There are various sports with development leagues and second tiers. Korn Ferry and Challenge tours in golf. Challenger in Tennis. AHL in Ice hockey. Formula 2 in Motor Racing. NBA G league in Basketball.
Snooker has its own, the Q Tour.
Following it’s inaugural series last season where Sean O’Sullivan (2nd in rankings) and Julien Leclercq (playoff winner) gained the coveted two spots onto the main tour (Si Jiahui had topped the rankings, he gained his pro status winning the WSF Open, opening it up to second place), it returns, expanded to six events (four last season), with four to be staged within the UK and a further two in mainland Europe.
The top ranked player at the end of the season will be guaranteed to earn a two-year tour card, with a 16-player playoff tournament to run with its winner also to be awarded a main tour place.
There’s a prize fund of £12,000 to be won at each tournament with the overall Q Tour ranked number one and the final play-off winner each earning a bonus of £2,000 upon joining the professional circuit.
The first event starts Friday in Newcastle, North Shields to be exact at the North East Snooker Centre, home of professionals Gary Wilson and Elliot Slessor.
There are eight tables in total, four club tables and four STAR’s (pro tables). It will be interesting if that becomes significant.
The amateur scene has not been this strong for a long time, certainly in the top echelon. Players like Daniel Wells, Ross Muir, Andrew Higginson and Farakh Ajaib (all former pros evidently) have already ruffled feathers on tour as top-ups.
My first outright in this event comes from the hottest property in all of amateur and junior snooker combined currently, Wales’ Liam Davies (40/1 William Hill).
In the last three weeks, Davies has done a feat that has never been done before in history; winning the World Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21 titles in the same year. A feat his coach, Lee Walker said will never be done again. The World Under 21 roll of honour has a plethora of former World champions (and current in Ronnie O’Sullivan) and top 16 players and Davies became the first ever champion from Wales. He beat last years winner Austria’s Florian Nuessle in the semi-final en route to glory. Davies also won the European Under 18 Championship in June for good measure.
Davies in April was given a wildcard into World Championship Qualifying and beat firstly Aaron Hill 6-4 to become the youngest player in history to win a match in the event at 15, then Fergal O’Brien 6-5. Davies pushed 2021 Welsh Open champion, Jordan Brown to a decider in the game after, two wins from the Crucible. He trailed Hill 3-1 before fighting back and to beat O’Brien in a decider showed supreme maturity, especially after being pulled off at 5-4 in front and having to wait a few hours for a table to conclude.
He is far from invincible mind (only human):
In late July, Davies lost in the Welsh Amateur final to former top 16 player, Darren Morgan. In Welsh junior events, he won the Welsh Under 18 and 21 titles but surprisingly failed to clinch the under 16 title.
Back in February, he would have been red hot favourite to take the WSF Junior Championship. Victory would have elevated him onto the main tour, but he lost 4-2 in the semi-final to Ukraine’s Anton Kazakov (eventual winner). He was a quarter-finalist at the European Under 21 Championship.
He started the Q Tour playoffs in May as bookies favourite to make the main tour, but lost to Essex’ Alex Clenshaw in the semi-final 4-3. At Q School, Davies might just have ran out of gas, going furthest in Event 2, losing in the last 16, the penultimate round, to Belgium’s Ben Mertens.
Davies really does hold a special key in this game though. He is a very humble guy, shows no arrogance for all his success thus far, and by god has he got a lofty future. He possesses no fear in his play, is clearly hugely dedicated and already proven he can mix it up with quality scoring or solid match play (Walker probably a big help with the latter). He reminds me very much of Jackson Page, another Welshman who had tons of success as a junior and a player with amples of ammunition up his sleeve like Davies.
Davies made two quarter-finals from the four Q Tour events last season and comes to North Shields with his confidence sky rocketing high following his world titles. He opens here with Ian Martin, who he had a shock 4-0 loss to at Q School Event 3. I sense he will gain his revenge.
His toughest match in the quarter, might be against either Martin O’Donnell or Andrew Higginson, two wily tough nuts who are 12/1 and 14/1 in the outright betting. The second quarter (Davies’ potential semi-final opponent) has a host of big names near the top of the outright market in all former pros Michael Holt (10/1 joint favourite), Steven Hallworth (14/1), Lee Walker and Rory McLeod (both 33/1), Ashley Carty (28/1) and Daniel Wells (10/1 other joint favourite). Any of those six could gatecrash into the last four. No doubt Davies won’t care a jot who he faces.
I believe Davies should be in the 20/1 region in this. In my opinion, he isn’t the 15th most likely player to win this event. He is a top 10 contender. So dangerous and talented, he could blow this lot all away.
Providing he’s over his most recent agonising loss on tour to Judd Trump, there’s barely a player at Q Tour Event 1 in better nick coming in than Blackburn’s Farakh Ajaib. He could look really eye catching value at 40/1 if he keeps up his form.
Ajaib has been quite an erratic player on tour the past two years, having an odd good result here and there but perhaps like so many before him, performs to his maximum now as an amateur. It is amazing the amount of players who do this. Michael White being a prime example.
Ajaib plays very loosely, being a player I always question tactically and doesn’t have real close ball control however the talent is clearly there when his mind is on the job. This was indicated at the European Masters, as a top-up defeating former Masters champion, Mark Allen in qualifying 5-3, aided by just one break over 50 (concluded with a lovely clearance to pinch the eighth frame). He then took out Barry Pinches and Marco Fu 5-2 and 5-3 respectively (both wins with just one solidarity 50+ break).
The bookies didn’t like Ajaib’s chances at 16/1 against the Ace in the Pack, Trump but he took the Bristolian to 4-4 from 4-2 adrift with breaks of 69, 63, 59, 51 helped out by some outstanding long potting. In the decider, potting the final brown with a cross double, he thought he had wrapped up a famous win however with Trump requiring a snooker, Ajaib went in off on the blue after coming off the back cushion. Unlucky yes but a fuller contact was all he needed yet got half ball and the white went wandering down the table and sunk into the top right pocket. Of course, Trump cleaned up the three colours to choke Farakh.
A bitter blow but the encouragement he will take from that should be substantial, as should his wins in the three previous matches. Ajaib went alright at Q School in May losing in a decider to Rod Lawler in Event 1 (went on to qualify) and 4-3 on the black in Event 3 to Haydon Pinhey in the penultimate round.
Back to here, Ajaib starts out at the bottom of the draw with on paper, a decent first couple of matches. Ben Hancorn, Luke Simmonds, Peter Devlin and Gao Yang look the threats in Ajaib’s way from making the semi-final – it doesn’t look over-burdening.
The worry is his overall amateur form and you never quite know what to get from him. Best-of-5 will make or break him too (and the other selections). An insider tells me he’s back working full-time at the butchers and that relieves him of the pressure on the baize when it comes to matches unlike the past two years where his livelihood was on the line. It might be the reason why he performed so well in Furth, without the ‘care in the world’. So he should be buzzing in Geordieland and ought to give a decent account providing he stays on the straight and narrow.
I have a lot of time for and rate very highly Northern Ireland’s 17-year-old, Robbie McGuigan. Robbie is the back-to-back Northern Ireland amateur champion and the youngest to ever do so. In his latest success in late March, the final win produced breaks of 130, 98, 89, 82, 72, 58 and 50 – savage scoring. Like Davies, McGuigan was also given a World Championship wild card entry in April and beat Alfie Burden 6-4 before he was outclassed by Scott Donaldson a round later. He trailed Burden 3-1 and 4-3.
Last season on Q Tour, McGuigan came third in the overall rankings, just 325 points behind Sean O’Sullivan and automatic promotion to the main tour. That came after missing the third event as well. There’s a good chance had he not withdrawn from event three, he might well have sneaked past O’Sullivan.
McGuigan won the fourth and final event at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds beating on the way newly crowned English Amateur champion, Jamie Curtis-Barrett, former pro Simon Bedford and another new amateur champion, from Scotland, Michael Collumb in the final. In the all or nothing playoffs, McGuigan lost 4-3 to former pro, Harvey Chandler in the penultimate round.
The win in Q Tour’s March edition, his exploits on the amateur scene and in the Worlds in April (also went well in 2021 Worlds losing in a decider to Mitchell Mann) proves McGuigan has the game to pose lots of problems. I do like his draw in Event 1, starting with steady but very beatable amateurs Joe Fenton and possibly Saqib Nasir. I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t make the last 16.
McGuigan impressed as a top-up at the recent Championship league, drawing with both Louis Heathcote and Wu Yize, showing he’s good enough for the step up in class. With this all in mind, 66/1 makes plenty of appeal back at amateur level, especially as he’s won a Q tour event already.
McGuigan has a great attitude and is very unpresuming. Practising alongside Mark Allen and Jordan Brown in Antrim can only improve ones game, providing you are prepared well mentally for a few beatings on the way. It’s only a matter of time until McGuigan makes the main tour ranks and he’s a good contender in these six events to hit the summit overall with consistency a key cog in his armoury.
In the same mini section as McGuigan, is Oldham’s 20-year-old, Ryan Davies. Davies first came to prominence at the Shoot-Out in 2019 making the last 16 and was compared to Judd Trump with his action on the shot (being left handed) and his long potting ability.
Even though he has a tough opener with the experienced Kuldesh Johal, I want to chance him at 125/1 due to having an excellent record in amateur events in the past 12 months. He is a better club table player to STAR perhaps (results have proven so) but at three figures has to be seen as a touch of value.
On the EPSB Open Series last season, Davies, who’s brother Aaron is a professional pool player, entered 27 tournaments, winning nine times and losing in two finals. In Q Tour, he made two last 16’s which did get him a top 16 place and entry into the playoffs. There, as a big outsider he pumped rookie pro on tour this season, Ben Mertens 4-1 which included a total clearance of 139. He then failed to back up that excellent scalp, losing to Alex Clenshaw 4-0. The Mertens win though showed what Ryan is capable of, as after that, Mertens went on to win the European Under 21 Championship and lost in the European Amateur final.
Davies’ best run at Q School was the last 32 in the first event. He’ll be disappointed with that I’m sure. Recently at the Northern Snooker Centre, Davies was joint winner of a Pro-Am (with Stan Moody) beating Gary Wilson and Elliot Slessor (+18 start) on the way to the final. This is the kind of damage he can do on club tables. Davies’ practises on STAR tables in Savannah’s Pool and Snooker Club in Whitefield, and if he can replicate his top amateur form, the leftie who is a former English national under-14, 16 and 18 champion has capabilities of a deep run here with far from an evil passage. At Q school, Davies was generally a 66/1 shot to qualify in each event so 125/1 makes appeal with a few big guns out the way.
One of the most dedicated English players around is York’s, Liam Pullen. He practises at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds nearly every day, a 45 minute drive from his home. That alone says to me how much Liam wants to make it. Dedication with a capital D. He understands he needs good practise and playing the likes of David Grace, Oli Lines and Sanderson Lam on a regular basis will benefit him in the long run. He’s coached by Oli’s Dad, main tour veteran Peter.
The slight worry is Pullen didn’t pull up any trees at Q Tour or Q School last season though did beat former pro Eden Sharav and current pro Lam. In the Sharav win, Pullen cracked in back-to-back 113 breaks. In the 2021 Q School, Pullen was two matches from qualifying following four wins including against now professional, James Cahill.
Back to this year, in June, Pullen was two matches from making the main tour at the European Under 21 Championship, losing in the semi-final to eventual winner Mertens 4-0. In his last 16 win, he hit his highest break in competition, a 141.
The laser-focused Yorkshire lad starts out two rounds behind the last 64 seeds, though it could be a benefit to him as I expect him to win both matches and set himself up for a match with last season pro and the Gibraltar Open quarter-finalist from April, Ben Hancorn. An acid test for sure. I feel this is Pullen’s season to flourish where it all comes together for him and his hard work gets some fruitful runs and performances.
Pullen hit his first 147 in practise back in July and earlier this month was part of the England B side that lifted the Under 21 Home Internationals title in Leeds. I really think he has a big future – without doubt is one of the brightest young sparks in England currently. Furthermore, he’s said previously how much he practises during the summer holidays (like a 9-5 job) so he will be in a good place to play well in Newcastle.
Pullen is 150/1.
Lastly, I want to chance another young lad, this time at 200/1, the Scottish Amateur finalist, my third tip named Liam, Liam Graham.
I said about the dedication of Pullen and 17-year-old Graham is in the same bracket. Considering he’s from Scotland, he gets himself about. He’s actually practised at this weeks venue before to play pros Wilson and Slessor. And as recently as last week, I was told he’s been over to Antrim to play Allen and Brown for a fortnight. Not forgetting he lives near the likes of Graeme Dott, Stephen Maguire and Fraser Patrick and regularly practises with that trio.
Graham was given a wildcard into last seasons Scottish Open and pushed Michael Holt to 4-3. In the middle of this month, Graham lost to Michael Collumb in the Scottish Amateur final 7-3 having beaten Ross Muir, a 25/1 shot to win this event, in the semis. Though in late June, Liam regained his Scottish Under 21 Championship, cementing himself as the best junior in his mainland. He went well in the WSF Junior Championship, going closest to beating eventual champion, Kazakov, losing 4-3 in the quarter-final. And the same player beat him in the last 16 of the European Under 21 Championship. In the four Q Tour events last year, Liam got to the last 64 once, two last 32’s and one last 16.
Graham received valuable advise from Alan McManus in April last year whilst he was preparing for his last World Championship campaign. He said he ‘brought on my safety game and my overall game in general. It took me to a different level playing with him.’
McManus spoke about Graham on the Talking Snooker podcast (without naming him) and was extremely complimentary about him having a future in snooker though still with lots to learn.
Reading between the lines, Graham might not quite be ready for the main tour but I think he knows that, hence why he travels to different places to improve and see areas where he needs to strengthen. Graham has nine matches to win here for the title so has to do it the real hard way and it’s a tough first couple of rounds. It’s English Under 21 champion and English Open wildcard Callum Beresford first up to play English Amateur champion, Curtis-Barrett.
He then plays very capable Daniel Womersley and enters into Liam Davies’ section. Best-of-5’s (up to and including the last 16) make this event so open that you could well get on a roll and a shock winner might be produced especially under club conditions.
Graham is doing everything right in preparation and looks the best 200/1 shot in the outright market even with a proverbial mountain to climb from qualifying rounds 1 or 2.
Outright Selections (back each-way):
Liam Davies 40/1 William Hill
Farakh Ajaib 40/1 Bet365/SkyBet
Robbie McGuigan 66/1 SkyBet/William Hill/Bet365
Ryan Davies 125/1 SkyBet/William Hill/Bet365
Liam Pullen 150/1 SkyBet/William Hill/Bet365
Liam Graham 200/1 SkyBet/William Hill/Bet365
Pictures via World Snooker
Site Title 