| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1994–1995 |
| Format | Professional (1994–2005) Amateur (2018–present) |
| Recent edition | 2023–24 Q Tour |
The Q Tour is a series of snooker tournaments, immediately below the level of the World Snooker Main Tour.
The tour originally ran between the 1994–95 season and the 2004–05 season as professional non-ranking events. Due to the large numbers of players on tour at that time the new WPBSA Minor Tour was formed so players lower down the rankings had tournaments to play in. It was subsequently rebranded the UK Tour and then the Challenge Tour. [1] It was revived for the 2018–19 season, before being rebranded as the Q Tour for the 2021–22 season. [2] [3]
The concept of a secondary professional tour was first experimented with in the 1994–95 season in the form of the WPBSA Minor Tour to provide competition for lower ranked professionals, but only ran for a season. [4] Due to over-subscription of the World Snooker Tour, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted from the 1997–98 season resulting in the Main Tour and the UK Tour. The Main Tour had an exclusive membership, whereas initially the whole professional membership could compete on the UK Tour and the best performers could earn promotion. [1] From the 1999–2000 season, entry was limited to players not competing on the Main Tour, [1] and from the 2001–02 season the UK Tour itself had an exclusive membership. [5] From the 2000–01 season it was rebranded the Challenge Tour. [4]
In its first season there were five events, but the number was reduced to four in the following seasons. [4] There were two official maximum breaks at the UK Tour, both in the 1998–99 season; the first was made by Stuart Bingham against Barry Hawkins in Event 3, and the second by Nick Dyson against Adrian Gunnell in Event 4. [1] The tour was discontinued after 2004–05 season.
The Pro Challenge Series was introduced for the 2009–10 season, all tour players being eligible to play. [6] Only four of the planned seven events were played before the series was axed due to low player participation. [7] The following season, 2010–11, saw the Pro Challenge Series replaced by the Players Tour Championship, a secondary tour comprising tournaments carrying ranking points, but at a much lower tariff than the major televised tournaments.
The Challenge Tour was revived in the 2018–19 season, consisting of ten events each played over one or two days, with prize money offered and a maximum field of 72 players (top 64 of the Q School Order of Merit, plus eight wildcards). The top two players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit received a tour card for the following season. [2] From the 2020–21 season, the Challenge Tour was rebranded as the Q Tour. [3] [8]
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| UK Tour (professional non-ranking) | |
| 1997–98 |  Paul McPhillips |
| 1998–99 |  Alfie Burden |
| 1999–2000 | Barry Hawkins |
| Challenge Tour (professional non-ranking) | |
| 2000–01 | Shaun Murphy |
| 2001–02 |  Ryan Day |
| 2002–03 | Martin Gould |
| 2003–04 | Brian Salmon |
| 2004–05 | Jamie Cope |
| Challenge Tour (amateur) | |
| 2018–19 | Brandon Sargeant |
| 2019–20 | Ashley Hugill |
| Q Tour (amateur) | |
| 2021–22 |  Si Jiahui |
| 2022–23 | Martin O'Donnell |
John Stephen Parrott is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for fourteen consecutive seasons.
David Harold is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter". He was also the first player on the television circuit to sport a plaster on his chin as a guide for his cue, which is a practice now adopted by Graeme Dott. As an amateur he played as David Harold, but after turning professional in 1991 he was registered as Dave Harold.
Ryan Day is a Welsh professional snooker player. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled over 450 century breaks during his career, including four maximum breaks. He is a three-time World Championship quarter-finalist, has been ranked at no. 6 in the world and has won four ranking tournaments.
Liang Wenbo is a Chinese former professional snooker player. During his playing career, he won one ranking title at the 2016 English Open, twice won the World Cup for China in 2011 and 2017 with teammate Ding Junhui, and was runner-up at the 2009 Shanghai Masters and the 2015 UK Championship. He made 292 century breaks in professional competition, including three maximum breaks, and reached a career high of 11th in the snooker world rankings.
Lee Walker is a Welsh former professional snooker player and former World Seniors Champion. He is both an official WPBSA and SightRight coach.
Craig Steadman is an English former professional snooker player.
Leo Fernandez is an Irish former professional snooker player.
Peter Lines is an English former professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father of professional snooker player Oliver Lines. In January 2022, he won the 2022 UK Seniors Championship, part of the World Seniors Tour.
The 2002–03 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 27 August 2002 and 22 May 2003. Due to a legal ban, this was the final season to have events sponsored by tobacco companies. The following table outlines the results for the ranking events and the invitational events. Mark Williams won all three triple crown events - the last player to do so in a single season.
The 1983–84 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 July 1983 and 19 May 1984. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.
The 1984–85 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1984 and May 1985. The following table outlines the results for the ranking and the invitational events.
The 2003–04 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 21 August 2003 and 20 May 2004. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 2004–05 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 4 August 2004 and 8 May 2005. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 2007–08 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 16 June 2007 and 15 May 2008. This season saw the introduction of a new ranking tournament in Shanghai, while the Malta Cup lost its status as a ranking tournament.
The 1985–86 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1985 and May 1986. The following table outlines the results for ranking events and the invitational events.
The 2006–07 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 13 July 2006 and 14 May 2007.
The 2005–06 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 17 May 2005 and 10 May 2006. There were six ranking tournaments, and the British Open and Irish Masters tournaments were removed from calendar. The Northern Ireland Trophy was held for the first time as non-ranking tournament, and the Pot Black was held again after a 12-year hiatus.
The International Open Series, was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season. It was originally called the Open Tour but was renamed in 2005/2006.
The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of approximately 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. The World Snooker Tour is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial arm of professional snooker, which introduced the World Snooker Tour name, logo, and revised website as part of a 2020 rebranding. The principal stakeholder in World Snooker Ltd is Matchroom Sport, which owns 51 percent of the company; the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), owns 26 percent. To compete on the World Snooker Tour, players must be WPBSA members.
The 2021–22 Q Tour was a series of snooker tournaments that took place during the 2021–22 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. Initially announced in July 2020, the tour was delayed by a year and started in late 2021.
Active professional snooker tournaments | |
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| Ranking events | |
| Non-ranking events | |
| Seniors events |
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| Tours and series | |
| Related lists | |
