The conclusion of the second event of Q School 2018 sees returns to the tour for Zhao Xintong, Craig Steadman, Lu Ning and Jordan Brown.
Brown was the first to secure his return to the tour, after eight years away from the professional circuit, defeating Andy Hicks and Jamie Cope on the final day in Burton. This comes after close calls that saw him lose the European Amateur Championship final earlier this year to Harvey Chandler, and in the final round of Q School event one to Jak Jones.
Following the 4-2 loss to Jones in which he was 2-0 ahead, Brown was straight back in action on Sunday morning where he overcame Reanne Evans 4-1 in the first round of this event. Despite breaks of 82 and 84 on the way to taking a 3-0 lead in his second round match with Daniel Womersley, Brown had to hold on and eventually won the match in a deciding frame. Following that he would only concede a further three frames in the final four rounds, overcoming Jack Bradford and Alex Taubman by 4-1 scorelines to reach the final day.
The critical moment in his penultimate round whitewash of Hicks would have to be the second frame in which Brown won a long battle on the black to move 2-0 ahead, before dominating the final two frames. Another ex-pro in Cope stood between him and a tour card but he showed no signs of nerves to surge into a 3-0 lead, featuring a high break of 77 in the opener. Cope got one back but could no more when Brown piled in with a break of 70 in the fifth frame to clinch the match. After his recent near misses he should be over the moon with that result.
Then there was an immediate return to the tour for Zhao Xintong. In many people's opinions Zhao is far too good to have dropped off the tour and he has showed much more potential than the results he has delivered, so another two years on tour may see him improve. After failing in the first event the pressure would have been increased as he faced Clayton Humphries in the first round of event two. Despite breaks of 79 and 96 early in the match from Zhao, Humphries took the match to a deciding frame, but Zhao was able to hold his nerve and progress to round two. A 4-2 victory against Jamie Brown there put him into the third round, where he saw off another recently dropped off tour pro in Jamie Barrett.
In round four he produced a 4-1 win against 17-year-old Dylan Emery, putting him into the final day. His penultimate round match against Austria's Andreas Ploner lasted little more than an hour, as Zhao recorded a 4-0 whitewash that featured breaks of 66 and 80 in the final two frames. In the final round he faced his toughest test of the event playing former professional Dechawat Poomjaeng, who had also made the final round in event one before losing to Sam Craigie. The first two frames were shared but the Chinese youngster soon pulled away with breaks of 50, 51 and 80 in the final three frames to clinch a 4-1 win and a new two year tour card.
Also securing an immediate return to the professional tour was Craig Steadman who overcame two fellow recently dropped off professionals on the way to earning back his tour place. Steadman had a bye into the second round before facing Ben Hancorn, who had performed well in the first Q School event. Steadman had breaks of 60 and 71 in the final two frames of a 4-1 win there. In round three he saw off 21-year-old Liu Jiaming 4-2 to set up a fourth round meeting with former UK Championship semi-finalist David Grace. After making a break of 109 to level the match 1-1, Steadman went on to lose the third frame on the black, before only allowing Grace to score a further seven points in the final three frames, as Steadman came through a 4-2 winner.
That put him into the final day and set up a penultimate round meeting with India's Lucky Vatnani. There were plenty of tight frame between the pair but it was not to be Vatnani's lucky day as Steadman would eventually come through 4-2, putting him into the final round against another recently dropped off pro in Adam Duffy. In event one, Duffy had reached the penultimate round and was now looking to kick on and regain his card but it was not to be on this occasion. Duffy was unable to convert his chances and Steadman ultimately completed a simple 4-0 win.
Finally, China's Lu Ning regained his place on the tour, having dropped off at the end of the 2015/2016 season. Lu had also reached the final day of the first event last week so he was always one to watch in this event and he justified that. He needed a deciding frame to beat Andy Marriott in round one, where he made a break of 76 to clinch the match. Lu would only end up dropping another two frames in the next four matches to clinch his place in the final round. A second round whitewash of James Welch was followed by a 4-1 success in round three against Long Zehuang. To reach the final day, the 24-year-old whitewashed Kuldesh Johal going from strength to strength after winning the opening frame on a re-spotted black.
Starting off the final day, he took out outsider Andy Lee 4-1 aided by breaks of 64, 69 and 90 and booking a final round meeting with recently dropped off pro Mitchell Mann. It was a short turnaround for both players after long fifth round fixtures, and it was Mann that took the first frame after a break of 70. Lu took the next two only for Mann too dominate the fourth frame and level at 2-2. Lu finished with a touch of class though, winning the next two frames with runs of 60 and 55 to clinch a 4-2 victory and a new two year tour card.
That all means there is just one event to go, starting on Sunday morning and concluding with four more tour card winners on Thursday. In recent years there had only been two events and the last four tour cards were awarded via the Order of Merit and it is interesting to note that, if this was the case again this year, Dechawat Poomjaeng, Adam Duffy, David Lilley and Luke Simmonds would have been awarded tour cards. It will now be interesting to see if any of these four can kick on and earn their places in this final event.
There are plenty of other capable players that remain though and I have picked out one from each tour card section to keep an eye on in this third and final event.
Shane Castle is my pick for the top section. He has reached rounds three and four in the first two events but he has looked good and seems to be scoring pretty well so he may be one who could kick on and force his way on to the tour. Of the eight tour cards that have been awarded so far, six have gone to players that only dropped off tour at the end of the 2017/2018 season, and all eight have gone to players that have been on tour at some stage. That goes against someone like Castle getting on tour as a rookie, but it would be nice to see a couple of rookies come through and offer some balance to things. Castle is as talented as any of the potential rookies and looking at the draw, he is one to watch over the next few days.
In section two I am opting for Michael Judge who has fallen short in the first two events. Most recently in event two, Judge stormed through to the fifth round before narrowly missing out against Poomjaeng. To reach the penultimate round he'd comfortably beaten ex-pro Sydney Wilson, and Hu Hao who lost in the final round of event one. Judge also saw off Mitchell Mann in the first event before losing to Kishan Hirani who has looked good over the course of the first two events. The 42-year-old Irishman certainly has the experience and looks to be in good form based on his results over the last couple of weeks, so he has as good a chance as any of earning a tour card.
James Cahill is once more my selection in section three, as I keep faith with the ex-tour pro. Cahill has reached the final day in both of the first two events, before losing in the fifth round to Jordan Brown and Jamie Cope respectively. After dropping off the tour at the end of the 2016/2017 season, Cahill reached the final round in Q School event two last year and if he keeps knocking on the door, eventually he is going to show his true strength and burst through to make his tour return. In my opinion, Cahill is someone who has not yet shown his full potential and has plenty of time on his side if he can regain his tour status soon, as he is as good as many players already on the tour. After his near misses, his time could well come in this third and final event.
In section four I have gone slightly more outside of the form book from the two events to pick out Ashley Carty. After an early exit in event one, Carty came through three rounds in event two before eventually losing to David Lilley 4-2 in the fourth round there. Looking slightly deeper at Carty's matches though, he had breaks of 131 and 91 in that losing cause against Lilley as well as runs of 85 and 80 in his two earlier matches in event two. I outlined the quality that Carty has previously shown in my earlier Q School preview and looking at the draw I think he has a good chance in this event to get close to making it on to the tour.
It's also worth keeping an eye on Kishan Hirani in this third and final event. Hirani reached the fourth round of event one and lost out in the penultimate round of event two to Adam Duffy. This time around he has benefited from a first round bye because of Jordan Brown winning his tour card, while according to World Snooker Live Scores he has also received a second round walkover due to the withdrawal of Nutcharut Wongharuthai, which sees him straight through to round three. Having already shown some good form, giving him this two round head start is a big boost to his chances of getting the job done in the next week.
There's plenty of experience and quality going for tour cards besides the players I have already mentioned. Dechawat Poomjaeng is hoping that it will be third time lucky for him after losing in the final round of both events so far. Adam Duffy is looking to get straight back on tour and has come close too losing in the penultimate round of event one before losing in the final round of event two to Steadman. Andy Hicks lost out in event one 4-3 to eventual tour card winner Sam Craigie in the early rounds, before losing in the fifth round of event two to another eventual tour card winner in Jordan Brown, so it has taken some quality performances to see off Hicks so far.
David Grace was the highest ranked player not to stay on the tour at the end of the 2017/2018 season but has failed to get further than round four in either of the two events thus far. Meanwhile, Mitchell Mann is the second highest ranked player from the end of the 2017/2018 to have not yet earned his professional playing rights for next season. Don't forget David Lilley, who has had a couple of near misses losing in the fifth round of both events, first to Sam Craigie and then to Mann.
With the final event upon us it is very much a case of do or die for the players who as well as tour cards are battling for the right to play on the Challenge Tour if they fail to get on the main tour. The top 64 on the Q School Order of Merit at the end of event three (excluding those players that win tour cards) will be invited to play on the Challenge Tour, and the first of ten events on that tour begins in Burton running from June 2nd to June 3rd.
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