ohn Higgins’ 33rd season on the pro tour started with an early exit from the BetVictor Championship League as he finished third in Group Nine, behind Ma Hailong and Ben Mertens.
Four-time World Champion Higgins has been ever-present among the top 16 since 1995, and kept that sequence going by beating Mark Allen 13-12 in the last 16 at the Crucible in April. But his status among the elite remains under threat as 2024/25 gets underway.
The Scot opened strongly today in Leicester with a 3-0 win over tour rookie Artemijs Zizins, firing breaks of 95, 74 and 120. But Higgins then lost 3-0 to Mertens, who scored runs of 68, 86 and 82. Meanwhile, China’s Ma drew 2-2 with Mertens and beat Zizins 3-0, which meant he only needed a draw in the last match of the day against Higgins. A break of 111 gave Ma the opening frame, and he lost the second but then snatched the third on the final black to go 2-1 up and guarantee top spot in the group. Higgins made it 2-2 with a 62 clearance in frame four, but it was not enough.
Group Six was topped by Gary Wilson, who enjoyed his best ever season in 2023/24, winning two ranking titles. The world number 11 saw off Huang Jiahao 3-0 then beat Michael Holt 3-1 with a top break of 97. He still needed a draw in his last match against Joe Perry and fell 1-0 behind, but Wilson made an 83 for 1-1 then added frame three, before Perry clinched a 2-2 draw to secure second place.
I saw nothing from group 6 yesterday but group 9 was certainly very interesting, featuring three young players, one from Latvia, one from China and one from Belgium. They all delivered. Ma Hailong played really well and stayed focused throughout. Ben Mertens played very well in his first two matches but then, rather surprisingly, lost by 3-0 to Artemijs Zizins, when he had a very good chance to top the group. During that match, Ben appeared tired and suffering from the heat. Artemijs Zizins himself showed some very good things: he pots well, his positional play is good but he needs to improve in the safety department and risk management.
WPBSA Q TOUR GLOBAL EXPANDED FOR 2024/25 The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Group of organisations (WPBSA) has today announced the continued expansion of WPBSA Q Tour Global, the series which provides an elite pathway for talented snooker players around the world to earn their place on the World Snooker Tour.
The announcement follows the biggest-ever Q Tour season to date which saw 551 players (individual players taken from all the Q Tour regional ranking lists) from 44 countries complete 1174 matches across four continents.
WPBSA Q Tour Global will continue to grow over the coming 12 months, with an increased number of regional series’ each set to provide players for the season-ending Global Playoff.
WPBSA Q TOUR EUROPE
Topped last season by former Shoot Out champion Michael Holt, Q Tour Europe will return with seven events for the 2024/25 season.
For the first time, the series will include four tournaments in mainland Europe, with the remaining three to be staged within the UK. The circuit will once again see players compete to finish the season as the top ranked player and earn a place on the World Snooker Tour.
The next 16-ranked players (to include each event champion) will be guaranteed to qualify for the season-end Q Tour Global Playoff.
Following player feedback, the match lengths from the last 64 stage onwards has been increased with each match to be played over the best of seven frames (including the final), with the last 16 moved to Sunday morning to accommodate this change.
As in previous seasons, 48 players (see below) will be seeded through to Saturday’s last 64, to be joined by 16 qualifiers.
THE DATES
The provisional dates for this season’s Q Tour Europe are:
Q Tour 1 – 16-18 August 2024 – Northern Snooker Centre, UK
Q Tour 2 – 13-15 September 2024 – Bulgarian Snooker Academy, BULGARIA
Q Tour 3 – 4-6 October 2024 – Snookerhallen, SWEDEN
Q Tour 4 – 8-10 November 2024 – Club 200, UK
Q Tour 5 – 13-15 December 2024 – Vienna, AUSTRIA
Q Tour 6 – 10-12 January 2025 – Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Q Tour 7 – 7-9 February 2025 – Landywood Snooker Club, UK
As was the case last season, each weekend tournament will be made up of 64 players comprising the following:
The top 32 eligible players from the 2024 UK Q School Order of Merit eligible to compete.
Dylan Emery, Simon Blackwell, Iulian Boiko, Joshua Thomond, Paul Deaville, Daniel Womersley, Anton Kazakov, Joshua Cooper, Florian Nuessle, Mark Joyce, Lewis Ullah, Gerard Greene, Kayden Brierley, Umut Dikme, Sean O’Sullivan, Andres Petrov, Craig Steadman, Connor Benzey, Barry Pinches, Zachary Richardson, Josh Mulholland, James Cahill, Ryan Davies, Lee Daegyu, Alfie Davies, Hamim Hussain, Steven Hallworth, Jenson Kendrick, Alex Clenshaw, Andy Hicks, Rory McLeod, Harvey Chandler
The top 8 from the 2024 Asia-Oceania Q School Order of Merit
Lan Yuhao, Ali Gharahgozlou, Ehsan Heydari Nezhad, Kwok Wai Fung, Xiao Long Liang, Yang Gao, Amin Sanjaei, Muhammed Naseem
The eight highest ranked junior players on the 2024 UK Q School Order of Merit, not already qualified.
Vladislav Gradinari, Shaun Liu, Riley Powell, Steven Wardropper, Adam Abbas, Edward Jones, Oliver Sykes, Aidan Gallagher
EVENT ENTRY
The 48 qualified players will be contacted directly by email with entry instructions after 1 July.Each player will be required to pay a block entry fee of £525 by 12:00pm on 5 July and will be guaranteed a place in the last 64 of each Q Tour Europe tournament.
Following this date, subject to the number of players who have accepted and paid for their Q Tour Europe place, we will contact top up players as required until we have 48 confirmed players for each event. These players will have until 12:00pm 10 July to claim their place.
Open entry for all Friday qualifying tournaments will be opened to all players from no later than 12 July. 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 to Thursdays subject to the number of tables available at the club and time available.
WPBSA Q Tour Global will continue to incorporate regional Q Tour Series’ staged around the world as part of the planned international expansion of Q Tour.
Following last season’s inaugural Middle East, Americas and Asia-Pacific Series, each of these series will be expanded for the 2024/25 season. They will be joined by the CBSA China Tour which becomes a recognised part of Q Tour for the first time.
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.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The 48 players eligible to accept a seeded place on Q Tour Europe will be contacted from 1 July with instructions on how to accept their place.
Further information, including open entry details and full entry packs, will be published as soon as possible.
There are several interesting and encouraging aspects to this announcement.
For the first time the “European leg” features more events set to be played in mainland Europe than in the UK
The format has been changed to make the matches slightly longer. This is will favour the better players.
The inclusion of the CBSA Tour into the Global Q-Tour really surprised me, but in a good way.
Ronnie is scheduled to play today in the 2024 ranking CLS. I have no expectations. I doubt that he enjoys playing in front of nobody and having to wait hours between his matches. His goal, if he shows up, will be most probably to prepare the best he can for the next event that will really be important to him: the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Shaanxi put up a good defence, but ultimately they fell short.
Fan Zhengyi was terribly unlucky in frame 4: having needed a snooker, he got it, potted all the balls up to the pink to trail only 48-47, then pocketed a fantastic mid-range black, only to see the white slowly following it in the same pocket.
In the last frame, Lei Peifan needed the final pink to force a decider, he missed it, Cao Yupeng potted pink and black for victory.
The losers got 75 000 CNY, the winners got 150 000 CNY.
Here are my screenshots of the Final:
… in rather random order for whatever reason… don’t ask.
And, of course the Awards and Trophy Ceremony
If I’m not mistaken, Marco Fu’s trophy was for the HB, a 129. All players reaching the semi-finals were awarded recognition for their performance.
The groups stages finished this morning in Xian and here are the final results
August 6-10, Xinghe Arena, Xi’an, Shaanxi
Group A
Rank
Team
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
A1
Mianyang
4-1
3-2
5-0
5-0
4
0
2
A4
Dalian
0-5
3-2
3-2
5-0
3
1
3
A3
Chongqing
2-3
4-1
2-3
3-2
2
2
4
A2
Hainan ZSD
1-4
1-4
2-3
4-1
1
3
5
A5
Zhengzhou
0-5
1-4
2-3
0-5
0
4
Group B
Rank
Team
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
B1
Suzhou
5-0
5-0
3-2
4-1
4
0
2
B5
Hong Kong
1-4
4-1
4-1
4-1
3
1
3
B2
Wuhan
0-5
4-1
3-2
1-4
2
2
4
B4
Guangdong
2-3
2-3
4-1
1-4
1
3
5
B3
Beijing
0-5
1-4
1-4
1-4
0
4
Group C
Rank
Team
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
C1
Xi’an
4-1
4-1
5-0
2-3
3
1
h2h
2
C2
Wuxi
1-4
5-0
4-1
4-1
3
1
3
C5
CQ Pengshui
3-2
1-4
3-2
3-2
3
1
4
C4
Shanghai
0-5
1-4
3-2
2-3
1
3
5
C3
Luoyang
1-4
0-5
2-3
2-3
0
4
Group D
Rank
Team
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
D1
Dongguan Youth
3-2
5-0
4-1
5-0
4
0
2
D2
Inner Mongolia
2-3
5-0
3-2
3-2
3
1
3
D5
Sichuan
0-5
2-3
4-1
3-2
2
2
4
D4
Henan
1-4
2-3
4-1
2-3
1
3
5
D3
Guizhou
0-5
0-5
1-4
1-4
0
4
Group E
Rank
Team
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
E3
Xinjiang
4-1
3-2
5-0
3-2
4
0
2
E1
Shaanxi
3-2
1-4
5-0
5-0
3
1
3
E5
Sichuan NSD
0-5
4-1
2-3
4-1
2
2
4
E2
Urumqi
2-3
2-3
5-0
1-4
1
3
5
E4
CBSA Academy
0-5
0-5
0-5
1-4
0
4
Group F
Rank
Team
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
F1
Dongguan
4-1
4-1
4-1
4-1
4
0
2
F3
Macau
1-4
3-2
3-2
5-0
3
1
3
F2
Anshan
1-4
2-3
4-1
4-1
2
2
4
F4
Gansu
1-4
1-4
2-3
5-0
1
3
5
F5
Zibo
1-4
1-4
0-5
0-5
0
4
Group G
Rank
Team
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
G1
Xianyang
3-2
4-1
3-2
3-2
4
0
2
G2
Tibet
2-3
3-2
4-1
5-0
3
1
3
G3
Nanchang Xihu
1-4
2-3
3-2
4-1
2
2
4
G4
Shanxi
2-3
1-4
2-3
3-2
1
3
5
G5
Haining
2-3
0-5
1-4
2-3
0
4
Group H
Rank
Team
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
W
L
Tiebreaker
1
H1
Jiujiang Tianxi
3-2
3-2
4-1
5-0
4
0
2
H3
Lanzhou
2-3
3-2
5-0
4-1
3
1
3
H2
Jilin City
2-3
2-3
5-0
4-1
2
2
4
H5
Jiaxing
0-5
1-4
1-4
4-1
1
3
5
H4
Ningbo
1-4
0-5
0-5
1-4
0
4
And here is the draw and schedule for the round of 16 as well as the explanation about how it was made
Round of 16 (Bo7)
Losers: 9,375 CNY
Mianyang (1)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Wuxi
Group winners will be seeded 1-8 based on their group results. Group runners-up will be drawn randomly but can’t be drawn into the same half with their own group winner. Current seedings shown are unofficial.
Xi’an (8)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Lanzhou
Jiujiang Tianxi (5)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Macau
Dongguan (4)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Hong Kong
Suzhou (3)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Tibet
Xinjiang (6)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Inner Mongolia
Xianyang (7)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Dalian
Dongguan Youth (2)
2023/08/09 14:00:00
Shaanxi
Yesterday I watched mainly Bai Yulu and her team, Dongguan Youth, on table one during the evening session. That team comprises Bai Yulu (19), Deng Hoahui (20) and Li Jianbing (57). The team did well: as it stands they are seeded number 2 in the last of 16 round, which is excellent. Deng played in the Asian Q-School this year, without much success. Li Jianbing had a run to the semi-finals at the 2019 “Masters” Amateur World Championship in Antalya (Turkey); he had beaten Darren Morgan at the QF stage.
Bai played well in winning her individual match. Her approach was measured, she potted some very good balls. She played the double with Li Jianbing and they lost that frame, having been ahead for most of it. Going by her demeanour during that frame, I wondered if Li could be her coach, or maybe she was just showing respect to an older, knowledgeable, experienced player.
Now their team will face the defending champions in the last 16.
Here are my screenshots:
Here is how things stand after the conclusion of the group phase:
Hong Kong – Marco Fu, Cheung Ka Wai and Wang Yuchen – did well. They were seeded fifth in their group and finished second. They are the only team that started “lowest” in their group and managed to qualify for the knock-out stage. I’m very pleased for them.
This is the situation after day 2 at the 2023 CBSA National Snooker Team Championship:
National Team Championship
August 6-10, Xinghe Arena, Xi’an, Shaanxi
Group A
Rank
Team
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
W
L
Tiebreaker
A1
Mianyang
5-0
5-0
2
A2
Hainan ZSD
1-4
4-1
1
1
A3
Chongqing
4-1
2-3
3-2
2
1
A4
Dalian
0-5
3-2
1
1
A5
Zhengzhou
0-5
1-4
2-3
3
Group B
Rank
Team
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
W
L
Tiebreaker
B1
Suzhou
3-2
4-1
2
B2
Wuhan
4-1
1-4
1
1
B3
Beijing
1-4
1-4
1-4
3
B4
Guangdong
2-3
4-1
1
1
B5
Hong Kong
1-4
4-1
4-1
2
1
Group C
Rank
Team
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
W
L
Tiebreaker
C1
Xi’an
5-0
2-3
1
1
C2
Wuxi
5-0
4-1
2
C3
Luoyang
0-5
2-3
2-3
3
C4
Shanghai
0-5
3-2
1
1
C5
CQ Pengshui
3-2
1-4
3-2
2
1
Group D
Rank
Team
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
W
L
Tiebreaker
D1
Dongguan Youth
5-0
4-1
5-0
3
D2
Inner Mongolia
5-0
3-2
2
D3
Guizhou
0-5
0-5
1-4
1-4
4
D4
Henan
1-4
4-1
1
1
D5
Sichuan
0-5
2-3
4-1
1
2
Group E
Rank
Team
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
W
L
Tiebreaker
E1
Shaanxi
5-0
5-0
2
E2
Urumqi
2-3
1-4
2
E3
Xinjiang
3-2
5-0
3-2
3
E4
CBSA Academy
0-5
0-5
2
E5
Sichuan NSD
0-5
4-1
2-3
1
2
Group F
Rank
Team
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
W
L
Tiebreaker
F1
Dongguan
4-1
4-1
2
F2
Anshan
2-3
4-1
1
1
F3
Macau
3-2
3-2
5-0
3
F4
Gansu
1-4
2-3
2
F5
Zibo
1-4
1-4
0-5
3
Group G
Rank
Team
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
W
L
Tiebreaker
G1
Xianyang
3-2
?
1
G2
Tibet
3-2
5-0
2
G3
Nanchang Xihu
2-3
3-2
4-1
2
1
G4
Shanxi
2-3
2-3
2
G5
Haining
?
0-5
1-4
2
Group H
Rank
Team
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
W
L
Tiebreaker
H1
Jiujiang Tianxi
4-1
5-0
2
H2
Jilin City
2-3
4-1
1
1
H3
Lanzhou
3-2
5-0
4-1
3
H4
Ningbo
1-4
0-5
2
H5
Jiaxing
0-5
1-4
1-4
3
Don’t ask why the last cell stubbornly refused to be copied … I have no clue. It was empty anyway.
I watched quite a bit of the action and too some screenshots again
The “double” frame shown in the pictures was an absolute epic!
I must admit that, watching this event, I am surprised by both the level of the snooker on show, and the “style” of snooker the players chose to play. Based on what I watched from Ding and the younger Chinese players on the main tour, I was expecting very attacking snooker and high scoring. In fact, most of what I watched was extremely tactical, and I witnessed just one big break. Is it because the importance of the event gets to the players? Are they more cautious because the outcome of their performance impacts the whole team, not just their own result? Are the conditions a factor? I’m not sure and I would be happy to find out, because this is definitely not what I expected.
Although WST is part of the Matchroom “portfolio”, I’m not sure about posting those pieces on the WST website. The one about the Nine Ball Pool Corporation in particular is rather “out of place”.
But Matchroom chose to post them there and that move only strengthen my feelings that snooker is no more one of their top priorities. Eddie Hearn has never been interested in snooker, it’s all about boxing for him. Probably the most dynamic member of the new board is Emily Frazer, and she’s the woman behind the growth and expansion of nine ball pool. I have every respect for Emily’s dynamism and work ethic. I met her a few times and I really wish she was behind snooker instead of nine ball pool.
These are the results and scores after day 1 at the 2023 CBSA National Team Championship
National Team Championship
August 6-10, Xinghe Arena, Xi’an, Shaanxi
Group A
Team
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
W
L
Tiebreaker
A1
Mianyang
5-0
1
A2
Hainan ZSD
4-1
1
A3
Chongqing
2-3
1
A4
Dalian
3-2
1
A5
Zhengzhou
0-5
1-4
2
Group B
Team
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
W
L
Tiebreaker
B1
Suzhou
4-1
1
B2
Wuhan
1-4
1
B3
Beijing
1-4
1
B4
Guangdong
4-1
1
B5
Hong Kong
1-4
4-1
1
1
Group C
Team
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
W
L
Tiebreaker
C1
Xi’an
2-3
1
C2
Wuxi
4-1
1
C3
Luoyang
2-3
1
C4
Shanghai
3-2
1
C5
CQ Pengshui
3-2
1-4
1
1
Group D
Team
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
W
L
Tiebreaker
D1
Dongguan Youth
5-0
1
D2
Inner Mongolia
3-2
1
D3
Guizhou
1-4
1
D4
Henan
4-1
1
D5
Sichuan
0-5
2-3
2
Group E
Team
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
W
L
Tiebreaker
E1
Shaanxi
5-0
1
E2
Urumqi
1-4
1
E3
Xinjiang
5-0
1
E4
CBSA Academy
0-5
1
E5
Sichuan NSD
0-5
4-1
1
1
Group F
Team
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
W
L
Tiebreaker
F1
Dongguan
4-1
1
F2
Anshan
4-1
1
F3
Macau
3-2
1
F4
Gansu
2-3
1
F5
Zibo
1-4
1-4
2
Group G
Team
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
W
L
Tiebreaker
G1
Xianyang
tbc
G2
Tibet
5-0
1
G3
Nanchang Xihu
3-2
1
G4
Shanxi
2-3
1
G5
Haining
tbc
0-5
1
Group H
Team
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
W
L
Tiebreaker
H1
Jiujiang Tianxi
5-0
1
H2
Jilin City
4-1
1
H3
Lanzhou
5-0
1
H4
Ningbo
0-5
1
H5
Jiaxing
0-5
1-4
2
And those are the teams
Total Teams: 40
Team Members
Shaanxi
Fan Zhengyi
Mei Xiwen
Lei Peifan
Henan
Zhang Yang
Ma Feite
Liu Yiqi
Shanxi
Zhao Wei
Han Bin
Zhang Rui
Xinjiang
Ma Chunmao
Paruke Aierken
Yuan Jiming
Sichuan
Hao Jin
Wang Li
Au Chi Wai
Guangdong
Ma Hailong
Liu Wenwei
Lee Chen Man
Gansu
Du Jiantao
Hu Yihong
Zhang Yinhu
Inner Mongolia
Chen Xiaolong
Deng Fuyi
Cheng Sihong
Tibet
Fan Jinxing
Li Chengjie
Feng Yu
Guizhou
Zhang Xibing
Wu Xiang
Song Liang
Beijing
Xu Xinjian
Fu Jing
Tu Xuan
Shanghai
Ma Geng
Wang Jianxin
Liao Binjun
Chongqing
Han Fuyuan
Cao Jin
Zheng Dian
Ningbo
Wang Jinjing
Yang Guanjun
Gao Nuocheng
Dalian
Tuergongjiang
Ababaikeri
Xiaokaiti
Macau
Lee Git Ming
Leung Wai Hou
Lan Yuhao
Hong Kong
Marco Fu
Cheung Ka Wai
Wang Yuchen
Xi’an
Wang Zepeng
Zhang Anda
Jin Peng
Wuhan
Yu Chao
Wang Peng
Hu Bin
Zhengzhou
Liu Yunlong
Gao Yu
Wang Lige
Urumqi
Zhao Yafei
Rouzi Maimaiti
Tuerhong Reheman
Lanzhou
Fan Xin
Halimilati Mijiti
Li Yang
Dongguan
Liang Xiaolong
Liu Hongyu
Zhang Yitu
Dongguan Youth
Bai Yulu
Deng Haohui
Li Jianbing
Mianyang
Chen Ruifu
Jin Long
Yuan Sijun
Anshan
Liang Dong
Luo Guangsheng
Jin Di
Jilin City
Pu Qingsong
Chen Qiyu
Cui Ming
Luoyang
Huang Yanqi
Lei Zhenyu
Tian Ruyi
Suzhou
Cao Yupeng
Chen Feilong
Yao Pengcheng
Wuxi
Liu Chuang
Hu Hao
Li Yan
Xianyang
Xiao Guodong
Qiu Yalong
Yang Jiaxin
Zibo
Han Qing
Zhang Jun
Li Nan
Jiaxing
Xiang Xun
Wu Zhefan
Zhang Yajun
Chongqing Pengshui
Xu Yuan
Luo Junhao
Yin Xiaowei
Nanchang Xihu
Dong Zihao
Pan Yiming
Yao Dongcheng
Haining
Gao Yun
Huang Lijun
Qiao Tianhao
CBSA Academy
Liao Pengbo
Xu Yang
Sun Wenchao
Hainan ZSD
Zhang Jiajian
Xu Fuyuan
Ma Huiming
Jiujiang Tianxi
Jureti
Gong Chenzhi
Gao Yang
Sichaun NSD
Liu Yuan
Huang Yanyun
Jian Long
Team Shaanxi, represented by Fan Zhengyi, Lei Peifan and Mei Xiwen, is the defending Champion. They were in action in today’s evening session, on the main table. This evening session actually started with the official Opening Ceremony. All teams were introduced into the arena, guided by ladies in beautiful traditional dresses. As usual, there were speeches by officials and the presentation of the trophy, before the action started on the tables.
I was able to watch it on stream and took a few screenshots of the ceremony …
as well as from the opening match of the defending team
Fan Zhengyi was extremely tense and nervous at the start of the match and couldn’t pot a ball for the first ten minutes or so … but still managed to win the first frame somehow and played much better after that. Mei Xiwen is very sound tactically. Shaanxi won by 5-0.
The format of this event is quite interesting …
Each match at the group stage is played over 5 frames. It doesn’t matter if a team has already won the match, all five frames are played and count. Frames 1,2,4 and 5 are “normal” frames, frame 3 is played as a “double” with alternate shots. Each player is involved in two frames.
I would like this type of format being used by WPBSA/WST for the World Cup round robin phase.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 