2017–18 snooker season

The 2017–18 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 4 May 2017 and 7 May 2018. The season began with the pro–am Vienna Snooker Open in May 2017 and ended with the 2018 World Snooker Championship in April the following year. Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a joint-record five ranking titles in the season. He joined Stephen Hendry (1990/1991), Ding Junhui (2013/2014), and Mark Selby (2016/2017) in winning five ranking titles in the same season.[1]

2017–18 snooker season
Nations that hosted a World Snooker Tour event during the 2017/2018 season
Details
Duration4 May 2017 – 7 May 2018 (2017-05-04 – 2018-05-07)
Tournaments45[n 1] (20 ranking events)
Triple Crown winners
UK ChampionshipEngland Ronnie O'Sullivan
MastersNorthern Ireland Mark Allen
World ChampionshipWales Mark Williams

The China Championship became a ranking event and was brought forward to a mid-August date, ahead of the Paul Hunter Classic. The Shanghai Masters was initially withdrawn from the season calendar, but was later rescheduled for November 2017.[2] The biennial World Cup team event was played in July 2017. Another event not held every year returning in 2017 was the 2017 IWGA World Games. The Snooker Shoot Out was brought forward to the start of February, ahead of both the World Grand Prix and Welsh Open.[3]

A new World Seniors Tour was formed by Snooker Legends for players over 40 years of age, comprising four events, including the World Seniors Championship which has returned to Scunthorpe in 2018.[4]

The second edition of the Home Nations Series was being held in this season with the English Open, Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open tournaments. For a single winner of all four tournaments would earn a bonus of £1 million.[5]

Ronnie O'Sullivan won five ranking events during the season, with Mark Williams winning three times and Ryan Day, John Higgins and Mark Selby each winning twice. Shaun Murphy reached four ranking event finals during the season but lost them all.

Players

The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2017 World Championship, and the 31 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season (Rouzi Maimaiti has resigned his membership). Next, eight places were allocated to the top 8 on the One Year Ranking List who have not already qualified for the Main Tour. Another two players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further places were available through the 2017 Q School, four from each of the two events and the four best-ranked players in the Order of Merit. The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body (NGB) nominations. Hamza Akbar received a tour card as a special dispensation in place of America's nomination.[6][7]

The list of all professional players in the 2017/2018 season consist of 131 players, including the standard field of the 128 players and three invitational tour cards (James Wattana has second year of a two-year invitational tour card while Jimmy White and Ken Doherty were awarded the new two-year permission).[6][7] Beginning from this season, players with invitational tour cards are eligible to compete in any ranking event.[8] These players are seeded after main tour professionals, but above amateur top ups taken from the Q School ranking list.[9]

New professional players

All players listed below received a tour card for two seasons.[6][7]

Calendar

The following tables outline the dates and results of all events of the World Snooker Tour, World Women's Snooker, the World Seniors Tour, and other events.[18][19][20][21]

World Snooker Tour
Date[n 2] Country Tournament name Venue City Winner Runner-up Score Ref.
06-23 06-25  LAT Riga Masters Arena Riga Riga Wales Ryan Day Scotland Stephen Maguire 5–2 [22]
07-03 07-09  CHN World Cup Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium Wuxi China China A England England 4–3 [23]
07-20 07-23  HKG Hong Kong Masters Queen Elizabeth Stadium Hong Kong Australia Neil Robertson England Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–3 [24]
07-28 07-29  CHN CVB Challenge Nanshan Culture & Sports Centre Shenzhen  Great Britain  China 26–9 [25]
08-16 08-22  CHN China Championship Guangzhou Sport University Guangzhou Belgium Luca Brecel England Shaun Murphy 10–5 [26]
08-22 08-27  GER Paul Hunter Classic Stadthalle Fürth Wales Michael White England Shaun Murphy 4–2 [27]
09-04 09-09  THA Six-red World Championship Bangkok Convention Center Bangkok Wales Mark Williams Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 8–2 [28]
09-12 09-16  IND Indian Open Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach Vishakhapatnam Scotland John Higgins Scotland Anthony McGill 5–1 [29]
09-18 09-24  CHN World Open Yushan Number One Middle School Yushan China Ding Junhui England Kyren Wilson 10–3 [30]
10-02 10-08  BEL European Masters De Soeverein Lommel England Judd Trump England Stuart Bingham 9–7 [31]
10-16 10-22  ENG English Open Barnsley Metrodome Barnsley England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Kyren Wilson 9–2 [32]
10-29 11-05  CHN International Championship Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre Daqing England Mark Selby Northern Ireland Mark Allen 10–7 [33]
11-06 11-12  ENG Champion of Champions Ricoh Arena Coventry England Shaun Murphy England Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–8 [34]
11-13 11-18  CHN Shanghai Masters Shanghai Grand Stage Shanghai England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Judd Trump 10–3 [35]
11-20 11-26  NIR Northern Ireland Open Waterfront Hall Belfast Wales Mark Williams China Yan Bingtao 9–8 [36]
11-28 12-10  ENG UK Championship Barbican Centre York England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Shaun Murphy 10–5 [37]
12-11 12-17  SCO Scottish Open Emirates Arena Glasgow Australia Neil Robertson China Cao Yupeng 9–8 [38]
01-14 01-21  ENG Masters Alexandra Palace London Northern Ireland Mark Allen England Kyren Wilson 10–7 [39]
01-31 02-04  GER German Masters Tempodrom Berlin Wales Mark Williams Scotland Graeme Dott 9–1 [40]
02-08 02-11  ENG Shoot Out Watford Colosseum Watford Cyprus Michael Georgiou Scotland Graeme Dott 1–0 [41]
02-19 02-25  ENG World Grand Prix Preston Guild Hall Preston England Ronnie O'Sullivan China Ding Junhui 10–3 [42]
02-26 03-04  WAL Welsh Open Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Scotland John Higgins England Barry Hawkins 9–7 [43]
03-07 03-11  GIB Gibraltar Open Tercentenary Sports Hall, Victoria Stadium Gibraltar Wales Ryan Day China Cao Yupeng 4–0 [44]
03-14 03-18  ROU Romanian Masters Bucharest Metropolitan Circus Bucharest Wales Ryan Day England Stuart Bingham 10–8 [45]
03-19 03-25  WAL Players Championship Venue Cymru Llandudno England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Shaun Murphy 10–4 [46]
01-02 03-29  ENG Championship League Ricoh Arena Coventry Scotland John Higgins China Zhou Yuelong 3–2 [47]
04-02 04-08  CHN China Open Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium Beijing England Mark Selby England Barry Hawkins 11–3 [48]
04-21 05-07  ENG World Championship Crucible Theatre Sheffield Wales Mark Williams Scotland John Higgins 18–16
Ranking event
Non-ranking event

World Ladies Billiards and Snooker
Date[n 3] Country Tournament name Venue City Winner Runner-up Score Ref.
08-24 08-27  GER Paul Hunter Women's Classic Ballroom Nuremberg England Reanne Evans Hong Kong Ng On-Yee 4–1 [49]
10-30 11-01  ENG UK Women's Championship Northern Snooker Centre Leeds Hong Kong Ng On-Yee England Reanne Evans 4–1 [50]
10-28 10-29  ENG Eden Women's Masters South West Snooker Centre Quedgeley Hong Kong Ng On-Yee England Reanne Evans 4–3 [51]
02-17 02-18  ENG Women's British Open Stourbridge Institute Stourbridge England Reanne Evans Thailand Nutcharut Wongharuthai 4–0 [52]
03-14 03-17  MLT World Women's Championship Dolmen Hall St Paul's Bay Hong Kong Ng On-Yee England Maria Catalano 5–0 [53]
04-14 04-14  ENG World Women's 10-Red Championship Northern Snooker Centre Leeds England Reanne Evans Hong Kong Ng On-Yee 4–1 [54]
04-15 04-15  ENG World Women's 6-Red Championship Northern Snooker Centre Leeds England Reanne Evans Hong Kong Ng On-Yee 4–3 [55]

World Seniors Tour
Date[n 4] Country Tournament name Venue City Winner Runner-up Score Ref.
10-24 10-26  ENG UK Seniors Championship Harlequin Theatre Redhill England Jimmy White Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 4–2 [56]
01-06 01-07  IRL Seniors Irish Masters Goffs Kill England Steve Davis England Johnathan Bagley 4–0 [57]
03-21 03-24  ENG World Seniors Championship Baths Hall Scunthorpe Jersey Aaron Canavan Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace 4–3 [58]
04-12 04-12  ENG Seniors Masters Crucible Theatre Sheffield Canada Cliff Thorburn England Johnathan Bagley 2–1 [59]

Other events
Date[n 5] Country Tournament name Venue City Winner Runner-up Score Ref.
05-04 05-07  AUT Vienna Open 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club Vienna England David Grace England Nigel Bond 5–2 [60]
05-24 05-27  BEL Belgium Open Snooker Club Arena Ghent Belgium Bjorn Haneveer Belgium Ben Mertens 6–5 [61]
06-07 06-11  ENG Pink Ribbon South West Snooker Academy Gloucester England Robert Milkins England Rob James 4–2 [62]
07-26 07-30  POL World Games Wrocław Congress Center Wrocław United Kingdom Kyren Wilson United Kingdom Ali Carter 3–1 [63]
09-19 09-21  TKM Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Six-red Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat China Yan Bingtao Iran Soheil Vahedi 5–1 [64]
09-22 09-24  TKM Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Team Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat  Iran  Qatar 3–0 [65]
09-24 09-26  TKM Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Singles Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat China Zhao Xintong Iran Hossein Vafaei 4–2 [66]
10-23 10-27  CHN Haining Open Haining Sports Center Haining England Mark Selby England Tom Ford 5–1 [67]

Points distribution

2017/2018 points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking events:[68]

Round
Tournament
 R144 R128 R80 R64 R48 R32 R16 QF SF F W
Riga Masters — £0 — £1,000 — £2,000 £4,000 £6,000 £15,000 £25,000 £50,000
China Championship — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
Paul Hunter Classic — £0 — £600 — £1,000 £1,725 £3,000 £4,500 £10,000 £20,000
Indian Open — £0 — £2,000 — £4,000 £6,000 £10,000 £15,000 £25,000 £50,000
World Open — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
European Masters — £0 — £2,000 — £4,000 £6,000 £11,000 £17,500 £35,000 £75,000
English Open — £0 — £2,500 — £3,500 £6,000 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £70,000
International Championship — £0 — £4,000 — £8,500 £13,500 £21,500 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
Shanghai Masters — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
Northern Ireland Open — £0 — £2,500 — £3,500 £6,000 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £70,000
UK Championship — £0 — £5,000 — £10,000 £15,000 £22,500 £35,000 £75,000 £170,000
Scottish Open — £0 — £2,500 — £3,500 £6,000 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £70,000
German Masters — £0 — £2,000 — £4,000 £5,000 £10,000 £20,000 £35,000 £80,000
Shoot Out — £0[n 6] — £500 — £1,000 £2,000 £4,000 £8,000 £16,000 £32,000
World Grand Prix — — — — — £5,000 £7,500 £12,500 £20,000 £40,000 £100,000
Welsh Open — £0 — £2,500 — £3,500 £6,000 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £70,000
Gibraltar Open — £0 — £1,000 — £2,000 £3,000 £4,000 £6,000 £12,000 £25,000
Players Championship — — — — — — £10,000 £15,000 £30,000 £50,000 £125,000
China Open — £0 — £5,000 — £11,000 £18,000 £27,000 £45,000 £90,000 £225,000
World Championship £0 — £9,000 — £13,500 £18,000[n 7] £27,500 £42,500 £85,000 £180,000 £425,000

Notes
  1. The three disciplines at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were part of the same tournament.
  2. Dates use the month-day format
  3. Dates use the month-day format
  4. Dates use the month-day format
  5. Dates use the month-day format
  6. First round losers in the Shoot Out received £250 prize money which did not count towards the prize money rankings.
  7. Players who lose their first match receive no ranking points.

References
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