Tour News

News from the Snooker – 31.10.2023

Monique Professional snooker tournament, Tour News ,

A mixed bag of new today…

Dechawat Poomjaeng has decided to withdraw from the main tour

Dechawat Poomjaeng

Monday 30 Oct 2023 

Dechawat Poomjaeng’s WPBSA membership has lapsed therefore he is no longer a professional player on the World Snooker Tour and has been removed from the world rankings.

Dechawat last competed on the circuit at the 2023 Cazoo World Snooker Championship, reaching the second qualifying round in Sheffield. He has confirmed that he will not return to the Tour during his existing two-year tour card for personal reasons and we wish him all the best for the future.

All the best indeed Poomy!

Jonas Luz from Brazil will join the main tour next season

Jonas Wins Pan American Championship

Jonas Luz ousted fellow Brazilian Fabinho 5-4 in a gripping final to win the 2023 Pan American Snooker Championship held at the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club.

Victory for the 37-year-old from Esteio-RS means he will be nominated for a two-year professional World Snooker Tour card. 

Organised by World Snooker Federation member the Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association (PABSA), this year’s event featured players from Canada, the United States of America, Mexico and the host nation Brazil. The entrants were drawn into eight round robin groups of five, with the top two from each pool qualifying for the concluding knockout rounds.

Luz finished second in Group 8 having won three of his four matches; his only defeat coming against former professional and table topper Itaro Santos (Brazil). 

The eventual champion survived a deciding frame finish as he came from behind to defeat recent Pan American Seniors Championship finalist Zico (Brazil) 3-2 in the last 16 before a more comfortable 3-0 success against Charlie Brown (Canada) in the quarter-finals. 

On Finals Day in the last four, Luz pipped Rafinha (Brazil) on the colours in the deciding frame for a 4-3 win. 

Emerging from the other side of the draw was 41-year-old Fabinho who didn’t drop a single frame as he came top of his group and then dispatched Ajeya Prabhakar (USA) 3-0 in the last 16. 

In the last eight, Fabinho produced a big upset as he eliminated pre-tournament favourite Igor Figueiredo (Brazil).

Ex-professional Figueiredo – winner of this tournament in 2019 – was going for a title double in Rio having won the Seniors category earlier in the week. Things were going according to plan for the 46-year-old as he compiled a 114 clearance in the opening frame of his quarter-final tie, but Fabinho claimed the next three frames – including a break of 88 in frame three – for a memorable 3-1 win. 

Fabinho then ended the hopes of Daniel Holoyda (USA) 4-0 in the semi-finals, top scoring with a 55. In the previous round, Holoyda – who has dual Polish-American citizenship – defeated Santos 3-0. 

In the best of nine frames title match, Fabinho took the opening two frames on the colours but Luz responded (48 break, frame three) as he levelled up at 2-2 heading into the mid-session interval. 

A 47 break from Fabinho in frame five looked like putting him back in front but Luz crafted a green to pink clearance to go ahead for the first time, although two efforts of 40 in frame six got the Paraná cueist back on level terms. 

Luz went one up with two to play before Fabinho sent the contest all the way with a break of 54 in frame eight as he left his opponent pointless. 

In a tense deciding frame for the title, whilst on a break of 43 Luz potted the third-to-last red – the ball that would leave his opponent needing a snooker – but went in-off at the same time. However, with that red ball now off the table, Fabinho needed penalty points, and his task was made even more difficult later on when he fluked a red that he didn’t want to pot. Luz later sank the final red to confirm the biggest accolade of his career to date and earn qualification to snooker’s professional circuit for the first time.

Results from the 2023 Pan American Snooker Championship

Welcome to the professional life Jonas!

And WST account on the first day at the 2023 Scottish Open Qualifiers

Lam Fightback Downs Fan

World number 68 Sanderson Lam came from 3-1 down to beat former European Masters winner Fan Zhengyi 4-3 and qualify for the final stages of the BetVictor Scottish Open.

Lam is in good form at the moment, having already qualified for next week’s International Championship. The Englishman also scored a fine win over 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson during a run to the last 32 of the BetVictor English Open.

Having battled back to force a decider, Lam got the better of an exchange on the final pink, depositing it and a tricky cut back black to book his place in Edinburgh.

China’s Si Jiahui came from 3-1 down to beat compatriot Tian Pengfei 4-3. (Tian) Si composed breaks of 71 and 50 in the last two frames to get over the line.

Zhou Yuelong put on a brilliant performance to beat Anthony Hamilton 4-0. Breaks of 75, 129 and 134 saw China’s Zhou storm to victory.

Former Scottish Open finalist Cao Yupeng scored a 4-2 win over David Lilley, while Noppon Saengkham whitewashed Rebecca Kenna 4-0.

Anthony McGill earned his place in the final stages of his home event with a 4-0 win over Australia’s Ryan Thomerson, while Matthew Selt beat Dylan Emery 4-1.

All the results are on snooker.org as always.

I opened a can of worms apparently…

Monique Tour News ,

Yesterday I reported about high profile lucrative exhibitions being scheduled in China, one of them clashing with the 2023 Northern Ireland Open. It triggered quite a debate on social media… and this debate is what probably triggered this reaction from WST as reported by Hector Nunns.

Snooker in CRISIS with Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel leading a player mutiny – as Ronnie O’Sullivan brands governing body’s stance ‘b****cks’

  • Selby, Higgins and Brecel are among five players to have snubbed a key event
  • The trio have shunned this month’s Northern Ireland Open to play in Macau

By HECTOR NUNNS

Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel are leading a player mutiny – handing an embarrassing snub to snooker bosses.

Four-time world champions Selby and Higgins plus the reigning Crucible king Brecel – along with Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – have shunned this month’s official Northern Ireland Open.

Despite threats of legal action from World Snooker Tour, the five decided not to enter Belfast and opt instead for a lucrative Macau exhibition.

WST bosses sent first emails and then strongly-worded letters claiming if the players took part in Macau they would be breaching contracts, harming the game and facing disciplinary action.

But lawyers representing the players reckon the threats are baseless since they did not enter the Northern Ireland event, and believe they are just doing what they want on their own time.

Both John Higgins (left) and world champion Luca Brecel have shunned the Northern Ireland Open

And world No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan, himself playing in a Shanghai exhibition this month, has backed the ‘Macau Five’ – describing WST’s stance as ‘b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that’.

Many of the players involved are furious over what they see as heavy-handed tactics. Part-organiser Victoria Shi, owner of a Sheffield academy, has also been threatened with action.

Selby, who has suffered badly with mental health issues in recent years, is understood to have requested he receive no further correspondence on the matter.

This comes with another highly-paid unofficial event featuring O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski and Ding Junhui looming even sooner this month in Shanghai.

The Shanghai exhibition takes place during the Northern Ireland Open qualifying event. Top-16 players involved could still appear at the final stages given their opening rounds are held over.

But WST were also unhappy with big names playing this event – believing it will leave the qualifiers in the shade. They originally banned the players from taking part – before softening their stance.

And they issued similarly threatening letters to players insisting they keep all involvement in Shanghai quiet demanding a social media and news blackout – and participation in Belfast, for which only Williams is confirmed.

The player-power situation presents a huge challenge for the governing body going forward, with big-name stars openly flouting their authority – and lawyers no doubt licking their lips.

With Chinese tournaments back in the calendar this season after three years following the Covid pandemic, WST had been hoping for a smoother ride in 2023-24.

But after those years of reduced earnings new opportunities are opening up in the Far and Middle East. Players want to cash in – leading to the current row.

And events of the week have highlighted a chasm between the best players and the game’s rulers. There has even been hushed talk of a boycott of January’s prestigious Masters.

O’Sullivan has been among those fiercely critical of some aspects of the way the tour is organised, the venues used in the UK, and the treatment of the players outside Asia.

He has even in the past suggested the possibility of a breakaway tour – which today sounds less fanciful than it did.

WST were accused earlier this year of attempting to gag players and bar them speaking to the media about a large meeting discussing the future of the sport.

But on this occasion it appears any similar attempts have backfired, with the players involved calling WST’s bluff over both Macau and Shanghai.

O’Sullivan, the sport’s biggest draw, has led calls for players to be able to maximise their earnings.

On the Shanghai exhibition, he said: ‘There is absolutely no reason to try and stop me and other players going to Shanghai during the Northern Ireland qualifiers.

‘That is a small event, we are not involved, and we could still play in the final stages with our matches being held over.

‘Players are just trying to earn money, it is their choice. And they are realising their value. They are trying to restrict us. Those involved in Shanghai were sent letters advising them not to play.

‘I know for the tournament in Macau players were also sent even stronger threatening letters telling them it was in breach of their contract.

‘That with an opportunity to play in an official tournament they were turning it down and choosing to go somewhere else, and it was damaging for the sport.

‘It is b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that. It’s wrong and I am glad they have taken a strong stance.

‘This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play. They can enter a tournament – but they don’t have to.

‘They used to try and tell me what to say, until I got a really good lawyer who kicked back at them. If they want to play silly games, we can all play silly games.’

WST were asked a number of pertinent questions, and given the opportunity to respond to the story. A spokesperson would say only: ‘WST does not publicly discuss private conversations with the players, or share contractual information.’

I’m not sure why this is seen as a “mutiny”. My understanding was always that players are not obliged to enter any event, and can play in what they want in their “free” time provided that it is not televised or streamed, unless they get permission from WST. After all they are essentially self-employed, although the guaranteed 20000 pounds may have changed that situation slightly. But, as far as I know, the players don’t get anything from WST/WPBSA, when they retire, so they need to secure their financial future whilst they still can. Higgins, Selby and Carter are all over 40 and in the last part of their professional career.

The streaming/television restriction was applied with sometimes ridiculous rigour in the past, notably when Paul Mount was forced to stop streaming the Pink Ribbon, a big charity pro-am, raising funds to support breast cancer research and care, that was happening in the middle of the summer when nothing else was on or even close to happen. But this is much higher profile and it does clash with a WST event.

What has changed of course in recent years is that, even if promoters do not stream or televise events, fans are now taking and sharing a lot of images and videos over social media providing huge exposure totally out of the control of the governing body.

Tour and Q-Tour News – 16 September 2023

Monique Amateur, News, Tour News , ,

The 2023 Shanghai Masters is reaching its latter stages as the second semifinal is underway at the time of writing.

The Q-Tour Event 2 is currently underway in Stockholm. They are currently playing the last 64 round.

With some images about the venue and its location

All the information you may need and the scores are available on WPBSA SnookerScores .

WST has also announced the first Q-Tour event in the Asia-Pacific region:

Asia-Pacific Region To Join Q Tour Global

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and the Asia-Pacific Snooker and Billiards Federation (APSBF) are today delighted to announce the launch of the new Q Tour Asia-Pacific Series as part of the WPBSA Q Tour Global during the 2023/24 season.

The Asia-Pacific region becomes the first to join the newly expanded WPBSA Q Tour Global, which will culminate in a 24-player playoff, with three places on the professional World Snooker Tour to be won from the start of the 2024/25 season.

As in previous seasons, the playoff will feature a minimum of 16 players from the UK/Europe rankings, who will now be joined by up to eight international qualifiers – including one from the Asia-Pacific region – from across the globe.

ASIA-PACIFIC SERIES

To encompass three recognised tournaments across the region, the Asia-Pacific Series will operate its own ranking list with the top ranked player following the third event to qualify for this season’s Q Tour Global Playoff next spring.

The qualifying events will be:

  • Bob Hawke AC Open Snooker (12-15 October 2023)
  • New Zealand Open Snooker
  • Dr Clem Jones AC Open Snooker

Events will be open to players born in, or resident in the Asia-Pacific region for a minimum of six months.

“PROVEN TRACK RECORD”

Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “I am excited to welcome the APSBF to the WPBSA Q Tour Global and to provide this additional opportunity for players in the Asia-Pacific region to qualify for the World Snooker Tour.

“Frank Dewens and his team have a proven track record of hosting high-quality tournaments, none more so than this year’s WSF Championships in Sydney which were well-supported by players from the region and beyond.

“I look forward to welcoming the successful player to our new Global Playoff, where they will compete among the best amateur snooker players in the world to join our professional circuit.”

Frank Dewens, APSBF President said: “We are extremely excited and honoured to be included in the WPBSA Q Tour Global. This will provide opportunities for the players within the APSBF to qualify for the World Snooker Tour.”

Entry for the Bob Hawke AC Open is open now via the ABSC website with a closing date of 29 September 2023.

WPBSA also announced a new support program, aimed at helping new players to better adapt to the professional life.

WPBSA To Host Landmark New Player Support Programme

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and WPBSA Players have today announced the launch of the WPBSA Player Support Programme, to be held on September 15 and 16 at the prestigious Lilleshall National Sports Centre.

The groundbreaking new event promises to be a transformative experience for over 40 professional snooker players and will be hosted by the renowned sports broadcaster, Rob Walker, and is proudly presented in association with Taom Billiards.

Over 40 current professionals from all around the world are set to take part in the weekend, including rising stars Julien Leclercq and Ben Mertens from Belgium, China’s WSF world champion Ma Hailong as well as England’s Stan Moody and Liam Pullen, who both joined the Tour this summer.

They will also be joined by the four current women professionals on the circuit including reigning world champion Baipat Siripaporn and 12-time queen Reanne Evans and a host of players making a return to the tour including WPBSA Q Tour number one Martin O’Donnell and Q School graduates Alexander Ursenbacher, Andrew Pagett and Stuart Carrington.

During the two-day event, the next generation of snooker stars will receive comprehensive support and guidance from WPBSA Players on a wide range of critical subjects, including integrity, match-fixing prevention, mental health and wellbeing, media training, financial management and career transition.

Guest speakers will include well known figures from across sport and experts from the world of business who will take the stage to share their experiences and insights, offering invaluable advice to aspiring and established players alike.

“Best preparation possible”

Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman, said: “I am hugely excited by the launch of the WPBSA Player Support Programme as we aim to provide our next generation with meaningful and practical support at the start of their professional careers in our sport.

“I know from my own experience just how big a step up it is coming from the amateur game. Not only on the baize, but equally so off the table, where there is so much to learn. It is our vision that this new programme will provide players new to the tour with the best preparation possible for their respective journeys.

“And for players who might be returning to the tour, or have re-qualified via Q School, the message is the same and I am confident that everyone taking part will be able to take something valuable from the two days.

“I would like to thank our teams at the WPBSA and WPBSA Players, as well as recognise the support to be provided by Taom Billiards and the Professional Players Federation, which demonstrates the commitment of key stakeholders to the future of our sport.”

Brendan Batson, Chairman of the Professional Players Federation (PPF), expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative, saying: “It is vitally important that players know their sport’s rules on betting. Integrity education is essential for all professional players and will help protect them from the devastation that match-fixing scandals bring to reputations and careers. The PPF is delighted to support the first WPBSA Players Support Programme.”

Ken Doherty, Chairman of WPBSA Players, said: “Professional sport can be tough. Our commitment to supporting snooker professionals on issues such as personal and professional development, and welfare is unwavering. We believe that a healthy and well-supported player community is the cornerstone of a thriving sport. Together, we are cueing up a brighter future for our players, ensuring they have the support and resources needed to excel both on and off the baize.”

This event started yesterday and the first reactions from participant were very positive, going by what I was able to read on social media.

Here are some images, shared on social media by WPBSA:

Another hard-to-understand (non)decision by WST

Monique Snooker, Tour News ,

For several years now I have tried – with not as much success as I wished – to promote the Seniors Snooker Tour. I feel it’s important, I feel that as much as it is important to develop the game by supporting young aspiring players, it’s equally important to give those who have served the game for years, and older players in general, a good platform, allowing them to continue to play competitively and enjoy the game they love.

Someone like Lee Walker who dedicated his whole life to the sport probably got the best “reward” for his efforts by winning the Seniors World Championship at the Crucible in front of his family. Other deserve that chance too. Maybe I feel this way because I’m 68 and still feeling full of energy with many projects? Maybe, but I’m not the only one and life doesn’t stop when your hair turn grey.. or white.

Jason Francis created such a “playing platform” … the Seniors tour, that was later taken under the umbrella of WPBSA. Pre-covid the Seniors tour was thriving, but last season there was just the one “main event”, the World Championship at the Crucible. That tour needs rebuilding. There is a demand for it.

Today, I have published this on my seniors blog.

As you can see only amateurs can enter the qualifying events … what happened?

Well … here is a screenshot of (part of) the conversation Jason Francis had on Facebook with some very unhappy older professionals. That conversation explains a lot.

I know for certain that Jason’s proposal – the one he refers to in that conversation – comprises many more events. But he can’t promote them properly if people don’t find recognisable names in there, and if he can’t promote them, of course, they would be financially unsustainable.

The older Legends he started his tour with – Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, John Parrott, Steve Davis … – are no more available, either because they decided to retire for good because their game isn’t anymore where they want it to be, or because they have developed totally different interests in life.

People like Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, Marco Fu or the reigning Seniors World Champion, Jimmy White are currently prevented to enter or play in those events. If the situation doesn’t change, Jimmy will not have the opportunity to defend his title come May.

So why doesn’t WST agree to allow some of his older pros, who are outside the top 64, to play on that tour? Maybe allowing players over 45 only? I’m sure Jason would be OK with that.

I can’t really come up with an explanation, or any sort of rationale to it, especially as Jason is absolutely adamant that the Seniors events will not clash with main tour events.

Main Tour News – August, 6, 2023

Monique Professional snooker tournament, Tour News , ,

WST has published the draw and format for the 2023 European Masters in Nuremberg

Si draws Doherty in Nuremberg

World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui will lock horns with 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty at the BetVictor European Masters later this month in Nuremberg, following the completion of the second-round draw.

The Darling of Dublin has been handed a tough assignment against the Chinese sensation, who reached the quarter-finals at last year’s tournament, after the pair advanced through July’s qualifying event in Leicester.

Elsewhere, there’s an all-Welsh clash as Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens go head-to-head. And 12-time Women’s World Champion Reanne Evans plays David Gilbert.

The top eight seeds, including Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, are yet to play their first-round matches, with their ties being held over until the opening day at the Kia Metropol Arena. …

Kyren Wilson won the title last season, beating Barry Hawkins 9-3 in the final, and his first-round match is against Scotland’s Dean Young, one of eight players to make it through this summer’s Q School.

For the full draw click here

For the provisional playing format click here

The tournament runs from Tuesday August 22nd to Sunday August 27th and will be broadcast across the world on the following platforms:

UK & Europe – Eurosport

China – Rigour, Liaoning TV, Migu, Youku, Huya.com

HK – PCCW

Malaysia & Brunei – Astro

Philippines – Tap

Taiwan – Sportscast

Thailand – Truesport

This event has a random draw in the early stages.

Jason Ferguson promises more events this season in an interview reported on by Phil Haigh

More events to be added to World Snooker Tour calendar this season, confirms Jason Ferguson

Phil Haigh Tuesday 1 Aug 2023 3:57 pm

Evergrande 2017 World Snooker China Championship - Press Conference & Red Carpet
Jason Ferguson has been working on more international events (Picture: Getty Images)

The World Snooker Tour calendar for this season is not complete yet, with more events set to be added, confirmed WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson.

After three pandemic-hit seasons, there has been an encouraging return to China for this campaign, with the Shanghai Masters, Wuhan Open and International Championship on the calendar after no events in the country since 2019.

This was welcome news for players who had felt earning opportunities were frustratingly low with the loss of the big-money Chinese events due to Covid.

Ferguson says there will be more good news to come too, with gaps in the calendar later in the season promised to be filled.

March is currently a quiet time of the season, with the Six Red World Championship running from 4-9 and the World Mixed Doubles from 30-31, but we can expect at least one event to fill that void.

‘We’ve so many opportunities on the go at the moment,’ Ferguson told Metro.co.uk. ‘There’s a lot going on in the Far East, the Middle East, Europe. 

‘We’re probably going to run out of dates rather than events, the way things are going. It’s already getting to that point now, where we’re looking at longer term calendars and we’re becoming very tight for space for major events, which is great.

‘We’re not finished this season. There’s a few gaps in March which will be filled in so there’s still more to come. Lots going on. What we’re trying to do is put bigger events on. You can put events on just to fill gaps but we’re really trying to up the game.’

There is hope that there will be expansion in Europe as well as China, especially given the remarkable World Championship success of Belgian superstar Luca Brecel.

The thrilling triumph for the 28-year-old over Mark Selby in the Crucible final will hopefully create a surge of popularity in snooker in Belgium, ideally leading to a major event in the country.

Ferguson confirms that discussions are ongoing, as they are with numerous countries, but details on progress are light at this stage.

Cazoo World Snooker Championship 2023 - Day Seventeen
Luca Brecel’s World Championship win should usher in a wave of popularity in snooker in Belgium (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I’m excited about the international space for snooker, it’s growing a lot,’ he said. ‘It’s pleasing for me as someone who’s been out on the frontline, pushing it in every corner of the world, it’s great to see how it’s expanding. 

‘Belgium is one of the territories we’re talking to and there’s ongoing discussions all over Europe.’

There is something of a gap in the WST calendar right now as European Masters qualifiers finished on 29 July and British Open qualifying begins on 14 August.

Snooker was ALWAYS popular in Belgium. Our Federation is quite big actually considering that Belgium is a small country. The likes of Ben Mertens and Julien Leclercq don’t develop overnight. Only this week there has been a national 6-reds Soot-out event … which was the perfect fun event for this time of the year!

Let’s hope that Jason’s promises translate in actual events, and preferably, not events hosted by countries where snooker is barely ever played but are after sports-washing.

Tour News – Q-Tour and 2023 European Masters – 18.07.2023

Monique Amateur, Professional snooker tournament, Tour News , , ,

Life came in the way of snooker in recent days but WST and WPBSA have published some important news

Q-Tour News

WPBSA Q Tour Goes Global

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Group of organisations (WPBSA) has today announced the launch of WPBSA Q Tour Global which will carry four World Snooker Tour cards.

Following two successful seasons based within the UK and mainland Europe, this season’s WPBSA Q Tour Global will for the first time incorporate regional events held around the world, each offering access to an extended Q Tour Playoff at the end of the season.

WPBSA Q TOUR UK/EUROPE

As in previous seasons, the rebranded WPBSA Q Tour UK/Europe will retain its previous format, with an expanded calendar of seven events to be held across the season.

To include four tournaments within the UK and a further three in mainland Europe, 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.

Each Q Tour UK/Europe event will carry an increased prize fund of over £14,000 and will be open to players from around the world. 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 UK/Europe are:

  • Q Tour 1 – 25-27 August 2023 – North East Snooker Centre, UK
  • Q Tour 2 – 15-17 September 2023 – Snookerhallen, SWEDEN
  • Q Tour 3 – 20-22 October 2023 – Heilbronn, GERMANY
  • Q Tour 4 – 10-12 November 2023 Landywood Snooker Club, UK
  • Q Tour 5 – 15-17 December 2023 – Castle Snooker, Brighton, UK
  • Q Tour 6 – 5-7 January 2024 – Sofia, BULGARIA
  • Q Tour 7 – 16-18 February 2024 – Northern Snooker Centre, UK

All dates are provisional and subject to change.

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

Iulian Boiko plays a shot.

THE PLAYERS

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 2023 UK Q School Order of Merit eligible to compete.

Iulian Boiko, Haydon Pinhey, Sydney Wilson, Duane Jones, Alfie Davies, Barry Pinches, Rory McLeod, Steven Hallworth, Simon Bedford, Florian Nuessle, Alex Taubman, Jamie O’Neill, Peter Lines, Ryan Davies, Fergal Quinn, Joshua Thomond, Josh Mulholland, Sean McAllister, Daniel Holoyda, Robin Hull, Craig Steadman, Chris Totten, Michael Holt, Zachary Richardson, Umut Dikme, Ben Fortey, Lewis Ullah, Daniel Womersley, Harvey Chandler, Jamie Curtis-Barrett, Martyn Taylor, James Lee

The top 8 from the 2023 Asia-Oceania Q School Order of Merit

Ka Wai Cheung, Lei Peifan, Yu Kiu Chang, Gong Chenzhi, Jefrey Roda, Dhruv, Jatan Patel, Asutosh Padhy, Khalid Ali Alkamali

The eight highest ranked junior players on the 2023 UK Q School Order of Merit, not already qualified.

Bai Yulu, Antoni Kowalski, Liam Davies, Jamie Wilson, Bulcsu Revesz, Oliver Sykes, Vladislav Gradinari, Paul Deaville

EVENT ENTRY

The 48 qualified players will be contacted directly by email with entry instructions. Each player will be required to pay a block entry fee of £525 by 12:00pm on 28 July and will be guaranteed a place in the last 64 of each UK/Europe tournament.

Following this date, subject to the number of players who have accepted and paid for their Q Tour UK/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 1 August to claim their place.

Open entry for all Friday qualifying tournaments will be opened to all players from no later than 2 August. We aim to accommodate all players who wish to enter, however, we do reserve the right to limit entries for each qualifier subject to the number of tables available at the club and time available.

All entries are to be made via WPBSA SnookerScores.

Q TOUR GLOBAL

For the first time, the WPBSA Q Tour Global will incorporate regional Q Tour Series’ staged around the world as part of the planned international expansion of Q Tour.

The WPBSA welcomes expressions of interest to stage Q Tour tournaments from recognised organisations and national federations which share our vision for high-quality amateur events.

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 UK/Europe.

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

Q TOUR PLAYOFF

The WPBSA Q Tour Global Playoff will be relaunched for the 2023/24 season with three places on the World Snooker Tour to be won for the first time.

As in previous seasons, the Playoff will include the winners of Q Tour UK/Europe events, followed the highest ranked remaining players up to 16 players. They will be joined by a further eight players from regional Q Tour events held around the world. Should these places not be taken, they will be filled by additional players from the Q Tour UK/Europe Rankings.

In recognition of the increased status of the Playoff, the event will be held over three days and will be made up of three sections of eight players, meaning qualifiers into this season’s prestigious grand final will only need to win three matches at the Playoff to earn a place on the World Snooker Tour. Quarter-finals will be played over the best of nine frames, semi-finals the best of 11 frames and the finals over the best of 19 frames.

The Playoff will also carry a prize fund of almost £20,000 for the first time, with each tour card winner set to take home £2,000.  Each qualifier will be guaranteed to earn at least £500, with prize money increasing to £750, £1,000 and the £2,000 top prize.

“THE ULTIMATE TEST”

Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “Our WPBSA Q Tour has quickly become a key cornerstone in the amateur snooker calendar, offering direct access to the World Snooker Tour and regular competition at high-quality venues.

“We are therefore now delighted to be able to launch the WPBSA Q Tour Global, which for the first time enables players around the world to be able to compete and potentially earn their place on the professional circuit. It is particularly important to add that this new global model will serve players all over the world with life changing opportunities. It is also important to state that our vision includes working with federations and partners around the world who share our vision of a truly open global sport.

“I am hugely excited by the potential of Q Tour and in particular now the Global Playoff, with long frame formats, I can only speak on this as a former snooker player, when I say this is the ultimate test for players aiming to take the next step with a full-time career on the World Snooker Tour.

“We will soon be writing to our many partners and friends around the world, inviting them to join us in this truly global plan.”

FURTHER INFORMATION

The 48 players eligible to accept a seeded place on Q Tour UK/Europe will be contacted shortly 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.

More details will follow shortly on how federations and/or organisations can develop their plans and ideas with us.

All this is extremely good news. I want to see this as the start of a proper secondary tour. I do hope that the Q-Tour playoffs will be streamed and that fans will be allowed to attend. This I hope is the seed for a proper, much needed secondary tour. I’m only disappointed that there is no event in Belgium. I’m also pleased that Bai Yulu has been invited. Matches are played over a longer format in the latter stages too.

The draw and qualifiers format are out for the 2023 European Open

BetVictor European Masters Draw

The draw for the 2023 BetVictor European Masters is now available, as well as the match schedule for next week’s qualifying rounds.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DRAW

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUALIFIERS FORMAT

The qualifiers run from Tuesday July 25 to Saturday July 29 in Leicester* followed by the final stages in Nuremberg, Germany from August 22-27.

…

Matches involving the top eight seeds have been held over to Germany. They are:

Kyren Wilson begins the defence of his title against Dean Young

Shaun Murphy faces a battle of two former World Champions against Graeme Dott

Masters champion Judd Trump takes on 2022 African Champion Mohamed Ibrahim

Player of the 2022/23 season Mark Allen faces Anton Kazakov

World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan meets Andy Hicks

Four-time Crucible king Mark Selby plays tour debutant Manasawin Phetmalaikul

Neil Robertson is up against Wu Yize

Luca Brecel plays his first match as World Champion against Jackson Page

The match schedule for the final stages will be announced soon.

In the qualifying rounds, matches to look out for include:
Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui against Shoot Out runner-up Julien Leclercq
John Higgins v Martin Gould
Aaron Hill v Jimmy White
Mark Williams v Zhang Anda

Details of how to watch the qualifying rounds will be announced soon.

*Please note that there is no access to fans for this qualifying event. To see which qualifying event fans will be welcome at this season, click here.

WST aims to strengthen their presence in Asian social media

Monique Tour News

Here is the announcement published today

WST Enters New Partnership With Red Lantern To Expand Snooker’s Reach Throughout Asia

WST is excited to join forces with Red Lantern with the intention to expand snooker’s digital media presence throughout Asia and develop the sport’s popularity with fans.

This new partnership will focus on mainland China but also reach into India, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Red Lantern is a global leader in the digital media sphere, working with the Premier League, FIFA, F1, PGA Tour and many other major sports properties. They specialise in growing relationships with fans, through outstanding targeted content and interaction.

WST’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Tom Rowell said: “We have built up a strong fanbase in China, for example on Weibo alone we have 1.4 million followers and 24 million video views last season. However, we recognise the need to take this to the next level and to truly exploit the popularity of snooker in China, particularly as this year we are staging major tournaments there for the first time since 2019.

“This new partnership with Red Lantern will allow us to achieve those goals by creating regionalised, multi-language content, across a wide range of social media platforms throughout the Asia region. We have been one of the most successful sports in China over the past 20 years and we believe we can out-perform many other major sports in the digital sphere. So far, we have only scratched the surface of what we can achieve. This will boost the profile of snooker, to the benefit of all our partners, players, and fans.

“And we expect to see similar growth through targeted content in Thailand, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where we know there is massive potential. We are thrilled to start this journey with Red Lantern and to push our boundaries much further.”

Lewis Hannam, founder of Red Lantern, said: “We are delighted to enter into this innovative partnership with WST. We have always felt snooker is one of the great sporting success stories in China and we look forward to helping WST build and understand their audience in China and Asia much further. We will be creating relevant content on relevant platforms to underpin growth amongst the next generation of fans. We are excited to unlock its potential and see where it can take WST.”

Let’s hope that this isn’t another disaster… I’m not sure what the words “Red Lantern” evoke in the UK but in Belgium, France and other mainland European countries, it is associated with being “last”. Typically the “lanterne rouge” in the Tour the France is the competitor who finishes last.

The expression was “born” from the habit to adorn the back the last vehicle in a convoy, or the last wagon on a train, with a red lantern

For those who are into comics, it’s also associated with the Red Lantern Corps a supervillain and sometimes anti-heroic organisation appearing in DC Comics.

Artwork for the cover of Red Lanterns vol. 1, 1 (September, 2011 DC Comics)  Art by Ed Benes

But of course in Asia, red lanterns are not at all associated with negative thoughts or deeds… let’s hope all works well. Snooker certainly needs a more exposure and more positivity.