Now we have finished the wonderful bravado of the Masters, the amateurs have professional cards to win! Since last year’s Q School, eight events have flown by, with just two events to go. Whoever finishes in the top two of the Challenge Tour Rankings will receive a two-year professional card. This is a fantastic opportunity to receive one without going to European and World amateur events and especially the intimidating gauntlet of Q School!
It’s been fairly competitive so far. After eight events, there were seven different winners. There were a number of amateurs from countries ranging from France, Austria and Ukraine to outside Europe such as Turkey, India and Australia. The only critique, however, is that only one event reached its maximum capacity of 64 players. But, that’s for another article for another day! Now let’s look at the players on the hunt for snooker greatness!
Who’s on the hunt?
The two players that currently hold the top two players are Brandon Sargeant and David Grace respectively. Sargeant, the 2016 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship runner-up, reached two events on The Challenge Tour and won one (vs. Luke Simmonds) and lost one (vs. David Lilley). Grace, 2015 UK Championship semi-finalist, won two events in Preston and in Lommell. However, he was victim to a number of early exits that left him lagging behind Sargeant at this moment in time.
The winner of an event receives 2,000 points, while the runners-up earns 1,000 points into the kitty. Which means that any out of the Top 10 players above can nick the top two spots. The majority of the threats are former professional who are more than aware of how to cope when lots are at stake. Mitchell Mann is in third place and is only 250 points behind Grace. David Lilley is probably the player to be wary of. Despite missing three events, which by his own admission he is kicking himself for, he is in fourth, which is mighty impressive. The only other player who hasn’t been a professional is Ben Hancorn who has an outside chance of succeeding.
The ninth event will take place at the Star Snooker Academy, Sheffield between 26th-27th January. The final event is at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester at 6th-7th March.
