Tournament information including the draw and format for the second event of 2024/25 WPBSA Q Tour Europe is now available to view via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The event will take place from 20-22 September at the National Snooker Academy of Bulgaria, Sofia with 108 players in the draw.
Q Tour Europe is made up of seven tournaments and is part of the expanded WPBSA Q Tour Global, which incorporates regional events held around the world, each offering access to an extended Q Tour Global Playoff at the end of the season.
Although the English players are still a majority in this field, there are more players from mainland Europe in this draw than I can remember in previous events. The Ukrainian delegation is particularly strong. The Baltic countries are well represented as well.
But the one player who will certainly be under huge scrutiny during this event is the only Chinese in the draw, Zhao Xintong. Zhao’s WPBSA/WST ban ended on September first, although he’s not yet allowed to compete in China. I am certain that Zhao will have prepared as well as possible for this event.
There will be voices to argue that he shouldn’t be allowed back, the same voices that asked for a life ban for all the young Chinese players involved in that scandal, no matter what they have done or not, and no matter the circumstances they faced. For the record Zhao did NOT fix any match: he did bet on snooker and didn’t “grass” on his mates. Those were his crimes.
I’m sure that some of those same “voices” would gladly welcome Stephen Lee back… you know, he has such a silky cue action… If you are tempted to join those voices I invite you to read the section about “match fixing and ban” on Lee’s wikipedia bio. I was taking pictures in the arena during that controversial PL match and I was baffled by what I was seeing. Clive Everton in commentary was equally non-plussed. Judd Trump was watching and called it on social media as well. Lee had been making good money from his sport, he was no penniless kid in a foreign country thousands of miles away from their family, threatened by the people who should have been mentors to them and he had already been under scrutiny for suspected match/frames fixing before, including at the Crucible.
So… a bit of consistency, please. That wouldn’t hurt. Me, I’ll welcome Zhao’s return.
6 thoughts on “2024/25 Q-Tour Event 2 … and Zhao Xintong return…”
In general, most people will be fine with Zhao Xintong’s return. Why? Because he’s a popular player, a big-event winner, with an engaging smile. Very few will actually base their decision to support (or not) on facts, such as actually reading the WPBSA reports. Few will understand some of the legal subtleties, and few will realise that there were things that had to be redacted from in the report due to confidentiality clauses and criminal liability. Many will NOT support Zhao’s return merely because he is Chinese. We can read nothing into voiced opinions and online polls. But (assuming Zhao’s VISA documents are in order) Q Tour 2 is a very low-key event, running concurrently with the English Open.
Zhao was lucky to be so popular. He also had enough resources to hire a good lawyer. But there were some younger players who were made an example of, and thrown overboard, despite as you say being threatened and feeling helpless. Would their return be welcomed? As it happens, those players were sufficiently wrecked financially that a comeback is unlikely.
I’ m sorry, I don’t understand the point here. If I’m correct. Zhao Xintong was banned because he facilitated Yan Bingtao’s betting on fixed matches. The above comment suggests that others got a worse deal, even unfair sentences due to their inability to hire good lawyers?
And of course Zhao’s game is easy on the eye, so his return will be welcomed more than a potential Yan Bingtao-return would be, lol.
Yes, that is exactly what meant.
thanks
I do agree with you on Stephen Lee and in any case, his suspension will be up, but as far as I heard his fines are still outstanding. And Zhao Xintong served his ban. so I see no reason why he should not try to return. But really. When in 2020 Ronnie played that damned Shootout in a desperate try to qualify for the Players, you wrote:
“There was an “incident” … of course there had to be one. As Ronnie was cueing the pink “over the black”, Judd Trump tweeded that he “thought” that Ronnie had touched the black, but that he wasn’t sure. You can see it in the above footage at 3’50”. The referee, didn’t call a foul. However a few seconds later, after her attention was apparently drawn to it by a member of the crowd, she shouted “Ronnie stop!”. Ronnie was on his next shot already and played it.
Judd almost immediately removed his tweet, but the seed was planted. All over twitter there were people, branding Ronnie a cheat – “surely he must have felt it” – and “he’s ignoring the ref”. And Desi got criticised rather harshly too. “
So really: just that Trump felt the need to post something on social media is inconsequential.
The thing is, in the case of that Lee v Higgins match, Judd only tweeted what we – at the venue – were thinking this very moment. That’s why I remember it so vividly.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
In general, most people will be fine with Zhao Xintong’s return. Why? Because he’s a popular player, a big-event winner, with an engaging smile. Very few will actually base their decision to support (or not) on facts, such as actually reading the WPBSA reports. Few will understand some of the legal subtleties, and few will realise that there were things that had to be redacted from in the report due to confidentiality clauses and criminal liability. Many will NOT support Zhao’s return merely because he is Chinese. We can read nothing into voiced opinions and online polls. But (assuming Zhao’s VISA documents are in order) Q Tour 2 is a very low-key event, running concurrently with the English Open.
Zhao was lucky to be so popular. He also had enough resources to hire a good lawyer. But there were some younger players who were made an example of, and thrown overboard, despite as you say being threatened and feeling helpless. Would their return be welcomed? As it happens, those players were sufficiently wrecked financially that a comeback is unlikely.
I’ m sorry, I don’t understand the point here. If I’m correct. Zhao Xintong was banned because he facilitated Yan Bingtao’s betting on fixed matches. The above comment suggests that others got a worse deal, even unfair sentences due to their inability to hire good lawyers?
And of course Zhao’s game is easy on the eye, so his return will be welcomed more than a potential Yan Bingtao-return would be, lol.
Yes, that is exactly what meant.
thanks
I do agree with you on Stephen Lee and in any case, his suspension will be up, but as far as I heard his fines are still outstanding. And Zhao Xintong served his ban. so I see no reason why he should not try to return. But really. When in 2020 Ronnie played that damned Shootout in a desperate try to qualify for the Players, you wrote:
“There was an “incident” … of course there had to be one. As Ronnie was cueing the pink “over the black”, Judd Trump tweeded that he “thought” that Ronnie had touched the black, but that he wasn’t sure. You can see it in the above footage at 3’50”. The referee, didn’t call a foul. However a few seconds later, after her attention was apparently drawn to it by a member of the crowd, she shouted “Ronnie stop!”. Ronnie was on his next shot already and played it.
Judd almost immediately removed his tweet, but the seed was planted. All over twitter there were people, branding Ronnie a cheat – “surely he must have felt it” – and “he’s ignoring the ref”. And Desi got criticised rather harshly too. “
So really: just that Trump felt the need to post something on social media is inconsequential.
The thing is, in the case of that Lee v Higgins match, Judd only tweeted what we – at the venue – were thinking this very moment. That’s why I remember it so vividly.