Kishan Hirani was one of just two rookies to win tour cards at Qualifying School last month and now he is set to embark on a new journey - his first season as a professional snooker player.
Getting through Q School is no mean feat with over 190 players competing for the 12 tour cards on offer in 2018. Add to that the fact that many had just dropped off of the tour, or had been on tour at some stage in the past and the achievements of both Hirani and Ashley Carty, who was the other rookie to come through Q School, escalate massively.
For some new tour players it may take a while to get used to the tour and for others it may not have fully sunk in that they are now on the professional snooker circuit, but the response that the Welshman has had to his success helped it sink in early on.
"It took a few days for it to sink in fully, as soon as I put my phone on after the match I was constantly getting messages and calls which made it sink in a little bit straight away. I only intended to have a few days off before I played again, but I soon realised I needed a week off after the preparations for Q school and the tournament itself which takes it out of you", Hirani said.
The 26-year-old came through in the final event, meaning he went through a gruelling two and a half weeks of snooker to earn his professional status. His form was bubbling up nicely in the first two events as he reached the fourth of six possible rounds in the first event, before going a round further at the second attempt.
Getting through Q School is no mean feat with over 190 players competing for the 12 tour cards on offer in 2018. Add to that the fact that many had just dropped off of the tour, or had been on tour at some stage in the past and the achievements of both Hirani and Ashley Carty, who was the other rookie to come through Q School, escalate massively.
For some new tour players it may take a while to get used to the tour and for others it may not have fully sunk in that they are now on the professional snooker circuit, but the response that the Welshman has had to his success helped it sink in early on.
"It took a few days for it to sink in fully, as soon as I put my phone on after the match I was constantly getting messages and calls which made it sink in a little bit straight away. I only intended to have a few days off before I played again, but I soon realised I needed a week off after the preparations for Q school and the tournament itself which takes it out of you", Hirani said.
The 26-year-old came through in the final event, meaning he went through a gruelling two and a half weeks of snooker to earn his professional status. His form was bubbling up nicely in the first two events as he reached the fourth of six possible rounds in the first event, before going a round further at the second attempt.
"I felt good knowing I was playing well in the first two events, my game was in good shape but it was frustrating not being able to play well in the matches I lost, but thankfully I learnt from it and played better going into the later rounds of the final event".
The former Paul Hunter Classic qualifier was aided in the final event by walkovers in both of the first two rounds, but once he got to play in the final event, there was some quality opposition standing between him and a two-year professional tour card. In the third round he took out recently relegated pro Jamie Barrett, before defeating eventual winner of the first Challenge Tour event Brandon Sargeant in round four. On the final day he faced two more former professionals in the shape of Michael Judge and Simon Bedford to complete the task, and the extra bit of rest helped for Hirani's final push.
The former Paul Hunter Classic qualifier was aided in the final event by walkovers in both of the first two rounds, but once he got to play in the final event, there was some quality opposition standing between him and a two-year professional tour card. In the third round he took out recently relegated pro Jamie Barrett, before defeating eventual winner of the first Challenge Tour event Brandon Sargeant in round four. On the final day he faced two more former professionals in the shape of Michael Judge and Simon Bedford to complete the task, and the extra bit of rest helped for Hirani's final push.
"I would've got myself ready if I had to play the next day but It was nice to have a couple days off to go home and get ready mentally for the final event. The only downside to it was I felt cold coming back into the 3rd round so that could've tripped me up but thankfully it didn't".
Overcoming the quality of opponent that he has to get on the tour, the self-belief of Wales' latest tour professional should be high, knowing that he can beat players that have been good to be on the tour in the past, and in the shape of Sargeant - one's that are taking huge strides to earning their own pro status.
Overcoming the quality of opponent that he has to get on the tour, the self-belief of Wales' latest tour professional should be high, knowing that he can beat players that have been good to be on the tour in the past, and in the shape of Sargeant - one's that are taking huge strides to earning their own pro status.
"It's nice to beat the players I have especially when you're under pressure. With the ex pros and top amateurs you know you have to play well in all departments and they are more than capable of being on the tour so I know my game is there it's just up to me to keep working hard".
Work hard Hirani must, having drawn the calibre of opponent that he has in the first two tournament qualifiers coming up next week. In the Riga Masters qualifiers on Wednesday July 4 he takes on one of only 11 top 16 players that have entered the tournament in Anthony McGill, prior to facing world number five Judd Trump in World Open qualifying on Sunday July 8.
Work hard Hirani must, having drawn the calibre of opponent that he has in the first two tournament qualifiers coming up next week. In the Riga Masters qualifiers on Wednesday July 4 he takes on one of only 11 top 16 players that have entered the tournament in Anthony McGill, prior to facing world number five Judd Trump in World Open qualifying on Sunday July 8.
"Drawing two top 16 players to start off will be tough but I'm looking forward to them both and excited for the challenge".
As he looks to climb the rankings the new pro may wish for a few kinder draws in the future. With plenty of tournaments though come lots of chances to shine and many weeks to target for a big run.
As he looks to climb the rankings the new pro may wish for a few kinder draws in the future. With plenty of tournaments though come lots of chances to shine and many weeks to target for a big run.
"It's very important to get off to a good start especially being my first year on tour, I know winning can either make or break your confidence so all the events are just as important as each other to me".
What should give Hirani greater belief and make him more at home on the tour are his previous experiences around the circuit. Not only has he been a regular qualifier for the professional stages of the old European Tour events, he was very competitive against the pros he faced there (including his first pro opponent McGill who he took to a decider in Gibraltar in 2015), as well as being invited to compete in the 2016 World Championship qualifiers.
What should give Hirani greater belief and make him more at home on the tour are his previous experiences around the circuit. Not only has he been a regular qualifier for the professional stages of the old European Tour events, he was very competitive against the pros he faced there (including his first pro opponent McGill who he took to a decider in Gibraltar in 2015), as well as being invited to compete in the 2016 World Championship qualifiers.
"I think all of those experiences will help. I will feel comfortable especially in the qualifiers as it's the same setup I've played in for a while, the only lack of experience I've had is on the TV table as I've only played on there once, so hopefully when that happens again I'll be ready for it".
The old European Tour events were a great opportunity for amateurs to get regular game time and to test themselves against the top players if they were good enough to come through the amateur qualifiers. However, since the start of the 2016/2017 season when many of these events were removed from the calendar, opportunities for amateurs in recent years have decreased as Hirani details.
"I personally felt the PTC's were good for the amateur circuit, it gave us a chance to try and test ourselves against the pros but they were pricey, especially going to all 6 events abroad. I don't feel like there have been many opportunities for amateurs to be honest, after Q School for the last couple of years I've been putting my cue away for a couple of months as there's nothing at all to play in. Now the challenge tour is there it gives players a chance to play in more events and a chance to pick up some money, however I feel in the future the length of matches needs to be changed to at least best-of-7's".
The lack of amateur opportunity in the time between each annual edition of Q School may be one of the reasons why the relegated pros, with the advantage of match sharpness, have been earning their tour cards back so quickly. 7 out of 12 tour cards won this year were done so by players that had just fallen from the pro circuit and this did not come as a shock to Hirani.
"I wasn't surprised at all to be honest, I noticed all the players that came off the tour were so sharp whereas the amateurs haven't had many competitions to play in this year which makes a difference. Knowing Q School is the main route to get on tour, everyone is under pressure but I'd say more so for the pros falling off because they have experienced the tour life".
The old European Tour events were a great opportunity for amateurs to get regular game time and to test themselves against the top players if they were good enough to come through the amateur qualifiers. However, since the start of the 2016/2017 season when many of these events were removed from the calendar, opportunities for amateurs in recent years have decreased as Hirani details.
"I personally felt the PTC's were good for the amateur circuit, it gave us a chance to try and test ourselves against the pros but they were pricey, especially going to all 6 events abroad. I don't feel like there have been many opportunities for amateurs to be honest, after Q School for the last couple of years I've been putting my cue away for a couple of months as there's nothing at all to play in. Now the challenge tour is there it gives players a chance to play in more events and a chance to pick up some money, however I feel in the future the length of matches needs to be changed to at least best-of-7's".
The lack of amateur opportunity in the time between each annual edition of Q School may be one of the reasons why the relegated pros, with the advantage of match sharpness, have been earning their tour cards back so quickly. 7 out of 12 tour cards won this year were done so by players that had just fallen from the pro circuit and this did not come as a shock to Hirani.
"I wasn't surprised at all to be honest, I noticed all the players that came off the tour were so sharp whereas the amateurs haven't had many competitions to play in this year which makes a difference. Knowing Q School is the main route to get on tour, everyone is under pressure but I'd say more so for the pros falling off because they have experienced the tour life".
One thing that is sure to have a positive influence on the playing opportunities for non-tour players this year is the introduction of the Challenge Tour, with 10 events to run through the 2018/2019 season, starting earlier this month in Burton where Brandon Sargeant was victorious, but the new pro feels the format could be a bit too short to identify the best players.
"With it being a best of 5 format I can't really rule out anyone getting far in an event, I think the top two who get the main tour space will be in the balance until the last couple of events. I've got a few friends in there I hope to do well this year", Hirani concluded.
The Welshman will have plenty of people cheering him on this year as he embarks on his first season on the circuit, where he will be one of 12 Welsh players hoping to write their names into another chapter of the countries rich snooker history.
It all starts next week for Hirani with his first two tournament qualifiers, before another three tournament qualifiers in August as well as the Paul Hunter Classic. On behalf of Cue Action Blog I would like to wish Kishan well for all of those matches and the rest of his 2018/2019 campaign.
The Welshman will have plenty of people cheering him on this year as he embarks on his first season on the circuit, where he will be one of 12 Welsh players hoping to write their names into another chapter of the countries rich snooker history.
It all starts next week for Hirani with his first two tournament qualifiers, before another three tournament qualifiers in August as well as the Paul Hunter Classic. On behalf of Cue Action Blog I would like to wish Kishan well for all of those matches and the rest of his 2018/2019 campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment