The 2023 International Championship Qualifiers start today and here is the last information WST shared about the event. These are the first qualifiers this season that will be played in front of the fans and not behind closed doors.
How To Watch The International Championship Qualifiers
The qualifying round for the 2023 International Championship runs from September 18-23, with the likes of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson in action.
The action takes place at Ponds Forge in Sheffield and fans can be there for just £10 per day – for details click here.
Or you can watch it live online, here’s the list of broadcasters:
Monday September 18 Tian Pengfei v Stephen Hendry Barry Hawkins v Andrew Pagett Matthew Selt v Jimmy White
Wednesday September 20 Hossein Vafaei v Reanne Evans
Thursday September 21 Mark Selby v Muhammad Asif Kyren Wilson v Adam Duffy Mark Allen v Ma Hailong Jack Lisowski v He Gouqiang Mark Williams v Rebecca Kenna
Friday September 22 Neil Robertson v Ryan Thomerson John Higgins v Manasawin Phetmalaikul Si Jiahui v Julien LeClercq Shaun Murphy v Andres Petrov
Michael Holt defeated Liam Davies 5-2 in the final at the Snookerhallen in Stockholm, Sweden to win the second UK/Europe Q Tour event of the 2023/24 season.
Former Shoot Out winner Holt is seeking a return to the professional ranks and his maiden Q Tour triumph sees him rise the rankings in pursuit of top spot come the end of the seven-event campaign which guarantees promotion to the World Snooker Tour.
As a seed player, Holt began his challenge on Saturday in the Swedish capital. After receiving a walkover in the last 64 he defeated Yu Kiu Chang (Hong Kong) 3-1 with breaks of 74 and 68, and then dispatched Event One runner Craig Steadman 3-0 – registering a run of exactly 100 in the opening frame.
Returning for the last eight the next day, Holt restricted his opponent Daniel Womersley to just 14 points throughout the entire match as he recorded a 4-0 success with efforts of 84 and 82.
In the semi-finals, the 45-year-old ended the run of Wales’ Alfie Davies 4-1, top scoring with a 58 break in frame four. Previously, Holt had never been past the last 32 of a Q Tour event, but he relinquished just two frames in four matches en route to his first final on the circuit.
Emerging from the other side of the draw was 17-year-old Davies who was looking to become the first player to win back-to-back Q Tour titles after securing Event One in North Shields last month.
Davies – who remains top of the overall rankings – survived a deciding frame against Daniel Holoyda (Poland) in the last 64 before whitewash wins over Oliver Sykes and the experienced former professional and Shoot Out winner Robin Hull in the last 32 and 16 respectively.
In an entertaining quarter-final, Davies ousted last season’s Q Tour Playoff finalist and current Austrian national champion Florian Nuessle 4-3. Nuessle crafted a break of 113 to force a deciding frame but Davies was not to be denied.
Awaiting Davies in the semi-finals was fellow teenager and reigning Polish national champion Antoni Kowalski who was making his Q Tour debut. Davies, though, became only the third player to reach consecutive event finals as he compiled breaks of 79, 50 and 65 in a 4-0 victory.
Holt started the final very well with a 91 break in the opening frame. He then doubled that lead, but Davies responded as he deposited the next two frames (61 break, frame three) to go all square into the mid-session interval.
However, momentum swung again after resumption as Holt strung together three successive frames – including a run of 70 in the sixth – to claim the title.
Event Three is set to take place at the TSG Heilbronn in Germany between October 20-22.
Amateur News – The 900 is back tonight!
In other, unrelated news… my post yesterday about Ronnie’s win in Shanghai was the 3000th one in this blog. Nice milestone … thanks Ronnie!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Congratulations on reaching the 3000 milestone 👏 and thank you for all the effort you put into this blog 🤗👍✨
great stuff monique
Wow, nice century! Congratulations, very grateful for this blog! ❤️😻
Congrats for the 3000th century break Monique :))) I know this is not an official website but I feel like a big official Ronnie and Snooker site!
Thank you.
congratulations on the 3000th post. we often disagree but I thank you for running this blog, grazie mille.
Thank you!