After reading the article in the Hong Kong press about the possibility for the World Grand Prix to move to Hong Kong this season, Michael Day wrote to World Snooker, seeking more information … and he got an answer!
Here is Michael’s piece, reflecting on WST answer and the possible move. I have highlighted some parts in bold as they answer questions that have been raised here and on social media in general.
World Grand Prix snooker likely to be heading to Hong Kong
Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Peter Parks | AFP via Getty Images/Peter Parks
The 2025 World Grand Prix is on course to be held in Hong Kong according to a spokesperson from the World Snooker Tour (WST).
There has been activity on social media over the last few days about the future location of the prestigious ranking event following published articles online from both Hong Kong Billiards Sports and the South China Morning Post.
Totally Snookered reached out to the WST, who have confirmed they are in advanced discussions with partners in Hong Kong to hold the tournament this season, and are hoping to officially announce details in the coming weeks.
Due to laws on hosting sports events in the country, organisers in Hong Kong are obliged to publicly announce intentions through an invitation to tender, hence why there has already been communication online about a potential new home for the World Grand Prix.
It is suggested the event will be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park – a new 10,000-seat venue – in the first quarter of 2025, depending on its availability.
There has been some confusion online whether this would be a new event, but the WST spokesperson confirmed it is the existing World Grand Prix which remains as the opening leg of the three-pronged Players Series alongside the Players Championship and Tour Championship.
Both the 2025 Players Championship (Telford, 17-23 March) and 2025 Tour Championship (Manchester, 31 March-6 April) are already scheduled on this season’s calendar, but the dates and location for the World Grand Prix – which would need to be played before the Players Championship – have yet to be mentioned.
Despite the potential move to the Far East there are no plans to change the format of the competition with only the top 32 players from the one-year ranking list invited to compete. However, as is often the case with Asian events, local wildcards may also take part.
Since the creation of the very popular Players Series several years ago, all events have been held in the United Kingdom with host broadcaster ITV continuing to support the Series with live televised and online coverage throughout the three events from start to finish. WST are keen for this event to remain on ITV and talks are ongoing.
Hong Kong has a rich snooker history having initially hosted professional invitational events from the 1980s. The Hong Kong Masters returned in 2017 and 2022; at the latter installment, Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated home hero Marco Fu in the final in front of 9,000 spectators at the Hong Kong Coliseum – a record for a live snooker audience at a venue.
In 1989, the country hosted its one and only ranking event to date – the Hong Kong Open – when Mike Hallett ousted Dene O’Kane 9-8 in the final. This was the first professional ranking event ever to be held in Asia.
As well as three-time ranking event winner Fu, Hong Kong has had several professional players down the years, including three-time world women’s champion Ng On Yee. This season, Cheung Ka Wai plays his maiden professional campaign having won the World Snooker Federation Championship earlier in the year and Wang Yuchen returns to the tour after graduating from the UK Q School.
Elsewhere in cuesports, Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito recently won the UK Open 9-Ball Pool Championship – a big event on the World Nineball Tour.
These are exciting times for the sport as the World Snooker Tour continues to expand globally. This season there is another new ranking event in China (Xi’an Grand Prix) as well as the inaugural edition of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which is set to hold a prize fund in excess of £2 million.
There are also rumours of further events to be held in the Middle East, including in Qatar.
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.
Although I’m slowly getting better, I’m still in no state to watch any snooker… or any moving images actually. This means that I saw nothing from yesterday action but here is WST report about day 9 at the 2024 Ranking CLS:
WILSON FALLS IN FIRST GROUP STAGE
In his first appearance since conquering the Crucible, Kyren Wilson failed to qualify for the second stage of the BetVictor Championship League, as Scott Donaldson topped the table in Group One.
Six weeks after his World Championship triumph, Wilson mustered a win and two draws from his three matches in Leicester, but that was not enough as Scotland’s Donaldson notched two wins and a draw to go through to the second group phase.
Opening with a 3-0 win over Baipat Siripaporn, Donaldson went on to beat Daniel Womersley 3-1, which left him needing to avoid defeat in his final match against Wilson. A break of 79 gave Wilson the opening frame, before Donaldson hit back with 88 and 101 to go 2-1 up and ensure top spot in the group. Wilson finished with a 111 for a 2-2 draw but misses out on the rest of the season’s first ranking event and now has a four-week gap before he’s back on the table at the Shanghai Masters.
Hossein Vafaei finished top of Group 14 , conceding just one frame in his three matches. A break of 89 helped him to a 3-0 win over Josh Mulholland, then he saw off Manasawin Phetmalaikul 3-1 and Louis Heathcote 3-0.
A draw in his first match of the new season cost Kyren, but, yeah, it was the first match of the season, and a very short format. Never easy. And, of course, Scott Donaldson is a quality player. So it’s no “big shock” and not a disaster either. Baipat on the other hand didn’t win a single frame. It’s worrying because I have the feeling that instead of progressing during her first year as a pro, she has only regressed. She’s probably lost all self-belief and with that all motivation. I hope I’m wrong in this assessment but…
Hossein winning the other group emphatically didn’t surprise me, although I expected more resistance from Louis Heathcote.
2024 Shanghai Masters Wildcard News: Selection process
There will be a rather big qualifying process to determine the wildcards for the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Sinosport indeed shared this on Twitter (X) , and they surely did share that info on other platforms as well:
Now, I’m not sure I fully understand the whole process but the whole thing looks like a stern test for the aspiring wildcards.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) has today announced updated anti-doping procedures to apply to its amateur and development organisations across the WPBSA Group from the start of the 2024/25 season. This does not relate to the professional World Snooker Tour which has existing procedures organised by the WPBSA.
As part of our commitment for our sport to be IOC compliant, from the start of this season random drug tests will take place at events organised across the WPBSA Group throughout the season. The relevant organisations/events may include:
All players will note the relevant addition to the Standard Conditions of Entry for each of these organisations:
Drug Testing: Players shall at all times comply with the WPBSA Anti-Doping Rules and must make themselves available for and must submit to Doping Control (urine and/or blood) at any time as per section 5.2.1 of these Rules.
Should you have any further questions please contact us.
The red highlight is my doing. The reason I highlighted it is because it shows a clear commitment by WPBSA to get snooker into the Olympic games. Although I’m not sure snooker is particularly “suited” for this type of competition, if it became an olympic sport it could bring great benefits for the amateurs in many countries.
As an example, in Belgium, in past years, athletes preparing for the Olympic games got special support in the form of funding, access to training facilities and part-time work in order to allow them the best possible preparation. Inclusion in the Olympic games would also lead to the recognition of snooker as an actual sport, which would also open them access to to various funding possibilities.
The end of the Eurosport App … and what it means for many snooker fans
Today I got this in my email…
Cher Client,
Nous avons le regret de vous informer que le service d’abonnement Eurosport Premium sera supprimé le 22 juillet. Après l’arrêt du service, vous recevrez un remboursement pour la période restante non utilisée de votre abonnement. Les remboursements seront effectués selon le mode de paiement que vous avez utilisé pour acheter votre abonnement.
Vous pouvez continuer à profiter de nos articles d’actualité et de notre contenu gratuits sur le site Internet et l’application Eurosport.
Pour plus d’informations sur les endroits où vous pouvez continuer à regarder vos sports préférés, ou si vous avez besoin d’aide, consultez notre Centre d’aide.
Cordialement, L’équipe Eurosport
Which translates like this
Dear Customer,
We regret to inform you that the Eurosport Premium subscription service will be discontinued on July 22. Après l’arrêt du service, you will receive a refund for the remaining unused period of your subscription. Refunds will be made according to the mode of payment that you used to purchase your subscription.
You can continue to benefit from our current articles and our free content on the Internet site and the Eurosport application.
For more information on where you can continue watching your favorite sports, or if you need help, consult our Help Center.
Cordially, The Eurosport team
This is a disaster for me, and I’m sure for many other snooker fans around Europe. Living in Greece, the Eurosport App is the only way I can watch Eurosport. It isn’t part of ANY available package for terrestrial television in this country. BTW, BBC and ITV aren’t available either. So I will have to rely solely on matchroom.live with no possibility to watch a match “later” if I can’t watch it at broadcast time for any reason … including time difference. I wonder if WST/WPBSA are aware of this, and wether they will care. Really they should.
Pakistan’s Haris Tahir and India’s Kreishh Gurbaxani prevailed on the final day of Asia/Oceania Q School to earn two year cards for the World Snooker Tour.
Tahir was up against China’s Lan Yuhao in his final match and he showed no signs of nerves early on, firing in a break of 67 to move 1-0 ahead. Lan dug deep and crafted a run of 69 on his way to moving 2-1 ahead. However, Tahir claimed the last three on the bounce to clinch a momentous 4-2 victory.
“I am totally speechless. This means so much to me, my mother and my brother back home. The pressure was so high, but I am glad I handled it well towards the end. I will prepare myself to go to the UK, work hard and do my best.”
Haris Tahir
Asia/Oceania Q School Event Two Winner
The second match saw Gurbaxani fall 2-0 behind to Pakistan’s Muhammad Naseem Akhtar. The third saw Akhtar require three snookers, but he got them to give himself a chance of moving to the verge of victory. However, Gurbaxani won a safety battle on the final brown to reduce his deficit to 2-1.
That proved to be pivotal, as from there he powered to a further three on the bounce to secure a 4-2 win and a place among the professional ranks.
I’m both happy and disappointed with the 2024 Q-Schools results. Disappointed because some of the players I really wanted to see back on tour didn’t make it. Happy because the laureates are young but not children. It is not true that if you are good enough you are old enough. Being a professional, especially if it means moving to the UK and live there as an expat – which is what most “non British/Irish” players HAVE to do because of the UK centric organisation of the sport – involves much more than skills at the snooker table.
Browsing through social media yesterday I stumbled upon a quote by Nigel Bond expressing his pleasure at seeing Kreishh Gurbaxani qualifying. The young Indian spent a lot of time in the UK over the last twelve months, working with Nigel, in order to give himself the best possible chance to succeed at becoming a professional. Nigel is one of the nicest person you could wish to meet, he totally loves his sport, is extremely knowledgeable and is the best mentor any young player could wish for…
Congratulations Haris, Kreishh … and Nigel
This – for me – marks the end of the 2023/24 season.
The 2024 UK/Europe Q-School event 2 concluded this afternoon and here is the report by WST about the four laureates:
Farakh Ajaib, Antoni Kowalski, Mitchell Mann and Chris Totten came through the final round of Q School event two in Leicester to earn two-year cards on the World Snooker Tour.
Former professional Ajaib booked his return to the circuit with a 4-1 victory against talented Ukrainian Iulian Boiko.
The ex butcher from Accrington first became a snooker professional in 2020, when he came through Q School. However, he was relegated in 2023.
Ajaib’s initial stint on the tour was highlighted by a run to the last 16 of the European Masters in 2022. He was denied a famous win over Judd Trump in a deciding frame. The Ace in the Pack needed snookers at 4-4, but got them and and clinched the frame to beat Ajaib 5-4.
A string of near misses for 18-year-old Boiko continues, he was beaten in the final round of both Q School events last year and bowed out in the last 32 of event one this time.
After losing the first frame this morning, 33-year-old Ajaib notched up four on the bounce to score a momentous victory.
Ajaib said: “I’m delighted. I didn’t think I’d get on, but in the end I played quite well. I’ve not put much time in. I just thought I would come here, see how it goes and play the right shots. It is tough playing at Q School. I don’t want to be here ever again.”
Poland’s Kowalski earned his professional status for the first time after a 4-1 defeat of Englishman Simon Blackwell.
Despite prevailing in routine fashion this morning, Kowalski earned his passage to the World Snooker Tour the hard way. The 20-year-old came through a thrilling last 16 clash with James Cahill yesterday evening, winning 4-3 on the final black.
Kowalski also came close to securing his card through his performances on the Q Tour last season. After winning event four, he qualified for the Global Playoffs, but narrowly missed out after a semi-final defeat to Yu Kiu Chang.
Today’s victory sees him follow in the footsteps of Polish compatriots Adam Stefanow and Kacper Filipiak, who have both been professionals in recent years. Breaks of 58, 66 and 64 helped Kowalski to the 4-1 win in just over two hours. Afterwards he was thrilled to have made it to snooker’s biggest stage.
“I am chuffed to bits. I am so delighted to be a professional, finally. I have struggled in the last four years. Despite playing at what I think is a professional level, I couldn’t quite make it. Finally something clicked,” said an ecstatic Kowalski.
“I love playing against players who are better than me. You gain so much experience from it. Hopefully I will meet Ronnie O’Sullivan or Judd Trump in the TV stages of a tournament and hopefully I will beat them.”
Mann clinched his return to the professional ranks with a 4-2 win over Joshua Thomond.
The Englishman is an experienced campaigner on the World Snooker Tour, having competed at the Crucible and reached a ranking event semi-final. He made the last four at the 2017 Paul Hunter Classic, where he lost out to eventual winner Michael White.
Mann dropped off the tour in 2023 and was unsuccessful at last year’s Q School. In the aftermath he gave up the sport, but the 32-year-old decided to return to have another crack at Q School this year. Contributions of 65, 76 and 51 helped him to secure an emotional victory and vindicate that decision.
Mann said: “It is absolutely amazing. If I rewind the clock to 12 months ago, I’d quit the game and got a job. I fell out of love with it and didn’t want to play. Getting a job changed my mind. I realised how good you have it playing on tour. It has all worked out nicely.”
Totten became the final player to graduate Q School with a 4-2 victory against Lewis Ullah. The Scot missed out in the final round of Event One in a decider against Allan Taylor, but held his nerve to secure a second run on the World Snooker Tour having first qualified in 2017.
Congratulations to the four laureates!
I’m really disappointed and sorry for Iulian Boiko. I do hope that getting so close and yet so far so many times over the last years will not affect him in the longer term. He’s still very young, he has plenty of time ahead of him but psychologically it must be difficult and, certainly, the situation in his home country must affect him as well deeply. He has friends and family living in Ukraine and it must be a cause of worry every day. It’s a lot to cope with. He’s third in the Q-School order of merit, he will probably have plenty of opportunities to play in professional events in the season to come. But still all this must be hard on the young man.
The second Asia-Oceania Q-School will conclude tomorrow. I had hoped that Luo Hong Hao would be able to return to the main tour, but he was beaten today… Four players remain on course, one Chinese, Lan Yuhao, one Indian, Kreishh Gurbaxani , and two Pakistanese, Haris Tahir and Muhammad Naseem Akhtar . None of them has been professional before. All four are young. Two will get on the main tour. There were a lot of Chinese players in the draw this time, and you would expect the Thai players to have a home advantage, therefore this line-up surprises me a bit but well done, and good luck, to the four of them, they are there on merit.
The UK/Europe Q-School Event 1 and concluded this afternoon and the Asia-Oceania Q-School Event 1 will conclude tomorrow. After nearly a week of hard-fought competition, four players gained, or re-gained, a two years professional Tour card, and four others are one match away from joining them. The links will bring you to the detailed results on snooker.org.
Artemijs Zizins (17 years old, turning 18 on June, 6) – Latvia), Allan Taylor (39 years old – England), Haydon Pinhey (27 years old – England) and Wang Yuchen (26 years old – Hong Kong) qualified via the UK/Europe event. Gao Yang (19 years old – China), Lim Kok Leong (29 years old – Malaysia), Sunny Akani (28 years old – Thailand) and Ali Gharahgozlou (? – Iran) came through the Asia Oceania Q-School so far and will play the “telling” match tomorrow.
It’s an interesting group of laureates. From the eight only Allan Taylor was on tour last season. Haydon Pinhey, Lim Kok Leong and Ali Gharahgozlou have never been professionals before. As compared to previous editions, it’s a rather “young” group. as well. I couldn’t find Ali’s age, but from the other seven only Allan Taylor is over 30. Personally, I find this outcome quite satisfying: seven different nationalities and a majority of young players, but not children.
Personally, I am particularly happy to see Sunny Akani (hopefully) and Wang Yuchen getting back on tour.
Of course there were disappointments and heartbreaks. Iulian Boiko didn’t make it … he was beaten by Artemijs Zizins in round 3. I hope that, with Ken Doherty at his side he will be able to overcome the disappointment and stay positive. He’s had a lot to cope with over the last two years, on and off the table and he is still very young.
I would have loved to see Luo Hong Hao, the “virtuoso”, back on tour. He lost to Gao Yang in round 4. He’s only 24 and an interesting personality. He’s an artist and comes across as a free spirit. I like that.
Florian Nüßle was beaten in a decider in round 5 … He’s had his share of good runs ending in disappointment this season: he lost, in a decider in the SF of the 2024 European Championship, to Robbie Mc Guigan the eventual winner. He lost in the SF of the Q-Tour Global Play-off, to Duane Jones, the eventual winner. It’s just not quite happening for him.
I was disappointed that, other than On Yee, there was no woman in the draw. I have quite ambivalent feelings about the Women’s Tour being a qualifying route for the main tour. It does promote the women in snooker and has given them visibility but the level isn’t high enough. The women playing in that tour are not exposed to the kind of level required from professionals. As a result, those who qualified through that route didn’t perform well on the main tour … and that, in turn, gave ammunitions to those who see women as “inferior” and claim that none of them will ever succeed at professional snooker. Social media are full of such guys … alas.
We start it all again with “events 2” in a couple of days.
Meanwhile quite a number of top pros have been involved in exhibitions since the World Championship. I don’t remember we ever had so many going on at this time of the year. Maybe the changes in the players contract give the top players a bit more freedom than in the past.
About “exhibitions” and the so called “breakaway tour” there was an interesting interview with Kyren Wilson, our new World Champion. It is reported in the Finnish press: (automatic translation – highlights by me)
The snooker world champion’s gesture to a Finnish woman melted the hearts of the Helsinki audience – “The audience was amazing”
Kyren Wilson, who won the world championship at the beginning of May, organized a show at the invitational tournament in Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo.
The biggest invitational tournament in Finnish snooker history started on Saturday in Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo.
The 1,400-seat arena was packed to the brim when the Englishman Kyren Wilson, who was recently crowned as the snooker world champion, met the Welshman Ryan Day, who advanced to the 2nd round of the World Championship .
Seeing the snooker stars was a rare experience for many in the stands, which became a memorable one for one lucky person. Such a moment was seen in the stoppage of the match between Wilson and Day, when Wilson had decided the 4–3 victory.
When there were only a few balls left on the table, Wilson asked the Finnish woman sitting in the front row to stand next to the table and a moment later asked her to pocket the last black ball (video as the main image of the article).
Although the woman did not succeed in bagging, the audience rewarded Wilson’s gesture and the woman’s attempt with thunderous applause.
The audience was amazing, Wilson praised.
A new start from Finland
The 32-year-old Wilson won his first career world title at the Crucible Theater in Sheffield, England on May 6.
Kyren Wilson won his first World Cup title by defeating Jak Jones of Wales 18-14 in the final Photo: George Wood/Getty Images
After that, Wilson had never played competitive snooker before the Helsinki tournament. The lack of play was visible at the beginning of the match on Saturday, but after three sets, Wilson bagged hitting streaks of 131, 118 and 85 points. Day’s best breaks were 95 and 77.
Wilson described the previous weeks as crazy.
The World Cup drug doesn’t seem to end, but something new comes every day. I was asked to present the World Cup trophy at the stadium of my favorite team, Chelsea, and I received an incredible reception at my home club and in the local pub.
Kyren Wilson presented the World Cup trophy at Stamford Bridge on May 19. Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
– A party was also organized for me at a local theme park, where 1200 people arrived. This has been one rollercoaster – in a great way, Wilson said.
Amidst the responsibilities brought by the World Cup victory, snooker took a back seat for a while. Mestari said that he focused his energy on his family, which includes his wife and two children.
It has been a pleasure to take my children to school and to soccer tournaments. Do normal things sometimes.
Hot question about the future
Before and during the World Snooker tournament, there was a heated discussion in the sports circles about the current state of the professional tour.
According to rumors heard by Yle Urheilu from several sources, several top players in the sport have received an offer to play on a closed tour covering twenty players, whose prize pool for one season would be one hundred million euros.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, who will arrive in Finland in June, has harshly criticized the professional tour. Photo: Tai Chengzhe/VCG via Getty Images
For comparison: in the season that ended, the professional tour of 128 players managed by the umbrella organization World Snooker had less than 20 million euros in distribution.
I received an offer, but things have changed dramatically in a short time. As world champion, I want to be a good ambassador for snooker. I enjoy being announced on stage as world champion. I’m looking forward to the games on the familiar world tour next season as well, Wilson said.
Wilson dodged a direct question if he believes a closed tour ( Breakaway tour ) will happen.
I really don’t know the answer to this question. My life changed completely a couple of weeks ago. As crazy as it sounds, since then snooker has been the last thing on my mind before arriving in Helsinki.
A wish for Bottas
As for Finland and special wishes, Wilson had a direct answer ready: I want to have a beer with Valtteri Bottas .
After a 4-2 win over Ashley Hugill to reach round three of Q School, Paul Deaville admitted he will have a tough decision to make if he qualifies for the pro tour.
During a successful junior career, highlighted by victory in the 2023 English Amateur Championship and 2024 English Under-21 Championship, 19-year-old Deaville has always maintained an emphasis on education. He is currently in the first year of a three-year university course in Business Sports Management, and has not yet decided whether he would quit the course if he has the chance to turn pro.
“I am juggling my education with snooker to give myself something to fall back on,” said Deaville, who faces Anthony Wall next. “If I get on tour then I don’t know what I’d do. My goal eventually is to be a snooker player. If that doesn’t happen at Q School, I’ve got my second year of university ahead so that takes pressure off. I have practised hard for this, I needed to do that just to give myself a chance. There are still nerves. There are only eight spots here and a lot of good players. The pressure here is different to anything else.”
Riley Powell, a promising 15-year-old from the snooker hot-bed of South Wales, impressed in a 4-3 victory over experienced Peter Lines. From 3-2 down, Powell recovered to take the last two frames and set up a tie with Alex Clenshaw.
“It feels amazing, beating such an experienced player in such good conditions,” said Powell. “At 3-3 I felt calm and just played my game. I might be a bit too young to get on tour because I don’t have that much experience. If it comes, it comes. If not I still have a few more years to try to make it.”
Former ranking event finalist Gerard Greene scored a 4-1 win over Steven Hallworth. Jenson Kendrick came from 3-1 down to beat Edward Jones 4-3, taking the deciding frame by clearing from brown to black. Former Ruhr Open champion Rory McLeod edged out Manuel Ederer 4-3 thanks to a run of 52 in the decider, while former Crucible semi-finalist Andy Hicks saw off Sean Maddocks 4-1.
DEAVILLE PLEASED WITH PROGRESS
Maybe it’s just me but it feels like there is a change in style in those last WST reports, more focus on the player(s) less on the “snooker numbers, scores and breaks”. I like that, as I like Paul Deaville’s attitude.
The player nicknamed “Cruella” by some comes across as an intelligent and mature young man, with a solid head on his young shoulders. It’s a shame that he may have to choose between his studies and his career as a snooker professional. The money list system will leave him with no choice: either he plays in about everything or he will not be able to stay on tour. This is typically a case where a rating system would bring huge benefits, allowing players like Paul to really pick and choose and still maintain or even improve their rating provided they do well in the events they are able to enter. And they wouldn’t come into yje pro tour on zero points either as a proper – and properly run – rating system could encompass both the amateur and pro game.
I watched a bit of Riley Powell in round 1 and the kid impressed me. That said, I’m not sure I want him to turn pro this year. IMO he’s too young and tour is very brutal. We had a number of examples in the past of young talents who were destroyed by the brutality of the system. I’d rather not have more of this and have him to wait for another year or two before turning pro. The “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” is nonsense as being a pro implies many things, and responsibilities, in addition to what you can do on the table.
On the other hand, I’m very pleased for Jenson Kendrick who after two miserable years on tour showed what he capable of – and made of – at the 2024 World qualifiers. I think that he is capable of building on that and be successful on tour. I hope he get through the Q-School(s). I also hope that Iulian Boiko new approach will prove succesful and that he can get back on tour. He’s just booked his place in round 4…
Most names in that comp are unfamiliar to us, European fans, but Luo Hong Hao and Sunny Akani are both competing in Thailand and I’d love to see them back on tour and on our screens!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 