Whilst some of the top players are resting or doing exhibitions, snooker hopefuls are trying to qualify for the main tour through various routes.

Ronnie is in Kunshan (near to Shanghai) for the third leg of his exhibition tour in China and, yesterday beat Zhang Anda by 5-3 whilst Marco Fu completely dominated Jack Lisoski, winning by 5-1. You will find a lot about these exhibitions in the comments section, thanks to Kalacs who I can’t thank enough for his contributions. Here are some images shared on social media …

Meanwhile “serious” things are happening around the world …

The UK/Europe Q-School Event 1 is underway … in the UK (of course) and here is WST report on day 1. It doesn’t cover much of what happened but It’s nice to see that the main focus is on On Yee’s and a couple very young prospects first round wins.

ON YEE MAKES WINNING START

Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee began her quest for a return to the World Snooker Tour with a comeback 4-2 win over Latvian Rodion Judin at Q School.

The three-time Women’s World Champion spent two seasons on the professional circuit between 2021 and 2023, before suffering relegation. She has since failed to return via the WWS rankings or Asia/Oceania Q School last season. 

Having trailed 2-1, On Yee went on to take the last three, including a 43-minute sixth to get over the line. Next up she faces Englishman Josh Mullholland. 

“Rodion is a good player, so I knew I would have to play well to get a win. At the start of the match both of us were a bit twitchy and nervous. I am happy that at the end I played alright to get a win,” said 33-year-old On Yee. 

“Recently my confidence levels have dropped a little bit, but I am still practising hard. I think it is the expectation. When you really want to win the tournaments and you want to do well, it can put you under pressure. 

“I was very happy to see Bai Yulu win the Women’s World Championship. She is so young and such a talented player. I hope she can do well on the World Snooker Tour. I just need to keep working hard.”

Scottish teenager Jack Borwick edged through a 4-3 thriller to defeat 68-year-old two-time ranking winner Tony Knowles. The final frame came down to the pink, which Borwick deposited to set up a second round meeting with Hayden Staniland. 

Moldova’s Vladislav Gradinari scored a 4-0 whitewash win over Faizeen Mohammed. The 15-year-old crafted breaks of 75 and 52 on his way to the victory. 

Welsh 15-year-old Riley Powell came through 4-3 against Callum Downing, while former professional Sean Maddocks beat Labeeb Ahmed 4-2. 

Q SCHOOL DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS

On Yee played well. The last two winning shots should give her confidence. Her safety was good – as often – and if she manages to score a bit more heavily she has a decent chance in the event.

Also the first Asia-Oceania Q-School has started today in Thailand. As always snooker.org is on the case.

You will find streams and images on Thailand Snooker Association FB page. I was happy to see that Luo Hong Hao won his first match, a match that unfortunately wasn’t streamed.

And quite incredibly, the first event of the 2024/25 season, the Middle-East Q-Tour Event 1, is already underway and you can follow that one on snooker.org as well.