2022–23 Q Tour
The 2022–23 Q Tour was a series of snooker tournaments that took place during the 2022–23 snooker season. The Q Tour is the second-tier tour, run by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, for players not on the main World Snooker Tour.[1]
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2 September 2022 – 5 March 2023 |
| Tournaments | 7 |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
A series of six events was played with the leading money-winner gaining a place on the main tour for the 2023–24 snooker season. The 16 highest-ranked players who had not already got a place on the main tour for the 2023–24 season, gained entry to a further event, the WPBSA Q Tour Playoff, the winner of which also got a place.
Martin O'Donnell won two of the six events to be the leading money-winner and gain a place on the main tour. Ashley Carty won the playoff to gain the second place.
Format
Except for the playoff, events were played over three days. The first day was an open qualifying day with 16 places available. The main draw started on the second day when the 16 qualifiers were joined by the 48 seeded players who qualified based on their rankings in the 2022 Q School Order of Merit to make a first round field of 64 players. There were 3 rounds on the second day and a further three on the final day, to determine the winner of the event. The 48 who qualified directly included the top 32 eligible players from the 2022 UK Q School Order of Merit, the top eight from the 2022 Asia-Oceania Q School Order of Merit, and the eight highest ranked junior players not already qualified.[2][3]
Prize fund
Each event featured a prize fund of £12,000 with the winner receiving £2,500.
- Winner: £2,500
- Runner-up: £1,200
- Semi-final: £750
- Quarter-final: £550
- Last 16: £275
- Last 32: £150
- Total: £12,000
Schedule
The schedule for the six regular events and the playoff is given below.[2]
| Date | Country | Tournament | Venue | City | Field | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep | 4 Sep |  ENG |
Event 1 | North East Snooker Centre | North Shields | 118 |  Ross Muir |
George Pragnell |
5–2 | [4] |
| 16 Sep | 18 Sep | ENG |
Event 2 | Castle Snooker Club | Brighton | 120 | Martin O'Donnell |
George Pragnell |
5–1 | [5] |
| 14 Oct | 16 Oct | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} BEL |
Event 3 | Delta Moon | Mons | 90 |  Farakh Ajaib |
Harvey Chandler |
5–3 | [6] |
| 25 Nov | 27 Nov |  SWE |
Event 4 | Snookerhallen | Stockholm | 91 | Billy Castle |
Andrew Higginson |
5–4 | [7] |
| 9 Dec | 11 Dec | ENG |
Event 5 | Landywood Snooker Club | Walsall | 103 |  Daniel Wells |
Sydney Wilson |
5–2 | [8] |
| 6 Jan | 8 Jan | ENG |
Event 6 | Northern Snooker Centre | Leeds | 124 | Martin O'Donnell |
Ross Muir |
5–1 | [9] |
| 4 Mar | 5 Mar | ENG |
Playoff | Q House Snooker Academy | Darlington | 16 | Ashley Carty |
 Florian Nüßle |
5–2 | [10] |
Rankings
Below are listed the leading players in the prize money rankings. Players on equal points were ranked by "countback", with the player having won the most prize money in the latest event played being ranked higher.[11]
| Rank | Player | Event 1 | Event 2 | Event 3 | Event 4 | Event 5 | Event 6 | Total (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin O'Donnell + |
150 | 2,500 | 275 | 150 | 0 | 2,500 | 5,575 |
| 2 | Ross Muir |
2,500 | 150 | 750 | 275 | 150 | 1,200 | 5,025 |
| 3 | Daniel Wells |
150 | 550 | 550 | 0 | 2,500 | 275 | 4,025 |
| 4 | Billy Castle |
550 | 0 | 150 | 2,500 | 0 | 750 | 3,950 |
| 5 | George Pragnell |
1,200 | 1,200 | 550 | 550 | 275 | 0 | 3,775 |
| 6 | Farakh Ajaib |
275 | 150 | 2,500 | 550 | 150 | 0 | 3,625 |
| 7 |  Rory McLeod |
750 | 550 | 150 | 275 | 275 | 150 | 2,150 |
| 8 | Liam Davies |
0 | 0 | 0 | 750 | 750 | 550 | 2,050 |
| 9 | Andrew Higginson |
275 | 0 | 275 | 1,200 | 150 | 150 | 2,050 |
| 10 | Harvey Chandler |
0 | 150 | 1,200 | 0 | 275 | 275 | 1,900 |
| 11 |  Eden Sharav |
550 | 275 | 0 | 150 | 275 | 550 | 1,800 |
| 12 | Sydney Wilson |
0 | 0 | – | – | 1,200 | 550 | 1,750 |
| 13 | Ashley Carty + |
275 | 750 | 150 | 0 | 550 | 0 | 1,725 |
| 14 | Hamim Hussain |
275 | 550 | 550 | 150 | 0 | 150 | 1,675 |
| 15 | Steven Hallworth |
150 | 0 | 150 | 275 | 275 | 750 | 1,600 |
| 16 | Joshua Thomond |
150 | 275 | 750 | 150 | 275 | 0 | 1,600 |
| 17 | Peter Devlin |
150 | 150 | 150 | 150 | 550 | 150 | 1,300 |
| 18 | Florian Nüßle |
275 | 275 | 275 | 150 | 150 | 150 | 1,275 |
| 19 | Jamie Curtis-Barrett |
550 | 150 | 550 | - | 0 | 0 | 1,250 |
| 20 | Luke Simmonds |
750 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 275 | 1,175 |
| + Qualified for the main tour |
Event 1
The first event took place at North East Snooker Centre, North Shields, from 2 to 4 September 2022. Ross Muir beat George Pragnell 5–2 in the final. Muir lost just five frames in the six rounds of the event.[4] The final-day results are given below.[12]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| Jamie Curtis-Barrett | 0 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||
| Rory McLeod | 1 | |||||||||
| Rory McLeod | 4 | |||||||||
| Eden Sharav | 2 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 5 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 2 | |||||||||
| Stan Moody | 0 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 4 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 4 | |||||||||
| Luke Simmonds | 2 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 1 | |||||||||
| Luke Simmonds | 4 | |||||||||
Event 2
The second event took place at Castle Snooker Club, Brighton, from 16 to 18 September 2022. Martin O'Donnell beat George Pragnell 5–1 in the final, having won his quarter and semi-final matches in the deciding frame.[5] The final-day results are given below.[13]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| Hamim Hussain | 3 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 4 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 4 | |||||||||
 Gao Yang | 3 | |||||||||
| Rory McLeod | 1 | |||||||||
| Gao Yang | 4 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 1 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 5 | |||||||||
| Jack Haley | 2 | |||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 4 | |||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 3 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 4 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 4 | |||||||||
| Daniel Wells | 3 | |||||||||
Event 3
The third event took place at the Delta Moon Club, Mons, Belgium from 14 to 16 October 2022. Farakh Ajaib beat Harvey Chandler 5–3 in the final. Chandler took a 2–0 lead before Ajaib won the next four frames, with a 45 clearance in frame 6 after Chandler had made a break of 60.[6] The final-day results are given below.[14]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| Harvey Chandler | 4 | |||||||||
| Jamie Curtis-Barrett | 3 | |||||||||
| Harvey Chandler | 4 | |||||||||
| Josh Thomond | 1 | |||||||||
| Josh Thomond | 4 | |||||||||
| Hamim Hussain | 3 | |||||||||
| Harvey Chandler | 3 | |||||||||
| Farakh Ajaib | 5 | |||||||||
| Daniel Wells | 3 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 3 | |||||||||
| Farakh Ajaib | 4 | |||||||||
| George Pragnell | 1 | |||||||||
| Farakh Ajaib | 4 | |||||||||
Event 4
The fourth event took place at the Snookerhallen Club, Stockholm, Sweden from 25 to 27 November 2022. Billy Castle beat Andrew Higginson in the deciding frame of the final, on a re-spotted black.[7] The final-day results are given below.[15]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| George Pragnell | 2 | |||||||||
| Andrew Higginson | 4 | |||||||||
| Andrew Higginson | 4 | |||||||||
 Brian Ochoiski | 2 | |||||||||
| Brian Ochoiski | 4 | |||||||||
| Kuldesh Johal | 1 | |||||||||
| Andrew Higginson | 4 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 5 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 4 | |||||||||
| Farakh Ajaib | 1 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 4 | |||||||||
| Liam Davies | 1 | |||||||||
 Robin Hull | 1 | |||||||||
| Liam Davies | 4 | |||||||||
Event 5
The fifth event took place at Landywood Snooker Club, Walsall, from 9 to 11 December 2022. Daniel Wells beat Sydney Wilson 5–2 in the final. Wells lost the first three frames of his semi-final against Michael Georgiou, but won the next four to reach the final.[8] The final-day results are given below.[16]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| Jamie Wilson | 1 | |||||||||
 Michael Georgiou | 4 | |||||||||
| Michael Georgiou | 3 | |||||||||
| Daniel Wells | 4 | |||||||||
| Haydon Pinhey | 1 | |||||||||
| Daniel Wells | 4 | |||||||||
| Daniel Wells | 5 | |||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 2 | |||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 3 | |||||||||
| Liam Davies | 4 | |||||||||
| Liam Davies | 1 | |||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 4 | |||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 4 | |||||||||
| Peter Devlin | 0 | |||||||||
Event 6
The sixth event took place at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds, from 6 to 8 January 2023. The final was between Ross Muir and Martin O'Donnell. Both had won a Q Tour event earlier in the season and the points situation was such that the winner of the match would head the rankings and gain a place on the main tour for the following season. In the final O'Donnell won the opening frame with a break of 142 and went on to win the match by five frames to one.[9] The final-day results are given below.[17]
| Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | ||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||
| Liam Davies | 0 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 3 | |||||||||
| Billy Castle | 4 | |||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 2 | |||||||||
| Ross Muir | 1 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 5 | |||||||||
| Eden Sharav | 1 | |||||||||
| Steven Hallworth | 4 | |||||||||
| Steven Hallworth | 2 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 4 | |||||||||
| Simon Bedford | 1 | |||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell | 4 | |||||||||
Playoff
The final event, the WPBSA Q Tour Playoff, was held at the Q House Snooker Academy in Darlington on 4 and 5 March. The event saw the 16 highest ranked players, excluding the player already qualified for the main tour, competed for a further place on that tour. Daniel Wells withdrew on medical grounds and was replaced by Florian Nüßle.[18] Two rounds were played each day with matches over 7 frames except for the final which was over 9 frames. The draw was seeded, based on the final rankings.[19][20] Ashley Carty beat Florian Nüßle 5–2 in the final. Carty lost the first three frames in his opening match against Farakh Ajaib but recovered to win 4–3. He was two frames down in his semi-final match against top seed Ross Muir but again won four frames in a row to win 4–2.[10]
| Last-16 Best of 7 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 7 frames | Semi-finals Best of 7 frames | Final Best of 9 frames | |||||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Peter Devlin | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Ross Muir | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Harvey Chandler | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Andrew Higginson | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Harvey Chandler | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ross Muir | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Farakh Ajaib | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Hamim Hussain | 1 | |||||||||||||
| George Pragnell | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Hamim Hussain | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ashley Carty | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Nüßle | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Billy Castle | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Steven Hallworth | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Steven Hallworth | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Rory McLeod | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Sydney Wilson | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Steven Hallworth | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Nüßle | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Liam Davies | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Eden Sharav | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Liam Davies | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Nüßle | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Nüßle | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Joshua Thomond | 0 | |||||||||||||
References
- "WPBSA Q Tour 2022/23". WPBSA. 8 July 2022.
- "WPBSA Q Tour 2022/23 – UK qualifying rounds open for entry". WPBSA. 27 July 2022.
- "WPBSA Q Tour 2022/23 – Pathway to the World Snooker Tour" (PDF). WPBSA. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- "Ross is the boss at Q Tour event one". WPBSA. 4 September 2022.
- "O'Donnell downs Pragnell for Q Tour title". WPBSA. 18 September 2022.
- "Ajaib over the Moon at Q Tour". WPBSA. 16 October 2022.
- "Billy is King of the Castle in Sweden". WPBSA. 27 November 2022.
- "Wells wins at Landywood". WPBSA. 11 December 2022.
- "O'Donnell earns main tour return". WPBSA. 8 January 2023.
- "Playoff Champion Carty Returns to the World Snooker Tour". WPBSA. 5 March 2023.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 WPBSA Q Tour Ranking List". WPBSA.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event One - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event Two - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event Three - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event Four - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event Five - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- "World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - 2022/23 Q Tour - Event Six - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- "Draw change". WPBSA. 3 March 2023 – via Twitter.
- "WPBSA Q Tour 2023 - Play-offs information". WPBSA. 13 February 2023.
- "2022/23 Q Tour - Playoff - Matches". WPBSA. Retrieved 5 March 2023.