Q Tour

WPBSA Q Tour
Current season, competition or edition:
2024–25 Q Tour
SportSnooker
First season1994 (professional non-ranking event)
2018 (amateur event)
Organising bodyWPBSA
Division2
CountryWorldwide
RegionQ Tour Europe
Q Tour Global (Americas, Asia-Pacific and Middle East)
Most recent
champion(s)		By Order of Merit:
 Zhao Xintong (CHN)
Promotion toWorld Snooker Tour
Official websitehttps://wpbsa.com/events-list/wpbsa-q-tour/

The Q Tour, officially the WPBSA Q Tour, is a second-tier series of snooker tournaments immediately below the level of the World Snooker Tour, consisting of amateur and ex-professional players to compete for qualifying places to the main tour. It is organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).

The tour originally ran from the 1994–95 season as professional non-ranking events. Due to the large numbers of players on tour at that time, the new WPBSA Minor Tour was formed so players lower down the rankings had tournaments to play in. Being subsequently rebranded the UK Tour and then the Challenge Tour,[1] The WPBSA operated the three-level circuit until the end of the 2002–03 season when it split with the amateur governing body and professional players were no longer eligible to enter through the third-tier International Open Series.[2] The Challenge Tour was axed upon completion of the 2004–05 season.

It was revived for the 2018–19 season as a multi-regional development tour and was rebranded as the Q Tour from the 2021–22 season.[3][4]

History

Early editions

The concept of a secondary professional tour was first experimented with in the 1994–95 season in the form of the WPBSA Minor Tour to provide competition for lower ranked professionals, but only ran for a season.[5] A two-tiered tour structure was formally adopted from the 1997–98 season due to over-subscription of the Main Tour, where all professionals can compete in the UK Tour and the best performers could earn promotion.[1] From the 1999–2000 season, entry was limited to players not competing on the Main Tour[1] and exclusive membership was implemented from the 2001–02 season.[6] From the 2000–01 season it was rebranded the Challenge Tour.[5]

In its first season there were five events, but the number was reduced to four in the following seasons.[5] There were two official maximum breaks at the UK Tour, both in the 1998–99 season; the first was made by Stuart Bingham against Barry Hawkins in Event 3, and the second by Nick Dyson against Adrian Gunnell in Event 4.[1]

Pro-am replacement

Main article: Players Tour Championship

The Pro Challenge Series was introduced for the 2009–10 season, all tour players being eligible to play.[7] Only four of the planned seven events were played before the series was axed due to low player participation.[8] The following 2010–11 season saw the Pro Challenge Series replaced by the Players Tour Championship, a series of minor-ranking tournaments that were open to the entire professional membership with an amateur leg, effectively making it an open tour.[9] They also counted towards the rankings for professionals on the Main Tour,[10] and any player who finished in the top 8 of the PTC Order of Merit was guaranteed a tour card for the following season.

Return to amateur-only event and expansion

The Challenge Tour in its initial format was revived in the 2018–19 season, consisting of ten events each played by only amateur players over one or two days; 72 players (top 64 of the Q School Order of Merit, plus eight wildcards) were fielded and there was prize money. The top two players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit received a main tour invitation card for the following season.[3]

From the 2020–21 season, the Challenge Tour was rebranded as the Q Tour (retrospectively known as Q Tour Europe).[4][11] It was expanded to other regions in the form of Q Tour Global from the 2023–24 season.

Format

Q Tour events are generally played over three days with the first day being an open qualifying day.

In a Q Tour Europe event, the main draw starts on the second day when the 16 open qualifiers are joined by the 48 seeded players to form a 64-player knockout competition. It consists of the top 32 eligible players from the Q School Order of Merit, another top eight junior players who are not already qualified, and the last eight places from the Asia-Oceania version of Q School.[12] In other regional events, entrants are largely local players and do not involve seedings.

Event finals

[1][5]

Season Event Winner Runner-up Final score Venue Ref.
WPBSA Minor Tour (professional non-ranking)
1994–95 Event 1 Jamie Woodman Matt Wilson 6–2 Antwerp
Event 2 Noppadon Noppachorn Sammy Chong 8–6 Khon Kaen
Event 3 John Lardner Eddie Manning 5–2 Munich
Event 4 Colin Morton Matthew Couch 6–5 Helsinki
Event 5 David Roe Tony Drago 6–3 Marsaskala
Event 6 Drew Henry Mark Williams 6–5 Beijing
UK Tour (professional non-ranking)
1997–98 Event 1 Paul McPhillips Michael Holt 6–5 Aldershot
Event 2 Mark Fenton Antony Bolsover 6–4 Stockport
Event 3 Simon Bedford Robert Milkins 6–4 Swindon
Event 4 Patrick Wallace Shaun Murphy 6–4 Stirling
Event 5 Paul Sweeny Hugh Abernethy 6–5 Newcastle-under-Lyme
1998–99 Event 1 Alfie Burden Anthony Davies 6–5 Stockport
Event 2 Joe Swail Alfie Burden 6–1 Swindon
Event 3 Stuart Bingham Matthew Couch 6–1 Swindon
Event 4 James Reynolds Jason Ferguson 6–4 Stockport
1999–2000 Event 1 Matt Wilson Barry Hawkins 6–4 Oldham
Event 2 Andrew Higginson Scott MacKenzie 6–3 Swindon
Event 3 Simon Bedford Barry Hawkins 6–5 Stockport
Event 4 Barry Hawkins Craig Butler 6–1 Swindon
Challenge Tour (professional non-ranking)
2000–01 Event 1 Adrian Rosa Surinder Gill 6–4 Swindon
Event 2 Andrew Norman Luke Fisher 6–3 Harrogate
Event 3 Shaun Murphy Andrew Norman 6–3 Swindon
Event 4 Shaun Murphy Luke Simmonds 6–2 Harrogate
2001–02 Event 1 James Reynolds Steve Judd 6–5 Harrogate
Event 2 Leo Fernandez Ryan Day 6–3 Swindon
Event 3 Lee Spick Joe Delaney 6–3 Harrogate
Event 4 David Gilbert Ryan Day 6–3 Swindon
2002–03 Event 1 Chris Melling Tom Ford 6–2 Mansfield [13]
Event 2 Adrian Rosa Stuart Mann 6–5 Swindon [14]
Event 3 Michael Rhodes Luke Simmonds 6–5 Swindon [15]
Event 4 Kurt Maflin James Leadbetter 6–2 Prestatyn [16]
2003–04 Event 1 Stefan Mazrocis Paul Davison 6–2 Prestatyn [17]
Event 2 Hugh Abernethy Gary Wilson 6–0 Prestatyn [18]
Event 3 Brian Salmon Steve James 6–1 Prestatyn [19]
Event 4 Gary Wilson Jin Long 6–4 Prestatyn [20]
2004–05 Event 1 Jamie Cope Chris Norbury 6–2 Prestatyn [21]
Event 2 James Tatton Matthew Barnes 6–4 Prestatyn [22]
Event 3 James McBain Mark Allen 6–3 Prestatyn [23]
Event 4 Jamie Cope Matthew Couch 6–0 Prestatyn [24]
Challenge Tour (amateur)
2018–19 Event 1 Brandon Sargeant Luke Simmonds 3–1 Burton upon Trent
Event 2 David Grace Mitchell Mann 3–0 Preston
Event 3 Barry Pinches Jackson Page 3–2 Riga
Event 4 Mitchell Mann Dylan Emery 3–0 Fürth
Event 5 David Lilley Brandon Sargeant 3–1 Derby
Event 6 David Grace Ben Hancorn 3–0 Lommel
Event 7 Joel Walker Jenson Kendrick 3–0 Barnsley
Event 8 Simon Bedford David Lilley 3–1 Budapest
Event 9 Adam Duffy Matthew Glasby 3–1 Sheffield
Event 10 George Pragnell Callum Lloyd 3–2 Gloucester
2019–20 Event 1 Ka Wai Cheung Oliver Brown 3–1 Nuremberg
Event 2 Jake Nicholson Andrew Pagett 3–1 Newbury
Event 3 Andrew Pagett Robbie McGuigan 3–0 Leeds
Event 4 Ashley Hugill Aaron Hill 3–1 Bruges
Event 5 Allan Taylor Michael Collumb 3–1 Leicester
Event 6 Oliver Brown Ashley Hugill 3–1 Budapest
Event 7 Dean Young Andrew Pagett 3–1 Pelt
Event 8 Lukas Kleckers Tyler Rees 3–1 Tamworth
Event 9 Ashley Hugill Sydney Wilson 3–1 Llanelli
Event 10 Adam Duffy Kuldesh Johal 3–1 Leicester
Tour Playoff Allan Taylor Adam Duffy 4–0 Sheffield
Q Tour (amateur)
2021–22 Event 1 David Lilley Si Jiahui 5–1 Brighton
Event 2 Si Jiahui Michael White 5–4 Llanelli
Event 3 Sean O'Sullivan Julien Leclercq 5–2 Leicester
Event 4 Robbie McGuigan Michael Collumb 5–3 Leeds
Playoff Julien Leclercq Alex Clenshaw 5–2 Darlington
2022–23 Event 1 Ross Muir George Pragnell 5–2 North Shields
Event 2 Martin O'Donnell George Pragnell 5–1 Brighton
Event 3 Farakh Ajaib Harvey Chandler 5–3 Mons
Event 4 Billy Castle Andrew Higginson 5–4 Stockholm
Event 5 Daniel Wells Sydney Wilson 5–2 Walsall
Event 6 Martin O'Donnell Ross Muir 5–1 Leeds
Playoff Ashley Carty Florian Nüßle 5–2 Darlington
2023–24 Event 1 Liam Davies Craig Steadman 5–2 North Shields
Event 2 Michael Holt Liam Davies 5–2 Stockholm
Event 3 Umut Dikme Hamim Hussain 5–1 Heilbronn
Event 4 Antoni Kowalski Rory McLeod 5–3 Great Wyrley
Event 5 Michael Holt Daniel Womersley 5–1 Brighton
Event 6 Michael Holt Alfie Davies 5–4 Sofia
Event 7 Peter Lines Umut Dikme 5–1 Leeds
Playoff 1 Duane Jones Liam Davies 10–9 Sarajevo
Playoff 2 Amir Sarkhosh Iulian Boiko 10–8
Playoff 3 Mohamed Shehab Yu Kiu Chang 10–8
2024–25 Event 1 Andres Petrov Ryan Thomerson 4–3 Leeds
Event 2 Dylan Emery Harvey Chandler 4–3 Sofia
Event 3 Zhao Xintong Craig Steadman 4–3 Stockholm
Event 4 Zhao Xintong Ryan Davies 4–3 Manchester
Event 5 Zhao Xintong Ryan Thomerson 4–2 Vienna
Event 6 Zhao Xintong Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 4–1 Mons
Event 7 Liam Highfield Dylan Emery 4–3 Walsall
Playoff 1 Steven Hallworth Mark Joyce 10–5 Antalya
Playoff 2 Liam Highfield Iulian Boiko 10–3
Playoff 3 Florian Nüßle Andres Petrov 10–3

Order of Merit winners

[1]

Season Winner
UK Tour (professional non-ranking)
1997–98 Paul McPhillips
1998–99 Alfie Burden
1999–2000 Barry Hawkins
Challenge Tour (professional non-ranking)
2000–01 Shaun Murphy
2001–02 Ryan Day
2002–03 Martin Gould
2003–04 Brian Salmon
2004–05 Jamie Cope
Challenge Tour (amateur)
2018–19 Brandon Sargeant
2019–20 Ashley Hugill
Q Tour (amateur)
2021–22 Si Jiahui
2022–23 Martin O'Donnell
2023–24 Michael Holt
2024–25 Zhao Xintong

See Also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "WPBSA Secondary Professional Tour". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  2. ^ Hayton 2004, pp. Introduction & 178–182.
  3. ^ a b "World Snooker Challenge Tour 2018/19". worldsnooker. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b "WPBSA Q Tour Launched". WPBSA. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  5. ^ a b c d Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Suffolk: Rose Villa Publications. pp. Introduction, 166, 167 & 171–186. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  6. ^ "2000 / 2001 Challenge Tour". fcsnooker. Preston, Lancashire: The Frank Callan Suite. 26 April 2002. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  7. ^ Hendon, Dave (30 June 2009). "Pro Challenge Series Launched". Snooker Scene Blog. Snooker Scene. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. ^ Hendon, Dave (2 March 2010). "Pro Challenge Series Axed". Snooker Scene Blog. Snooker Scene. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Players Tour Championship pits stars against amateurs". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  10. ^ Turner, Chris. "Players Tour Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  11. ^ "WPBSA Q Tour 2021/22". 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021.
  12. ^ "WPBSA Q Tour Global Expanded for 2024/25". WPBSA. 24 June 2024.
  13. ^ "2002-3 WSA Challenge Tour Event One". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-10-16. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  14. ^ "2002-3 WSA Challenge Tour Event Two". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  15. ^ "2002-3 WSA Challenge Tour Event Three". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  16. ^ "2002-3 WSA Challenge Tour Event 4". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Pontins World Snooker Challenge Tour - Event 1". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-04-21. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Pontins World Snooker Challenge Tour - Event 2". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-04-21. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Pontins World Snooker Challenge Tour - Event 3". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-03-19. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Pontins World Snooker Challenge Tour - Event 4". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2006-03-19. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  21. ^ "2004-5 Pontin's Challenge Tour - Event One". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2004-12-09. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  22. ^ "2004-5 Pontin's Challenge Tour - Event Two". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2005-04-05. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  23. ^ "2004-5 Pontin's Challenge Tour - Event Three". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2005-03-22. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  24. ^ "2004-5 Pontin's Challenge Tour - Event Four". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 2005-09-04. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
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