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122 players on tour.

Postby csprince

Friday 18 Jun 2021 12:34PM
The final list of players who will compete on the World Snooker Tour during the 2021/22 season is now confirmed.

Due to the non-staging of several international amateur competitions holding tour qualification status over the past 12 months, there will be 122 professional players on tour. Remaining places at events will be topped up via the Q School Order of Merit, or with local wild cards for certain events such as the Home Nations Series, as in previous years.

These amateur tournaments will be rescheduled over the coming months, with places available on the tour for the successful players in time for the 2022/23 season.


Jason Ferguson

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “It is unfortunate that we have not been able to stage major international amateur events such as the World Snooker Federation Open and Junior Open over the past year due to the global pandemic. In the past, these events have seen young players such as Iulian Boiko, Luo Honghao, Ashley Hugill, Jackson Page, Aaron Hill, Gao Yang and many others show their promise and earn places on the professional tour.

“We are fully committed to bringing these events back as soon as it is feasible, bringing talented young players from many countries around the globe together to compete, and giving them a gateway to professional status. Internationally, in a vast number of territories across the planet, our sport is in a strong position in terms of participation and emerging talent, despite the challenges we have faced.

“The World Snooker Tour now has 122 exceptional players with a standard we have never seen before. And the leading Q School players who did not earn a card fully deserve the opportunity to compete in ranking events to top up the draws.”

The Top 64 (64)

These players finished inside the top 64 of the official world ranking list at the end of last season and so will retain their places on the circuit, with a one-year card.

End of season rankings:

1. Judd Trump
2. Mark Selby
3. Ronnie O’Sullivan
4. Neil Robertson
5. Shaun Murphy
6. Kyren Wilson
7. John Higgins
8. Ding Junhui
9. Stephen Maguire
10. Yan Bingtao
11. Mark Williams
12. Mark Allen
13. Barry Hawkins
14. Jack Lisowski
15. Stuart Bingham
16. Anthony McGill
17. Zhou Yuelong
18. Graeme Dott
19. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
20. Joe Perry
21. Kurt Maflin
22. Tom Ford
23. David Gilbert
24. Ali Carter
25. Martin Gould
26. Zhao Xintong
27. Liang Wenbo
28. Ryan Day
29. Xiao Guodong
30. Matt Selt
31. Michael Holt
32. Ricky Walden
33. Gary Wilson
34. Scott Donaldson
35. Lu Ning
36. Matthew Stevens
37. Robert Milkins
38. Li Hang
39. Luca Brecel
40. Jordan Brown
41. Hossein Vafaei
42. Mark Joyce
43. Liam Highfield
44. Noppon Saengkham
45. Alexander Ursenbacher
46. Ben Woollaston
47. Stuart Carrington
48. Martin O’Donnell
49. Mark Davis
50. Elliot Slessor
51. Sam Craigie
52. Mark King
53. Lyu Haotian
54. Anthony Hamilton
55. Jamie Jones
56. Andrew Higginson
57. Sunny Akani
58. Tian Pengfei
59. David Grace
60. Chris Wakelin
61. Dominic Dale
62. Joe O’Connor
63. Jimmy Robertson
64. Nigel Bond

The Two-Year Cards (27)

These players competed on the main tour in 2020/21 and will start the 2021/22 season on the second year of their two-year tour cards.

• Jak Jones
• Pang Junxu
• Jamie Clarke
• Robbie Williams
• Steven Hallworth
• Ashley Carty
• Simon Lichtenberg
• Oliver Lines
• Zhao Jianbo
• Ken Doherty
• Gao Yang
• Fergal O’Brien
• Rory McLeod
• Allan Taylor
• Aaron Hill
• Lukas Kleckers
• Ashley Hugill
• Peter Devlin
• Jamie Wilson
• Ben Hancorn
• Lee Walker
• Fan Zhengyi
• Zak Surety
• Stephen Hendry
• Farakh Ajaib
• Iulian Boiko
• Sean Maddocks

The Top Eight (One-Year Ranking list) (8)

The top eight players on the 2020/21 one-year ranking list, not already inside of the top 64 of the two-year ranking list or on the first year of a two-year card. They receive a fresh two-year tour card, starting on zero ranking points.

1. Chang Bingyu
2. Igor Figueiredo
3. Xu Si
4. Louis Heathcote
5. Chen Zifan
6. Jamie O’Neill
7. Andy Hicks
8. Gerard Greene

Q School (14)

A further 14 will be promoted from the Q School and again they will receive a two-year tour card.

• Jackson Page (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
• Yuan Sijun (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
• Peter Lines (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
• Fraser Patrick (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
• Michael Judge (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
• Alfie Burden (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
• Barry Pinches (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
• Craig Steadman (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
• Duane Jones (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
• Dean Young (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
• Ian Burns (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
• Lei Peifan (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
• Hammad Miah (Q School OOM)
• Mitchell Mann (Q School OOM)

China Tour Qualifiers (4)

Four players have qualified via the CBSA China Tour. They earn a fresh two-year tour cards.

1. Wu Yize
2. Zhang Jiankang
3. Cao Yupeng
4. Zhang Anda

World Women’s Snooker Tour (2)

The top two players from the World Women’s Snooker Tour rankings will be awarded a two-year card.

• Reanne Evans (No.1 Ranked)
• Ng On Yee (No.2 Ranked)

Deferred Tour Card (1)

Andrew Pagett was due to join the tour for the 2020/21 season but this was deferred on medical grounds. He will begin a two-year card.

• Andrew Pagett

Invitational Tour Cards (2)

Two players have been awarded a new two-year Invitational Tour Card for the upcoming season.

• Marco Fu
• Jimmy White

Re: 122 players on tour.

Postby gninnur karona

In the context of 128 this decision (despite it not being IMO the best) will mechanically ensure that 32 two-year tour cards can be offered next summer.

But that aside I find it disappointing that WST/WPBSA haven't offered guarantees that the leading foreigners on the QSchool Order of Merit will be able to play those events where spare places exist. Maybe work is already happening behind the scenes to resolve potential visa problems. It certainly should be.


   

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