided I understood all that correctly, Bai has every chance to take part in the Q Tour, if she wants to and can make her way to these damp islands. (Yeah, I am probably just stating the blindingly obvious.)
Thank you for that analysis. No it’s not obvious at all actually. Also, I’m not sure who is considered a “junior”. Bai is 19. Is that “junior”? It’s unclear to me. In most mainland European countries “under 21” is considered “junior”, but in some other places , it would be “under 18” that’s considered a junior.
Overcoming my laziness, I found: Last year, Sean Maddocks was invited as one of the juniors not otherwise qualified. He was 20 at the time. Hence, Bai Yulu should top that junior list this year, and be invited to the Q Tour.
Thank you.
The Guangzhou Snooker Open wasn’t a very strong tournament, comprising mainly amateurs from Guangdong. But it was large, with 118 players, lasting 5 days, held at a local tennis club. The matches were best-of-5 until the Q-finals, increasing to best-of-9 for the final. There were 3 women in the draw.
Several players who ultimately became professionals played in this tournament when they were very young. It’s exactly events like this that help enormously in the development of younger players. Immediately after his loss in the final, Jiang Jun left for the UK, where he makes his professional debut on Wednesday. He’s the most promising of the 6 new Chinese players.