We haven’t forgotten The Challenge Tour Play-Offs amid all the World Championship excitement, have we? Lukas Kleckers has already qualified as a professional by claiming the top spot in The Challenge Tour Order of Merit and there is another tour spot up for grabs!
Eight of the best amateurs on The Challenge Tour must compete against each other to win a two-year tour card starting for next season. Except Ashley Hugill who qualified as the WSF Open champion. Except Andrew Pagett who qualified as the ESBA European champion. Oh well.
The Draw
So, here is the draw that will be played on 20th July, all BO7 matches:
Jake Nicholson vs. Tyler Rees
Oliver Brown vs. Allan Taylor
Adam Duffy vs. Patrick Whelan
Dean Young vs. Rory McLeod
We have three former professionals and a number of hot prospects in this line-up. Six of these players won one Challenge Tour event so we can assume that these players know how to compete!
It is confirmed that the draw was originally released in March with Pagett and Ka Wai Cheung both replaced by Nicholson and Rees in the top match.
The Players
Former U18 European champion Tyler Rees has joined the draw following Cheung’s withdrawal. The Welshman was close to joining the tour a few years ago, by lost in the 2018 U21 European final to Simon Lichtenberg 6-3. Rees will face Jake Nicholson, who defeated Andrew Pagett 3-1 to take the Challenge Tour Event 2 crown. In fact, you can catch my recent interview with Tyler Rees, by clicking on the link here!
Allan Taylor only played in five out of ten Challenge Tour events. He had to make the most of those opportunities because he decided to take up MC duties in the Home Nations series. Taylor won Event 5 and reached Event 1 semi-finals.
Taylor’s opponent is a player who I thought should’ve been a professional by now. Oliver Brown was most famous for whitewashing Ding Junhui 5-0 in the 2014 Wuxi Classic. Brown showed that he can beat professionals regular but cannot transfer his talent to qualifying to be a professional.
Lastly, we have come to the final tie. Event 10 winner Adam Duffy has qualified for the Main Tour on via Q School twice and reached the Top 64 during his professional career. He will face Patrick Whelan, who hasn’t won a Challenge Tour event, nor has become a professional before. On paper, Duffy’s experience should be enough to beat Whelan, but it is Whelan’s consistency that got him to the Play-Offs in the first place.
Dean Young is one of Scotland’s raising stars. Some viewers may remember him reaching the Last 32 of this year’s Snooker Shoot-Out by beating David Grace and Liam Highfield. But his best achievement came in Belgium, where he won Challenge Tour Event 7 by defeating Andrew Pagett 3-1.
Young will face Rory McLeod, the most experienced and decorated player in this draw. McLeod won a minor-ranking tournament and reached the Last 16 at the World Championships twice in over 20 years as a professional. Interestingly, he hasn’t won a Challenge Tour event this season. Outside this, McLeod made the Last 16 of the Gibraltar Open and became the English Amateur Championship finalist this year.
The Final Tour Card
Who will win the Challenge Tour Play-Offs?
If I had to choose two amateurs most likely to take the crown, it would probably be Dean Young or Allan Taylor.
It is harder to predict the winner due to the obvious circumstances. This is why the current environment may work in the favour of the more experienced players like McLeod, which might hamper Young’s progress. But Taylor’s side of the draw is far kinder and his experience may benefit Taylor.
The draw is available and you can view it by clicking here. Challenge Tour Play-Offs will take place on between Monday 20th July in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
