Month: June 2026

The 2026/27 Chinese Events – some information about the formats

Monique Snooker

WST has shared this article last week:

China Formats This Season Explained

The 2026/27 season is about to get underway and there will be a record seven big events in China, with six ranking tournaments plus the invitational Shanghai Masters. Here’s a guide to the format for each one…

Shanghai Masters
July 27 to August 2
This has been an invitation event since 2018 and the field is 24 players. The world’s top 16 (on the official list at the end of the 2026 World Championship) are invited, plus the next four highest ranked Chinese players, and four local wild cards. The top eight seeds start in the last 16, and the other 16 players start in the previous round. 

China Open
August 8-16
Hosted in the city of Taiyuan in the Shanxi Province, this ranking event returns to the calendar for the first time since 2019. It is a tiered format, matching those of the UK Championship and World Championship. So the lowest ranked players need to win four qualifying matches to make it to China, while those seeded 17-48 must win two matches. The top 16 are all held over to the final stages. Two Chinese wild cards will have the chance to play at the venue, drawn at random against two of the 16 qualifying players. The winners of these two matches will progress to the last 32.

Wuhan Open
August 23-29
The format for this event is changing this season and now closely matches the tiered structure of the German Masters, with three qualifying rounds. The top 16 seeds have their round three (last 64) matches held over to the venue in Wuhan. There are four Chinese wild cards who enter in the second round (last 96) and these four matches are also held over.

We have made these changes to the Wuhan Open, and agreed the format of the China Open, following discussions with WPBSA and the WPBSA Players Board and based on many discussions with players around possible improvements to the Tour. The Wuhan format also allows the number of tables at the final stages to be reduced from eight to four in order to help provide an improved event experience for players, fans and the global television audience. We believe that these changes present a very positive step forward and we are excited to see the results.

Xi’an Grand Prix
September 28 to October 4
We anticipate that this event will have the same format as the Wuhan Open.

International Championship
October 31 to November 7
We anticipate that this event will have the same format as previous seasons, with a flat draw of 128 players, where there is only one qualifying round, and a select number of matches in this round are held over to the venue. A variety of formats across the tour helps each event build its identity and we believe this provides a fair system for all players.

World Grand Prix
February 16-21
As usual, the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list will earn a place at this tournament in Hong Kong, which is the first of the three events in the 2027 Players Series. The event has a flat 32-player draw.

World Open
March 15-21
We anticipate that this event will have the same format as previous seasons, with a flat draw of 128 players, where there is only one qualifying round, and a select number of matches in this round are held over to the venue. 

Personally, I never “agreed” with the idea that the flat draw is “fairer” than the tiered system. Yes, the tiered system means that, to win the event, lower ranked players need to win more matches than the top players. However it also means that they have – in theory at least – more winnable matches in the early stages. Being able to win matches, and to play more matches, is essential for them to build confidence and gain experience. It’s what rookies need. Therefore I welcome the above news about a change of format.

The next step, in my opinion, should be to move to an ELO type of ranking system, or at least to a consistent point system. By “consistent” I mean that there should be consistency in that events with similar formats, requiring similar “efforts”, should yield similar rewards in term of ranking. Ranking should be fair and reflect players “strength”, not be dictated by sponsors’ generosity or lack of it.

Ken Doherty puts an end to his professional career

Monique News, Snooker

Ken Doherty has decided to put an end to his professional career. At 56, he feels that he isn’t good enough anymore to play at the standard he wants to play at. He is, to this day, the greatest player the Republic of Ireland has produced and the only player in snooker history to have won the world under-21, world amateur and world professional champion.

Off the table, Ken is a likeable character, who, like most Irish guys I met, is easy to talk to, amiable and … loves his Guinness.

I’m wishing Ken the very best for the future, and success in whatever he wants to do from here. He has nothing to prove.

Here is the announcement shared by WST.

Irish Snooker Legend Doherty Calls Time On Career

1997 World Champion Ken Doherty has announced his retirement from professional snooker, bringing the curtain down on a magnificent 36-year career.

After dropping off the circuit at the conclusion of last season, the 56-year-old has decided to call time on a professional journey which saw him amass six ranking titles. He remains the Republic of Ireland’s only World Champion and was his country’s first ranking event winner.

In the wake of hanging up his cue, Doherty admits that although it was a difficult decision he feels it was the correct one.

Doherty said: “It was sad initially when I made the decision, but I’m happy with it now. I wasn’t going anywhere and even if I played for another couple of years, I’d come to the realisation I wasn’t going to get any better. I wasn’t going to compete like I used to.

“I probably should have done it a few years ago, but I love the game. I love competing and I love playing. I was hoping something would change but it didn’t. I’ve had a great time playing and have some wonderful memories. I’m going to miss it for sure, but it has come as a relief.“

The Dubliner moved to London in the late 80s to pursue a snooker career and after winning both the World Under-21 Championship and the World Amateur Championship in 1989, he turned professional in 1990. Doherty reflects on this period as a crucial moment in his development and an exciting stage in his career.

“I came over with a cue, my bag and £500 in my pocket. That was all I had. I was seeking my dreams and didn’t know what to expect. A man called Curly Mick paid for me to play that World Under-21 Championship in Iceland, he said he thought I could win it.

“I beat Jason Ferguson in the final and gave the Curly Mick the trophy to take back to his mates for a few pictures. I never saw him again! They were exciting times. I played with the guys I watched on television like Steve Davis and Jimmy White. It was magnificent.“

Doherty’s first ranking title came in 1993, when he defeated Alan McManus 9-7 in the Welsh Open final. This allowed the Irishman to break into the world’s top 16 for the first time, a run which would be unbroken for 15 years. During this time he enjoyed his finest hour. 

The 1997 World Championship saw Doherty defeat Mark Davis, Steve Davis and John Higgins to make the semis, before a 17-7 demolition of Canadian Alain Robidoux took him to his first Crucible final. 

Doherty was pitted against the imperious Stephen Hendry, who was on a five-year win streak at the Theatre of Dreams. He achieved what, at the time, seemed impossible and beat Hendry 18-12 to lift the sport’s biggest prize. It was a win which transfixed a nation and it was reported that there were no arrests on the streets of Dublin during the final session.

“When I first picked up a cue as a kid, winning the World Championship was my dream. After Alex Higgins winning it in 1982 and Dennis Taylor in 1985, these were inspirational moments for me. To emulate what they achieved and lift that cup up was a real honour and a sense of pride. To do that with a £2 cue and beating Stephen Hendry in the final was just amazing,” recalled Doherty.

“It was daunting playing him. He’d won 29 matches in a row at the Crucible and was going for number 30. I was a huge underdog, but I had a belief that I could do it. I went there, relaxed and played some of the best snooker of my life. To beat him in the final, when he looked almost unbeatable, makes the win even sweeter. To beat the best on the greatest stage, it doesn’t get better than that. I then came home and took the trophy on top of a bus in front of 250,000 people in the city centre. You couldn’t dream it up. For that to be afforded to a snooker player says a lot about our country.

“When I’m at the Crucible now commentating, or filming a piece on the floor, I look at the chair and I think of the young kid that won the World Championship. I was only 27 back then. I remember it fondly and those memories will never leave me. I won’t forget those great times. You can’t put a price on something like that.“

He mounted a valiant attempt to break the Crucible Curse 12 months later, reaching the final before an 18-12 reverse at the hands of Higgins. Doherty’s last appearance in a world final came in 2003. He battled back from 15-9 down to beat Paul Hunter 17-16 in the semis, but lost 18-16 to Mark Williams in the title match.

Doherty is a two-time Masters finalist, losing to Higgins in 1999 and Matthew Stevens in 2000. Famously, Doherty spurned the final black for a 147 maximum break against Stevens. He was also runner-up at the UK Championship in 2001 and 2002. 

The last of Doherty’s six ranking titles came at the 2006 Malta Cup, where he defeated Higgins 9-8 to clinch silverware one more time. Doherty’s final match on tour was a 10-5 defeat against Patrick Whelan at this year’s World Championship.

He leaves a legacy as the Republic of Ireland’s greatest ever player and one of the sport’s finest ambassadors. Doherty is now a top pundit and commentator and is a member of the WPBSA Players Board. 

WST CEO Simon Brownell said: “My best wishes go to Ken in his retirement. I want to thank him for everything he has done for our wonderful sport. Ken’s exploits on the baize have made him a hero to fans around the world. He will go down as one of the Republic of Ireland’s greatest sportspeople and his win at the 1997 World Championship is etched in the history of snooker. I know Ken will continue to represent snooker amazingly well as one of our top broadcasters.”

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “I want to thank Ken for being such a tremendous flagbearer for our sport. He hangs up his cue as a trailblazer for Irish snooker. Ken’s conduct on the tour as a competitor, as a broadcaster and a member of the WPBSA Players Board have seen him become a global ambassador who is adored by millions. I am proud to have shared the table with Ken and I look forward to continuing to work with him away from the match arena.”

All the best for the future, Ken!

The 2026 Q-Schools outcome

Monique Snooker ,

The 2026 Q-schools concluded this weekend and here are the outcomes:

Q-School One

DAVIES, O’KANE, O’SULLIVAN AND CHEUNG EARN CARDS AT Q SCHOOL

Liam Davies, Phil O’Kane, Sean O’Sullivan and Cheung Ka Wai all successfully negotiated the Q School gauntlet to earn two-year tour cards on the final day of event one in Leicester. 

Welsh 19-year-old Davies bounced back from tour relegation last month with a 4-2 defeat of fellow ex-professional Dean Young, to secure his status for the next two years. 

Davies is one of Welsh snooker’s brightest young prospects. This was underlined in 2022, when a victory against Aaron Hill, aged 15, made him the youngest ever match winner at the World Championship. That record stood until this year when it was eclipsed by Poland’s Michal Szubarczyk. 

A 10-9 loss at the hands of Marco Fu in this year’s World Championship qualifiers temporarily ended Davies’ run as a professional. However, he quickly recovered ahead of Q School. He scored three 4-3 wins en route to today’s final round, where a break of 134 was the highlight in his 4-2 win over Young. 

Davies said: “It feels unbelievable. Some of the games this week, the way I was playing, I thought snooker might not be for me! I managed to scrape through and I played pretty well in the last two games.

“I never want to come back here. I will be honest with you. I managed to come through so hopefully I can do a bit better over the next two seasons.”

At the 14th time of asking, English 33-year-old O’Kane finally cracked the Q School code and earned a maiden tour card, beating former professional Jamie O’Neill 4-1. 

Having first tried his hand at Q School as a teenager back in 2011, it has been a long road to snooker’s top table for O’Kane. However, wins over Oliver Spooner, Zack Richardson, Daniel Womersley and Jeff Cundy earned him a crack at getting over the line today. 

Breaks of 63 and 55 helped O’Kane to victory over O’Neill today and he was understandably emotional afterwards. 

“I’m overwhelmed. I was clearing up at the end whilst holding back tears, sweating and shaking. I was an emotional wreck and it just means the world to me,” said O’Kane.

“I went to a pool tournament about eight weeks ago. I said to the owner of my club, after this you will see me in the club seven days a week and working hard. He messaged me this morning and said that everything had paid off. It is all affirmation.” 

O’Sullivan secured his return after two years away from the tour with a 4-2 win against Joshua Thomond. 

The 32-year-old looked to be over the line in the decisive frame, before being pegged back when Thomond got the snookers he needed. At the second time of asking O’Sullivan got over the line though and enjoyed a massive release of emotion as he walked out of the arena. 

O’Sullivan said: “It was even more relief after needing to pot match ball twice. I am proud to be able to get back on the tour. It has been a tough couple of years so to get back and give it another go, I’m really proud of myself.”

Hong Kong’s Cheung booked his immediate return to the circuit with a 4-1 win against Welshman Jack Bradford. 

Cheung won the biggest amateur title in the sport in 2024, beating Gao Yang 5-0 in the final of the WSF Championship. That earned him a professional berth, but he wasn’t able to maintain his place after two years. Breaks of 78, 57 and 54 this morning helped him to a momentous victory. 

Cheung said: “I’m very happy to get through after dropping off last year. I didn’t have much expectations. The tour is very tough and when you are losing every time, your confidence goes down. I’m happy that I performed well today.”

Q-School Two

Andrew Higginson, Mitchell Mann, Stuart Carrington and Gong Chenzhi successfully negotiated the final round of Q School Event Two to earn fresh two-year tour cards in Leicester.

Higginson earned a return to the circuit, after a season away, with a 4-1 win over fellow ex professional Mark Joyce. 

The Cheshire cueman, who was runner-up to Neil Robertson at the 2007 Welsh Open, dropped off the tour following the conclusion of the 2005 World Championship. 

In his 12-month hiatus, Higginson didn’t feature at all on the World Snooker Tour and competed on the Q Tour, where he finished the campaign ranked 19th. The 49-year-old fared better at Q School and beat the likes of Shaun Liu and Mark Davis en route to the final round. Breaks of 89 and 61 helped Higginson over the line to secure his tour card. 

Higginson said: “It feels great and that was a very tough match with Mark, who I’ve never beat before. This is a nice time to get my first win against him. 

“I’ve played the game for so long I just roll with the punches now. Q School is very difficult, but it is the easy part compared to staying on the tour. I need to make the two years count rather than be a yo-yo player and drop off again.”

Mann immediately responded to tour relegation by beating Allan Taylor 4-2 and preserving his professional status. 

Mann’s 25/26 season was highlighted by a run to the quarter-finals of the British Open, but that wasn’t enough to sustain his tour card. Things didn’t look good when he lost out in the opening round of event one, but a dramatic reversal of fortunes in event two mean the Englishman will be on tour next year. 

Breaks of 54, 52 and 50 helped Mann to victory today and ended Taylor’s hopes of an immediate tour return of his own. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous playing snooker. There is so much riding on it. I put everything into it and luckily for me I managed to get the result today,” said 34-year-old Mann.

“The people who really know me will know my work rate isn’t good enough. That is one thing I want to change. Another is to lose some weight and feel better in myself. Working harder is the main focus.”

Carrington defeated Israel’s Yaron Bodor 4-1 to regain his tour card following relegation last month. 

The Grimsby cueist dropped off the tour at the conclusion of the 2025 World Championship, having regained his tour spot at Q School in 2023. His bid for Q School success this year was stunted when he was unable to take the baize in event one due to a neck injury. However, he managed to recover sufficiently for event two and ran the gauntlet to reach snooker’s top tier once more. 

Carrington said: “There are so many emotions going through my body and my head. It is relief in the end. It is torture down here for everybody. You just want to get that win and I’ve done it.

“It has been a tough couple of years. I’ve been struggling with the yips and that is magnified in this pressure. With my back and neck I wasn’t sure I’d be able to play. It just happened when I was practising and up until four or five days ago I couldn’t even get down to the shot, never mind hit a ball properly. The pain is more or less gone now. I didn’t expect too much this week.”

Former WSF Junior Championship finalist Gong beat Frenchman Brian Ochoiski 4-2 to reclaim his place on tour. 

Gong, who has previously reached the last 32 of the Wuhan Open, earned a place on the circuit two years ago after his performances on the CBSA Tour. However, he failed to establish himself in the top 64 and dropped off. 

The 19-year-old never trailed during this morning’s match and a top score of 61 helped him to get over the line. 

Congratulations to all Laureates!

Other than Phil O’Kane, all these players have been pros before. Clearly, former experience with “tour conditions” is an advantage when competing in the Q-schools.