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.

Ronnie is on his way to Kunshan for the third leg of his exhibitions tour in China. This will be two nights of exhibition matches with Jack Lisowski, Marco Fu and Zhang Anda. Hopefully, Ronnie will be fully fit and well again, and able to play to his full potential. This should be good!

Upon arrival Ronnie was reunited with Ding’s dad … a friendship that started in 2007, after Ronnie helped a very young and distraught Ding who was abused by idiots in the crowd.

But, here, in Europe, things get underway in earnest tomorrow with the start of the first 2024 UK/Europe Q-School in Sheffield. It will be played behind closed doors. This is a crying shame. Ok, there will be one table streamed but that’s just one table…

Meanwhile WPBSA has announced further expansion of the Asia-Pacific Q-Tour

WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific Expansion Announced for 2024/25

The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) has announced that its Q Tour Asia-Pacific series will expand to five events for the upcoming season.

The 2024/25 campaign will see the second staging of the Asia-Pacific series with two additional events held across Australia and New Zealand after former professional Vinnie Calabrese topped last season’s ranking list with two titles.

The announcement continues the expansion of the 2024/25 WPBSA Q Tour Global season, which also sees the Q Tour Middle East series incorporate events in Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The full list of Asia-Pacific series events is:

• 28-30 June: West Coast International
• 2-4 August: Fred Osbourne Classic
• 26-29 September: New Zealand Open
• 10-13 October: Bob Hawke AC Australian Open
• 24-27 January (TBC): Queensland Open

Once again, the top ranked player in the Asia-Pacific series ranking list will be offered places at the Q Tour Global Play-Offs, where three World Snooker Tour (WST) two-year tour cards will be on offer.

Alex Render, Australian Billiards & Snooker Council President said: “I am thrilled to announce our full support for the upcoming Q Tour season.

“By selecting five prestigious Open Snooker events, we are paving the way for aspiring players to embark on a remarkable journey. This initiative not only showcases the immense talent within our region but also provides a clear pathway for individuals to compete on the global stage.”

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “All major sports must recognise the challenges to the distance and travel in providing opportunities for all. This network of Global Q Tours is creating more vital opportunities for many who dream of competing on the World Snooker Tour.”

“Our thanks must go to President Alex Render and his team for demonstrating an incredible commitment to aspiring players and officials across the Asia Pacific Region.”

Further information about the 2024/25 Q Tour will be published in due course.

I have underlined parts of Jason Ferguson quotes. He’s 100% right BUT making the qualifying process truly global isn’t enough – and doesn’t make sense – unless the main tour itself becomes truly global, which it isn’t currently as we know. The main Tour has to grow out of its UK centric organisation to become a truly inclusive and fair Tour. I won’t repeat what needs to be changed for that to happen… I have written about it about a zillion times. in the past years.

The exhibition tournament in Chengdu continued today. The Ronnie vs Ding match attracted a lot of fans but unfortunately it was very one-sided, Ding winning by 5-1 and getting his revenge after Ronnie beat him convincingly in Luoyang earlier this week. It was mentioned yesterday that Ronnie wasn’t feeling well during his match against John Higgins and, possibly, this was a factor today as well. If so, it’s unfortunate but those things happen and it can’t be helped.

Anyway … here are some images shared on social media, mainly on Weibo

The other match today saw John Higgins play Judd Trump. At the time of writing I don’t know who won, let alone the score. Higgins didn’t make a 147 … but he did make the highest break of the tournament – thanks Kalacs for clarifying this – and has won a car for his efforts.

Once again, big thanks to Kalacs for his much appreciated contribution … Please, check the comments section where Kalacs posted a lot of short videos and more pictures.

On the second day of Ding and Ronnie exhibitions in Luoyan, Ronnie appeared to be on ruthless mood as he beat Ding by 5-1. Here is the match:

Ronnie played quite well and Ding struggled. Obviously Ronnie was aware of the fact that Ding had a difficult day and took some very spectacular risky shots, getting most of them. The table obviously played easy which helped… it’s an exhibition after all and “exhibition shots” is what most fans want to watch.

And some more photos of the event…

From what I understood from Weibo, people on the site were able to watch free of charge. The event aimed at promoting both snooker as a sport and the cultural treasures of the region. The Longmen Grottos site is part of the “UNESCO World Heritage” . It is to be protected, admired and cherished.