Month: July 2025

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker – Stage 2 – Groups E and F

Monique Snooker

Ricky Walden and Matthew Selt booked their place into the third round at the 2025 ranking CLS.

I didn’t watch much of the action, and nothing from the concluding phase of the day so can’t really comment. We are experiencing very high temperatures here in Santorini: at the time of writing, 11h30 in the morning, the outside temperature is already over 35 degree Celsius and it will only get higher in the coming hours. With all hotels and many houses putting the air conditioning on, at full power, our electric network fails on a regular basis. It did again yesterday evening. This is an island that has about 15000 permanent residents, staying on the island in winter, and as much as over 20 times more tourists in the peak of the season. It is estimated that we have now about 3 400 000 tourists on the island every year. Many of them come on organised trips, stepping out of the “croisière” boats, ferried around in mini vans or pullman busses, with a strict schedule. They barely have time to properly enjoy the unique natural environment of the island. What’s the point? And many of those who stay for some days don’t know how to cope with the heat and sun. The local hospital is excellent but gets more that they can cope with deep sunburns, sunstrokes and alcoholic coma cases. But I digress …

Here is the report shared by WST:

Selt Edges Into Finale

Matthew Selt narrowly prevailed to win Group F and make it to the final stage of the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester. 

The former Indian Open champion needed to beat 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham 3-0 to in the final game to progress and that was exactly what he did. A tense last frame came down to the colours, but he prevailed 58-50 to seal his progression on frame difference. He edged out Liam Davies, who he had earlier drawn 2-2 with, by a single frame and beat Dylan Emery 3-1 with a top score of 75. 

On the other table it was Ricky Walden who came through in the last match. The Chester cueman beat Liu Hongyu 3-1 to seal top spot and force the Chinese cueman into second spot. Earlier in the day Walden beat David Gilbert 3-1 and drew 2-2 with Chris Wakelin. 

The second stage concludes on Tuesday with the likes of Tom Ford and Wu Yize in action.

As always you will find all the detailed results on snooker.org: Group E and Group F

Upcoming Tournaments Infos: 2025 Wuhan Open and Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters

Monique Snooker

WST has shared information about the upcoming 2025 Wuhan Open and 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters

Regarding the 2025 Wuhan Open, WST post simply confirms the draw and format. That same information is available on snooker.org in a format that, personally, I find easier to read.

Regarding the 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters, here is the content WST shares:

Snooker’s Greatest Stars Set For Battle On The Baize In Jeddah

Snooker’s Greatest Stars Set For Battle On The Baize In Jeddah

Snooker’s all-time greats including defending champion Judd Trump, World Champion Zhao Xintong, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson and many more are are heading to Jeddah in August for the spectacular Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the schedule

The draw has now been announced for the event which will be staged in Jeddah for the first time, to run from August 8th to 16th at Green Halls, Prince Abdullah AlFaisal Sports City.

This epic tournament has quickly become established as the sport’s Fourth Major alongside the historic Triple Crown events. In all there will be 144 players competing for the crown, including 16 wild cards from the Middle East. 

Trump will be defending the title having beaten Mark Williams 10-9 in last year’s incredible final. With one of snooker’s greatest ever clearances, Trump came from 62 points down to win the deciding frame with a break of 72.

The wild card players represent the best snooker talent from Saudi Arabia and further afield. They are:

Omar Alajlani, Saudi Arabia. Eight-time Saudi Arabian national champion. Represented Saudi Arabia at the Snooker World Cup in 2019.

Abdulraouf Saigh, Saudi Arabia. Competed in last year’s Saudi Arabian Snooker Masters and came close to beating professional Robbie McGuigan, narrowly losing 4-3. 

Ziad Al Qabani, Saudi Arabia. Age just 15, he has already won the national junior title twice.

Ahmed Asiri, Saudi Arabia. Competed in last year’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship. 

Ayman Al Amri, Saudi Arabia 

Abdullah Al Tyani, Saudi Arabia 

Musab Sayegh, Saudi Arabia

Fahad Alghamdi, Saudi Arabia 

Musaad Almisfir, Saudi Arabia

Saud Albaker, Saudi Arabia

Adeel Aqdas, Pakistan

Asif Mukhtar, Pakistan

Habib Subah, Bahrain. The leading player from Bahrain, he is a former professional having competed on the World Snooker Tour in 2005/06.

Hesham Shaky, Egypt. Arab Champion in 2025.

Mohammed Al Joker, UAE. Runner-up in the Arab Championship in 2025.

One more wild card to be announced.

Once again the total prize money tops £2 million and the winner will receive £500,000, the same first prize as the World Championship. The full breakdown is:

Winner: £500,000 
Runner-up: £200,000 
Semi-finals: £100,000
Quarter-finals: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000 
Last 32: £20,000
Last 48: £11,000
Last 80: £7,000
Last 112: £4,000
Last 144: £2,000
147 Break: £50,000
Total: £2,302,000

Former World Champion Neil Robertson, who reached the quarter-finals in Saudi Arabia in 2024, said: “Every player had a great experience last year. The practice facility was the best I have ever seen at a tournament. Everything was perfect, it was a wonderful event. It was a really good vibe with all 144 players there. 

“I enjoy seeing different cultures, every city offers something unique and to travel around the Middle East is exciting. The interest among fans is growing and it’s up to the players to keep putting on good shows.  Now it feels like a global tour and it would be great to see new players from the Middle East.” 

For each of the first five days there will be eight tables in the arena, giving fans the chance to see a wide range of star players, with two matches on each table in the afternoon sessions and two more in the evenings. The quarter-finals take place on August 14th, followed by the semi-finals on August 15th and the showpiece final on Saturday August 16th. 

The tournament takes place in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation and under the supervision of the Ministry of Sport for Saudi Arabia. Working together with our partners, World Snooker Tour is committed to expanding cue sports at every level – from youth development and grassroots coaching to international wild card opportunities for emerging regional talent. This will highlight Saudi Arabia’s growing presence on the international sporting stage, aligned with Vision 2030 – the Kingdom’s wide-reaching initiative to diversify its economy and empower the next generation through sport. 

The top 16 players are seeded in the round of 32.

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker – Stage 2 – Groups C and D

Monique Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament

Stage 2 continued yesterday at the 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker, with Group C and Group D in action. Follow the links for detailed results on snooker.org.

Here is the report shared by WST:

Chinese Duo Reach Final Stage

Pang Junxu and Xu Si both remained on course for a first ranking title as they progressed to the last eight of the BetVictor Championship League by topping their groups on Saturday in Leicester.

The Chinese pair follow Stephen Maguire and Joe O’Connor into the third and final phase on Wednesday, with four more players to join them. The champion of the first ranking event of the 2025/26 season will be crowned on Wednesday night. 

Pang battled through a tight Group C which came down to the last frame of the day. After beating Alfie Burden 3-1 with breaks of 109 and 132, Pang then lost 3-0 to Robbie Williams. His last fixture was against Lei Peifan and a win for either player was worth top spot, while a 2-2 draw would have handed Burden the group. After sharing the first two frames, Pang took the next two for a 3-1 victory.

Xu was the dominant player in Group D as he opened with a 3-0 win over David Lilley, highlighted by a break of 97 in the opening frame. He then saw off Artemijs Zizins 3-0 with top runs of 90 and 102, and secured top spot with a 2-2 draw against Jack Lisowski. 

The action resumes on Monday with Chris Wakelin the highest ranked player Group E, while former World Champion Stuart Bingham is among the quartet in Group F.

The Chinese lads were their reliable selves for most of the day. David Lilley is a very competent and experienced player without being brilliant. Artemijs Zizins acquitted himself well and hopefully the experience will serve him well going forward. As for Jack Lisowski, I really like him but … grrrr ….

There is no professional snooker played today.

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker – Stage 2 – Groups A and B

Monique Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker has entered its stage 2, and yesterday Joe O’Connor and Stephen Maguire prevailed in Group A and Group B respectively. Here is the report shared by WST:

Maguire And O’Connor First Into Stage Three

Stephen Maguire and Joe O’Connor became the first two players to reach the last eight of the BetVictor Championship League as they topped their groups on Friday in Leicester.

…

Phase two runs until Tuesday, with the eight group winners going into the third and final phase. The champion of the first ranking event of the 2025/26 season will be crowned on Wednesday night. 

Maguire, now playing his 28th professional season, started Group B with a 2-2 draw against Yuan Sijun, then beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3-1 with breaks of 84, 67 and 66. His last match against Zhang Anda, who also had a win and a draw under his belt, would decide the group, and Scotland’s Maguire recovered from the loss of the first frame to win 3-1.

O’Connor was  in superb form in Group A, winning all three matches. He beat On Yee Ng 3-0 with a top break of 103, then saw off both Haydon Pinhey and Elliot Slessor by a 3-1 scoreline.

The action resumes on Saturday with Jack Lisowski among the quartet in Group D, while Pang Junxu is the top-ranked player in Group C.

On Yee Ng finished third in her “stage two” group gathering 5000 ranking points and hopefully she will grow in confidence from getting to stage two to start with, and not finishing last finish last in her stage 2 group. After all, when this event will come to an end, only 16 players will have done better than her in it.

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker – Groups 27 and 29

Monique Professional snooker, Professional snooker tournament

Phase 1 of the 2025 Ranking Championship League Snooker concluded yesterday with group 27 and group 29. All the detailed results are available on snooker.org, just follow the links.

Here is the report shared by WST:

Emery And Xu Top Tables To Complete First Phase

Dylan Emery and Xu Si topped their groups at the BetVictor Championship League ranking event to become the last two players into the second round.

Phase two gets underway on Friday, with 32 players remaining in the hunt for the title. The second stage runs from July 18-22, with the final chapter on July 23.

Welshman Emery, who is back on tour this season after a year in the amateur ranks, produced a strong finish to top Group 27 ahead of Aaron Hill. He drew his first match 2-2 with Sahil Nayyar then beat Gary Thomson 3-0 with a top break of 126. That left Emery needing to beat Hill in the last game of the day, and he stormed to a 3-0 success.

In Group 29, China’s Xu continued his perfect start to the season having won his qualifying matches for the Wuhan Open and British Open last month. He opened with a 3-0 win over Michal Szubarczyk, making a break of 107 in frame three. He then beat Liam Highfield 3-1 with runs of 92, 90 and 84, and in his last match Xu came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Fan Zhengyi, who had the consolation of making his second 147 in the second frame. 

Here is Fan’s 147, shared by Matchroom Multisport on Youtube:

Young Michal Szubarczyk got a taste of the challenges that awaits him on the main tour. It’s brutal. I have said it many times, but I will say it again, he’s only a child, 14 is too young to be on the professional tour. At that age a player may have the required technical abilities but very few, if any at all, will have the psychological and emotional maturity to cope with the demands of professional competition. The 16 years old threshold should be reinstantiated, and, if it was for me, it would even be 18 rather than 16. Adolescence is enough of a challenge for most kids without them having to cope with the mental and emotional pressures of professional competition.

The 2025 ranking Championship League Snooker – Groups 5 and 16

Monique Professional snooker tournament, Snooker

Here is WST account on what happened yesterday in Leicester, with group 5 and group 16 in action. all the detailed results are available on snooker.org, just follow the links.

Wakelin Clinches Top Spot

World number 16 Chris Wakelin booked his place in the second stage of the BetVictor Championship League ranking event by topping Group 5, while former Scottish Open and World Open finalist Joe O’Connor prevailed in Group 16 on home turf in Leicester. 

Wakelin ended last season on a high by making the quarter-finals of the World Championship, but endured a rocky start to his current campaign after losing 5-3 against Marco Fu in Wuhan Open qualifying. He opened today with a 136 during a 3-1 win over Daniel Womersley, followed by a 3-0 win against Mitchell Mann. Wakelin moved 2-0 up on Belgium’s Julien Leclercq and despite slipping to a 2-2 draw, it was enough to see him through. 

O’Connor enjoyed a near flawless day, scoring 3-0 wins against Liam Pullen and Zak Surety and a 3-1 defeat of Andrew Pagett, where he top scored with 116. 

I watched Group 5. Julien Leclercq is a very heavy scorer, yesterday he made a break over 50 in every frame he won bar one1. He’s very entertaining to watch but to progress on tour he needs to cut out silly mistakes and improve in the safety department, and, maybe, slightly rein his attacking instincts. Only slightly. It would be a shame if he turned into a grinder … not that Julien’s “grinderisation” appears as likely prospect 😂

  1. Shame on him! That frame was a let down! ↩︎

Some Important News about the 2025/26 Q-Tour Europe

Monique Amateur, Snooker , ,

This was shared yesterday on WST site

WPBSA Q Tour Europe Restructure for 2025/26

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) has today announced the 2025/26 WPBSA Q Tour Global, which includes a new format and increased money for the Q Tour Europe series.

The Q Tour Global is an established series of events which provides an elite pathway for talented snooker players around the world to earn their place on the World Snooker Tour.

In its second full season, Q Tour Global continued to see records broken with 711 players from 54 countries completing 1542 matches across four continents.

WPBSA Q Tour Europe

This season’s Q Tour Europe will once again comprise seven events, with five to be held in mainland Europe for the first time, and sees significant changes to the format, ranking system and prize money following player feedback.

  • Prize money more than doubled from the 2024/25 season to £30,000 per event
  • New seeding structure
  • Best-of-seven frame matches from the last 128 stage onwards
  • New points-based ranking system
  • Regular seeding cut-off dates introduced to make the seedings per event more up to date and relative to the current seasons results

The circuit will benefit from increased prize money investment with £30,000 to be contested at each of the events – more than double the prize fund from the past season.

Following player feedback, there has also been an important change to the tournament seeding structure, which will now see 64 players seeded through to the last 128 stage. Each tournament will be played under a flat draw, with the remaining players drawn at random.

All matches from the last 128 stage onwards will now be played over the best of seven frames and each event will now be played over four days.

A new points-based ranking system will replace the previously used prize money system and points will be on offer in all rounds of each event. There will also be regular seeding cut-off dates to ensure the seedings reflect the current seasons results.

As in previous seasons, the top ranked player at the end of the campaign will earn a place on the World Snooker Tour. The next 16-ranked players (to include each event champion) will qualify for the season-end Q Tour Global Playoff.

The Dates

The provisional dates for this season’s Q Tour Europe are:

All dates are provisional and subject to change.

All Q Tour Europe events in England will be held at official 147 Clubs recognised by the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards.

“A great start to building for the future”

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “We are delighted to announce the new, improved WPBSA Q Tour Europe series for the 2025/26 season. We have listened to the players and consulted with the WPBSA Players Board and we believe these changes are a great start to building for the future not just in Europe but across all the Q Tour Global events.”

“As we move forward, we plan to make further improvements so that WPBSA can establish a truly global secondary tour for our sport. These changes are only the beginning!”

Event Entry

Entry for all seven Q Tour Europe events is now open via WPBSA SnookerScores. Please view each tournament for confirmation of each entry deadline.

We aim to accommodate all players who wish to enter; however, we do reserve the right to limit entries for each qualifier or to extend events subject to the number of tables available at the club and time available.

Q Tour Global

WPBSA Q Tour Global will continue to incorporate regional Q Tour series’ staged around the world as part of the continued international expansion of Q Tour.

The Q Tour Global will once again continue to include series in the Middle East, Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, alongside the CBSA China Tour.

As part of the WPBSA’s commitment to the international growth of our sport, the leading players from these Regional Q Tour events will qualify to compete at the Q Tour Global Playoff, alongside players from Q Tour Europe.

Players competing in Q Tour events outside of Europe, must be resident for a minimum six months to be eligible to play in these events.

This, in my views is great news as five of the seven events are played outside the UK. This is how it should be in the main tour as well, qualifiers included, if snooker really has ambition to be a global sport. It did however trigger negative reaction from British amateurs on social media, complaining about the costs and travels. They were “outraged” when I told them that they have been “privileged” for far too long, that this is, finally, how it should be. To this, of course, they responded that they haven’t be privileged … until I explained how the current structure of the main tour basically forces every non British player to live as expat in the UK, away from their family, which is certainly taxing mentally and emotionally, or to travel back and forth all the time, which is tiring and costly, how communication with the gouverning body is done in English, which for non-UK/Irish players is a foreign language…

I’m sure that I didn’t convince those who feel entitled … but my post was liked by a non British player and the father of another non British player, a young and quite successful one too. The said father left this comment: “It’s about time. Welcome to the world of non UK players 😀”. Exactly that!