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
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.
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 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 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.
Let’s start with Ronnie … although the official Championship League Snooker site still shows Ronnie in Group 1 draw, the WST score system now has him replaced by Michael Holt. So, it’s 99,99% certain that he has withdrawn from the event, which, TBH, isn’t a big surprise.
During the 2023/24 season, the following qualifying events will be open to fans:
International Championship Qualifiers, September 18-23, Sheffield BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Qualifiers, October 17-20, Sheffield UK Championship Qualifiers, November 18-23, Leicester Morningside Arena BetVictor German Masters Qualifiers, December 18-22, Sheffield BetVictor Welsh Open Qualifiers and Six Red World Championship Qualifiers, January 22-28, Barnsley Cazoo World Championship Qualifiers, April 8-17, Sheffield
Nearer the time of each event, details will be announced on how to buy tickets or gain access.
As in previous seasons, our intention is to give fans access where this is possible. Qualifying rounds are a fantastic way to enjoy live snooker with outstanding value for money. The quality of snooker is extraordinary and the strength in depth on our tour has never been greater. And at all qualifying events you can see a wide range of players on a single day.
We hope to see you at our qualifying events this season.
The good news clearly is that the UK Championship qualifiers will be open to fans.
However, as things stand for now, qualifiers to be played before mid-September will apparently not be open to fans. That includes the 2023 British Open qualifiers, the 2023 European Masters qualifiers, the 2023 Wuhan Open qualifiers and the 2023 English Open qualifiers.
Mostafa Dorgham defeated Mohamed Khairy 5-2 in an all-Egyptian final to win the 2023 African Snooker Championship in Morocco and secure a two-year World Snooker Tour card.
Having been the runner-up in 2018, it is 27-year-old Dorgham’s maiden African title, and he is set to make his debut as a professional player during the upcoming 2023/24 WST season.
Organised by the African Billiards and Snooker Confederation and the host nation’s Moroccan Snooker and Billiards Sports Association, several continental championships were contested across 11 days at the Crucible Academy in Casablanca. A total of 140 players in the main event were split into round robin groups with the top two from each advancing to knockout phase.
Dorgham cruised through his group without dropping a frame before eliminating Rizk Rady and Ahmed Galal both 3-0 in the last 64 and 32 respectively. His path to glory became significantly tougher from there, though, needing to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Ahmed Samir 4-2 in the last 16 and surviving a deciding frame as he ousted Abdelrahman Shahin 4-3 in the quarter-finals.
On finals day in the last four, Dorgham registered a 94 break on his way to seeing off fellow countryman Mahmoud El Hareedy 4-2.
Emerging from the other side of the draw was former professional and two-time finalist Khairy, who also topped his group and subsequently recorded victories against former champion Amine Amiri (last 64) and Hatem Yassen (quarter-finals). In the other semi-final, Khairy eliminated Morocco’s Hamadi Zerkani 4-2 to book another final berth.
Khairy was on course for a remarkable hat-trick having already claimed two titles during his trip. The 41-year-old pipped Shahin (Egypt) 6-5 in the final to win the African 6-Red Snooker Championship and completed a double when he defeated Houssin Maazouz (Morocco) 4-1 in the African Seniors Snooker Championship.
For the fourth time in the past five editions, the final of the main championship featured two Egyptian cueists, with both of this year’s finalists coming from the capital city Cairo. Khairy made the better start by taking the opening frame although Dorgham strung together the next three for a 3-1 lead.
The deficit was halved when Khairy gained frame five, but Dorgham was not to be denied the biggest prize of his career to date as he won the following two frames for victory.
Dorgham is now set to join compatriot Mohamed Ibrahim – winner of this title in 2022 – on the sport’s top tier over the coming months.
Khairy scored the tournament’s highest break for an effort of 119.
In an all-Moroccan final, Bennani Hind defeated Yasmine Yathrib 3-0 in the final to win the African Women’s Snooker Championship.
Congratulations Mostafa Dorgham !
The event was played at “The Crucible”, in Casablanca, Morroco. It’s a very nice club where I had the pleasure to take pictures at an exhibition featuring Ronnie and Jimmy. We were made to feel very welcome.
It’s not the first time I watch matches involving players from Africa, and, this year I could see a big improvement in the quality of the snooker on display. It’s still not at the level of the UK/European best amateurs but it’s improving steadily.
It’s the Africa Championship but most players were either from North Africa or South Africa (the country). Central (black) Africa was largely absent. There are many reasons for this of course: cultural, economical … and climatic as well probably.
I liked it that often, at the end of the match, players embraced … a bit like in tennis,
As often with streaming on facebook, there was a chat going with the streaming. I couldn’t watch everything of course – especially as my Internet failed for several hours yesterday evening – but I didn’t see nasty comments on those chats I followed, contrary to what is so often the case on other streams. People were supporting their favourites, but in good spirit.
Also, the women’s game in Africa is still far from the level required to be competitive even in WWS tournaments. But, contrary to what happens so often when WWS matches are streamed, those men who were following the matches in the chats were very supportive. I didn’t see disparaging comments at all. Nothing in the line of “women are inferior, will never make it, should stay away from the sport”. Quite the opposite, there was praise for good shots and encouraging comments. The girls were sporting the “normal” snooker attire. I didn’t see any with a scarf on their head, nor any comment suggesting they should wear one. And all this is quire remarkable considering that North Africa’s is predominantly influenced by Islam and traditions are still very strong.
Following Bai Yulu’s victory at the WWS 2023 British Open, Ng On Yee has been relegated from the main tour. According to the Hong Kong media, she is determined to try to regain her tour card via the Asia-Oceania Q-School.
Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee not giving up fight to win back World Snooker Tour place, will join Q-school events in Thailand
The Hongkonger has dropped out of the elite circuit after her poor showing at the Landywood British Open last weekendBut the women’s world No 3 will get two chances to grab one of the four WST cards on offer at the qualifying events in June
Mike Chan
Ng On-yee will try to win her World Snooker Tour place back next month. Photo: WTS
Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee is taking her fight to remain on the World Snooker Tour to Thailand next month, where she will compete in two qualifying tournaments.
The back-to-back Asia and Oceania Q School competitions will run for 12 days in Bangkok, and give a 128 players the opportunity to battle it out for one of four cards up for grabs.
Two finalists from each event will be awarded a spot on the game’s top tier for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
“I knew it would not be easy winning the British Open to get back on the tour,” Ng, the women’s world No 3, said. “Especially with all the new young talents like Bai Yulu.”
The 32-year-old said she would base herself in the UK “for as much practice as possible, and focusing on my game” ahead of the tournaments, which begin on June 1.
Ng, who reached the final of the UK Championship and Masters of the World Women’s Snooker Tour this season, lost 3-2 to eventual champion Bai in the quarter-finals of the Landywood British Open on Sunday.
That left Ng out of the WST picture for the next two seasons, after she failed to overtake 12-time world champion Reanne Evans in the rankings.
Evans, despite losing 4-3 in a nail-biting final, climbed back to world No 1 and received a new two-year card to the WST, alongside reigning world champion Baipat Siripaporn of Thailand.
Bai Yulu takes the crown at last weekend’s Landywood British Open. Photo: WTS
Alan Wong, a coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, believed the days for any women player being “as dominant as before” were over.
“The standard of the ladies game has risen by a lot in recent years,” he said. “In terms of skills level, I do not think there is much difference between the top few ladies.
“So, it mainly depends on who has a stronger mentality and performs more consistently on the day.”
Ng On-yee in action during the quarter-finals of the Landywood British Open. Photo: WTS
Wong said while he felt Ng’s confidence had dipped in recent months, she would bounce back.
“On-yee does lack a bit of confidence at the moment because of some not-so-good performance in the last few ladies’ tournaments,” Wong said. “But that was because she was trying too hard to protect her points to remain in the pro tour.
“Now that all is settled and with the burden off her shoulders, I believe she will be able to play her normal game again in the coming events.”
Asia and Oceania Q School events are open only to players who are a resident in either of these regions, and players are not permitted to enter both the Asian and UK events.
Matches are decided by best-of-seven frames and there will be no seeding as players will be drawn randomly to play in the two individual knockout tournaments.
Players falling off the WST from the 2022-23 season, however, will be placed at random in the draw but seeded apart from one another in the opening rounds of the events so that they do not meet before the second round.
I’m glad that On Yee will give the Asia-Oceania Q-School a try. It shows that she wants to be on the main tour by right. It will not be easy though. But at least she’s trying.
Her coach says that her confidence is low. That’s hardly surprising: she won only three matches during her two seasons on the main tour, earning 8500 points, She still did better – significantly better – than Reanne Evans who will stay on tour as Women’s number 1. All the same, they are the two lowest ranked players amongst those in their second year on a tour card and that doesn’t reflect well on “women in snooker”.
Jason Ferguson insists that snooker not being a physical sport, there is no reason for women not being able to compete with men but you have to wonder. There is the obvious: cue power. Cue power is largely a matter of timing but are the person’s height and muscular strength irrelevant? I’m not sure. There are several examples on the tour of Asian players, short in stature, who definitely struggle when it comes to cue power. There is what every parent or teacher will know from observing young children: boys are gifted “on average” with better natural hand eye coordination than girls, and that’s essential in snooker. It’s likely to be the result of dozens of thousands of years of evolution where the men had to be food providers and the hunters. Nature doesn’t evolve as fast as society does nowadays. And of course, it’s a number game: significantly fewer girls than boys are attracted to the game and supported by their family/environment in trying themselves at it.
Jason’s Ferguson’s goal in inviting the best women to play in the main tour is to grow the profile of women in snooker. I’m not sure that it’s been working the way it’s gone over the last two seasons but equally, I’m not sure that the women’s tour is the answer. I really, honestly, do not know what’s best.
A bit of a side note but… I’m currently reading “Unbreakable” and there is one chapter where Ronnie discusses practice and cueing. One thing that surprised me is his affirmation that ” you cue from the hips”. That’s something I never heard before. I’m not sure what exactly he means by that, but one thing I knows for certain is that this is one body “area” where women are definitely built differently from men. Our hips are wider, our pelvis bones more “open” and our ligaments more lax under hormonal influence. That, and of course boobs coming in the way when cueing. Coaches in snooker tend to teach you what the “ideal stance” is – Stephen Hendry being often cited as a model to follow – but I wonder if there ever was any research into finding if this stance is ideal for women as well, given the anatomical differences. We do know that very tall players, like Ricky Walden for instance, had to adopt a different stance to be able to play efficiently. Maybe gender specific differences are worth some research too?
Marco Fu will compete on the World Snooker Tour for at least two more years, after being awarded with a fresh invitational tour card.
The three-time ranking event winner endured a difficult period from 2018 until 2022, when he was forced to take a break from the sport after laser eye surgery. The pandemic then meant he was unable to compete for almost two seasons.
Fu’s first full year back came last season, which was filled with highs and lows for the Hong Kong cueman. However, ultimately it ended with him dropping off the circuit. He has now been given a fresh slate over the next two seasons to continue competing as a professional and is excited for the challenge ahead.
“I am very grateful to be offered this opportunity by World Snooker Tour. I’ve spent 25 years on the circuit, but the last few have been really challenging. To be given this chance to continue and represent Hong Kong and China for another two years makes me extremely proud. I will be working as hard as ever to prove I am a player who can still perform and represent our sport at the highest level. I am very happy and excited,” said 45-year-old Fu.
“I had my eye surgery in 2018 and then Covid, which as an overseas player was really challenging. If I stayed in the UK I would have been away from my family for a year. It was a time everybody wants to forget. Now everything is back to normal and my future is in my hands. All I can do is just work as hard as possible. Hopefully I can do myself proud.”
The eye issues that Fu has had to overcome have involved floaters impeding his vision. The surgery in 2018 didn’t have the desired effect and it is still something he has to deal with. However, Fu is hoping that he can find a way over the next two years to put that problem to one side.
“I think my eyes are alright. It is steady but not 100%. I don’t think I will ever recover fully. At the moments I just have to get used to playing with the floaters around my eyes. It is not a huge thing but it does affect me. I think I can practice more and get more comfortable.
“When I play the shot, the floaters are moving. Snooker is a sport when you need to concentrate 100%. If someone makes a noise, then you get up and gather yourself. For me, every time I am on the shot the floaters are moving. I can’t do anything about that. I need a new potting and aiming method to cater for that problem. It is difficult, but it is all I can do at the moment.”
The undoubted highlight of Fu’s 22/23 campaign saw him go all the way to the final of the Hong Kong Masters in front of his adoring home fans. It was the first time professional snooker had been in Asia since the beginning of the pandemic and it couldn’t have occurred on a grander stage.
A world record 9,000 fans crammed into the Hong Kong Coliseum for Fu’s 6-4 defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final. However, Fu’s finest moment of the event came in the semis against John Higgins. He fired in an epic 147 break in the deciding frame to beat the Scot 6-5. It was a moment when the eye issues dissipated and Fu says that was down to getting in a zen like state, which comes about very rarely in the career of a snooker player.
“I was in the zone during that break. I fancied making a 147. It was an unbelievable feeling. It is hard to repeat that. It is out of your control when you get into that zone, but I managed it during that break. It was probably one of the most important moments in all my career. A 147 break in front of all those fans.
“All I could see was the white ball and the object ball in front of me. I couldn’t see the crowd, the referee or my opponent. I couldn’t hear anything. I was just playing. I was in a bubble. It was a great feeling and very calming. I have only had that feeling a couple of times in my career. I was lucky that I got it then.
“John is always a gentleman. He congratulated me and said good luck in the final. Thinking back it was a special moment. I have been there many times for concerts. It is a famous place for that. I never thought I would compete there. It is probably the loudest noise I’ve ever heard in the Coliseum. It was very special for me and everybody in Hong Kong.”
The remainder of the season didn’t go to plan for Fu, who ended the campaign with five consecutive first round defeats. He was beaten 10-5 by Martin O’Donnell in World Championship qualifying. However, Fu kept a keen eye on the progress of Chinese 20-year-old Si Jiahui who went on a stunning run to the semi-finals, before being pipped 17-15 by eventual World Champion Luca Brecel. Looking ahead Fu is determined to earn a return to the Crucible in the coming years.
Fu said: “I was supporting Si Jiahui throughout the whole tournament. He was an outsider from the beginning, but he played better and better. I was texting his manager Victoria the whole way through. I have his number, but didn’t want to contact him directly and disturb him. I told Victoria good luck each time. I couldn’t believe how well he played. I was very happy for him and disappointed for him in the semi-final. It would have been amazing if he became the first Chinese player to win the World Championship. I was really rooting for him.
“My target is very obvious. I would love to finish in the top 64 after two years and qualify for the Crucible again. I haven’t been there for a long time now. I will try my very best to achieve those things. I think with my eye problem and Covid, my standard has definitely dropped from five years ago. The love of the game is still there. I still look forward to practising every day. I love taking my cue into a snooker club. As long as I feel that I will keep on playing. Hopefully I will get back to the standard where I can compete as I did five years ago. That is the standard I want to achieve. I will do my very best.”
I’m very happy for Marco. He deserves this chance after everything he had to go through. As for the floaters, I’m afraid that is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life. I have the same problem for many years now. It’s usually caused by detachment at at rear of the eye. It is more frequent in persons who are severely myopic because of the elongated shape of the eye. Marco used to wear glasses but was playing with lenses. Glasses mess up with your perception of distances. The “stronger” the glasses, the bigger the issue. If you ever look through a myopic person’s glasses you will see that everything looks smaller than usual and the further you hold the glasses from your eyes, the smaller the objects look. Lenses don’t cause that issue because there is no distance between the lens and the eye, but they can be very uncomfortable, especially if the atmosphere is dry. The floaters never go. Over time your brain learns to “ignore” them but whenever you get tired, or suffer a migraine … they become very “present” again and it’s quite off-putting. Anyway… good luck Marco!
Mark Allen, winner of three tournaments during the 2022/23 season, has been named WST Player of the Year for the first time.
Having won the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix, Allen was the only player to capture three trophies during the season. The 37-year-old from Antrim also reached the final of the British Open, the semi-finals of the World Championship and rose to a career high position of third in the world.
Allen also won the Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year award, voted by media around the world who cover snooker, as well as the Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by fans on the WST website, app and on social media platforms in China.
The Performance of the Year category was won by Luca Brecel, for his spectacular display in winning the World Championship for the first time, beating Mark Selby 18-15 in the final.
Selby took the Magic Moment of the Year award for his maximum break against Brecel as he became the first player ever to make a 147 during the world final.
Julien Leclercq
Belgium’s 20-year-old Julien Leclercq won Rookie of the Year, having reached the final of the Shoot Out and climbed to 80th in the world during his first season.
A new category was introduced this year – Breakthrough Player of the Year – for a young player who has made a leap forward in his career. This went to China’s Si Jiahui for his tremendous run to the semi-finals of the World Championship.
John Virgo has been inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the sport for more than 50 years – read more on that here.
WST Awards: 2022/23 winners WST Player of the Year – Mark Allen Fans’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen Performance of the Year – Luca Brecel Rookie of the Year – Julien Leclercq Magic Moment of the Year – Mark Selby’s 147 Breakthrough Player of the Year – Si Jiahui Hall of Fame: John Virgo
Player of the Year – former winners 2011: John Higgins 2012: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2013: Mark Selby 2014: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2015: Stuart Bingham 2016: John Higgins 2017: Mark Selby 2018: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2019: Judd Trump 2020: Judd Trump 2021: Judd Trump 2022: Neil Robertson 2023: Mark Allen
Congratulations to All!
It’s hard to disagree with this season’s awards. I’m glad that they introduced a new category to recognise Si Jiahui outstanding achievements. It’s quite remarkable, and pleasing that two mainland European players received an award. Both are Belgian. There are only three Belgian players on tour, all young, and two earned special recognition this season.REALLY, it is time for WST to reflect on their UK centric tour structure and to do what’s needed to give players and fans outside UK, and in mainland Europe in particular, more and better opportunities, actually equal opportunities. They call themselves WORLD Snooker Tour … it’s time to live by their chosen name.
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Allen also won the Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year award, voted by media around the world who cover snooker, as well as the Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by fans on the WST website, app and on social media platforms in China.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 