The final list of players who will compete on the World Snooker Tour during the 2021/22 season is now confirmed
Due to the non-staging of several international amateur competitions holding tour qualification status over the past 12 months, there will be 122 professional players on tour. Remaining places at events will be topped up via the Q School Order of Merit, or with local wild cards for certain events such as the Home Nations Series, as in previous years.
These amateur tournaments will be rescheduled over the coming months, with places available on the tour for the successful players in time for the 2022/23 season.
WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “It is unfortunate that we have not been able to stage major international amateur events such as the World Snooker Federation Open and Junior Open over the past year due to the global pandemic. In the past, these events have seen young players such as Iulian Boiko, Luo Honghao, Ashley Hugill, Jackson Page, Aaron Hill, Gao Yang and many others show their promise and earn places on the professional tour.
“We are fully committed to bringing these events back as soon as it is feasible, bringing talented young players from many countries around the globe together to compete, and giving them a gateway to professional status. Internationally, in a vast number of territories across the planet, our sport is in a strong position in terms of participation and emerging talent, despite the challenges we have faced.
“The World Snooker Tour now has 122 exceptional players with a standard we have never seen before. And the leading Q School players who did not earn a card fully deserve the opportunity to compete in ranking events to top up the draws.”
The Top 64 (64)
These players finished inside the top 64 of the official world ranking list at the end of last season and so will retain their places on the circuit, with a one-year card.
End of season rankings:
- Judd Trump
- Mark Selby
- Ronnie O’Sullivan
- Neil Robertson
- Shaun Murphy
- Kyren Wilson
- John Higgins
- Ding Junhui
- Stephen Maguire
- Yan Bingtao
- Mark Williams
- Mark Allen
- Barry Hawkins
- Jack Lisowski
- Stuart Bingham
- Anthony McGill
- Zhou Yuelong
- Graeme Dott
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Joe Perry
- Kurt Maflin
- Tom Ford
- David Gilbert
- Ali Carter
- Martin Gould
- Zhao Xintong
- Liang Wenbo
- Ryan Day
- Xiao Guodong
- Matt Selt
- Michael Holt
- Ricky Walden
- Gary Wilson
- Scott Donaldson
- Lu Ning
- Matthew Stevens
- Robert Milkins
- Li Hang
- Luca Brecel
- Jordan Brown
- Hossein Vafaei
- Mark Joyce
- Liam Highfield
- Noppon Saengkham
- Alexander Ursenbacher
- Ben Woollaston
- Stuart Carrington
- Martin O’Donnell
- Mark Davis
- Elliot Slessor
- Sam Craigie
- Mark King
- Lyu Haotian
- Anthony Hamilton
- Jamie Jones
- Andrew Higginson
- Sunny Akani
- Tian Pengfei
- David Grace
- Chris Wakelin
- Dominic Dale
- Joe O’Connor
- Jimmy Robertson
- Nigel Bond
The Two-Year Cards (27)
These players competed on the main tour in 2020/21 and will start the 2021/22 season on the second year of their two-year tour cards.
- Jak Jones
- Pang Junxu
- Jamie Clarke
- Robbie Williams
- Steven Hallworth
- Ashley Carty
- Simon Lichtenberg
- Oliver Lines
- Zhao Jianbo
- Ken Doherty
- Gao Yang
- Fergal O’Brien
- Rory McLeod
- Allan Taylor
- Aaron Hill
- Lukas Kleckers
- Ashley Hugill
- Peter Devlin
- Jamie Wilson
- Ben Hancorn
- Lee Walker
- Fan Zhengyi
- Zak Surety
- Stephen Hendry
- Farakh Ajaib
- Iulian Boiko
- Sean Maddocks
The Top Eight (One-Year Ranking list) (8)
The top eight players on the 2020/21 one-year ranking list, not already inside of the top 64 of the two-year ranking list or on the first year of a two-year card. They receive a fresh two-year tour card, starting on zero ranking points.
- Chang Bingyu
- Igor Figueiredo
- Xu Si
- Louis Heathcote
- Chen Zifan
- Jamie O’Neill
- Andy Hicks
- Gerard Greene
Q School (14)
A further 14 will be promoted from the Q School and again they will receive a two-year tour card.
- Jackson Page (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
- Yuan Sijun (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
- Peter Lines (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
- Fraser Patrick (Q School Event One semi-finalist)
- Michael Judge (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
- Alfie Burden (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
- Barry Pinches (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
- Craig Steadman (Q School Event Two semi-finalist)
- Duane Jones (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
- Dean Young (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
- Ian Burns (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
- Lei Peifan (Q School Event Three semi-finalist)
- Hammad Miah (Q School OOM)
- Mitchell Mann (Q School OOM)
China Tour Qualifiers (4)
Four players have qualified via the CBSA China Tour. They earn a fresh two-year tour cards.
- Wu Yize
- Zhang Jiankang
- Cao Yupeng
- Zhang Anda
World Women’s Snooker Tour (2)
The top two players from the World Women’s Snooker Tour rankings will be awarded a two-year card.
- Reanne Evans (No.1 Ranked)
- Ng On Yee (No.2 Ranked)
Deferred Tour Card (1)
Andrew Pagett was due to join the tour for the 2020/21 season but this was deferred on medical grounds. He will begin a two-year card.
Invitational Tour Cards (2)
Two players have been awarded a new two-year Invitational Tour Card for the upcoming season.