qualifying criteria for next season shock!

[snoopy2608]

The WSA have just published their criteria for next season on their website.

There are NO places for top ranked players in England, Scotland, Wales, N Ireland and Rep of Ireland - instead there are extra spaces for China x2, Thailand, India, Oceania, Africa and Americas (Canada), Europe x2 - meaning a tour of 99 next season.

I have no issue with them increasing the global presence on the tour - but to drop the UK based NGB places and announce it 2 days before q school deadline sounds wrong.

Did the UK NGBs and UK players know this? as not many of the top ranked ones seem to have entered q school as yet.

[Blanchon147]

I have just seen it. It means that the winner of the EASB pro ticket event will not get a place on the main tour that does not make sense to me.

[Souwester]

The UK NGB's have not known for sure what was happening with places for next season. 11 months ago EASB was led to believe that the Main Tour would be increasing to at least 112 next season (2012-13), with a distinct possibility that they may once again have had two guaranteed places, rather than the one which it was cut to for this year. The longer the season has gone on though, the more likely it was that the guaranted places had gone, but nobody from WS would confirm the position. AFAIK none of the UK NGBs have actually been consulted about how the change of structure might affect them.

[LittleMissAlexa]

the game is so anglocentric that i think this is better for the game a good 80-90 percent of the tour are from the British Isles

[Gerry Armstrong]

the game is so anglocentric that i think this is better for the game a good 80-90 percent of the tour are from the British Isles

The decision should have been made and communicated to the UK NGB's LONG before now. The players now only have a couple of days to get the funds together for Q School or a whole year will be lost.

[JIMO96]

I agree that WSA tend to announce these things at very short notice, but with 12 Q-school places (held in the UK), 2 European title places (the best players are from the UK) and more than half a dozen PTC events in the UK to earn points in......sorry but the "W" in WSA has to apply sometimes. The UK players have more than enough opportunities to join a tour already bursting at the seams with UK players.

[Gerry Armstrong]

I agree that WSA tend to announce these things at very short notice, but with 12 Q-school places (held in the UK), 2 European title places (the best players are from the UK) and more than half a dozen PTC events in the UK to earn points in......sorry but the "W" in WSA has to apply sometimes. The UK players have more than enough opportunities to join a tour already bursting at the seams with UK players.

I agree 100% with the decision and your comments, the UK players do have more than enough opportunities to get on the Tour and it's easier for UK players than for players from anywhere else in the world to get their MT ticket. But the timing of the announcement sucks!!

Players should know what they're playing for at the start of a season, not be left hanging till the very end of the season.

[Souwester]

The decision should have been made and communicated to the UK NGB's LONG before now. The players now only have a couple of days to get the funds together for Q School or a whole year will be lost.

They can still try to do it the cheaper way in England! The EASB's 3rd stage of their Q-School events (whereby a number of qualifiers will have their £1000 WS Q-School entry fee paid) are still being taken up until noon on Friday, with the events taking place in Leeds and Woking on 31st March (and possibly spilling over to 1st April). Entry is just £80, and each player can enter up to 4 times (at £80 a go).

[Souwester]

I have to say that some things haven't changed under the new regime with WS. They still have a mind of their own and do their own thing regardless of anyone else. They have often been slow in committing themselves and even when they do they've had a habit of reneging on promises.

[JanieWatkins]

The UK NGB's have not known for sure what was happening with places for next season. 11 months ago EASB was led to believe that the Main Tour would be increasing to at least 112 next season (2012-13), with a distinct possibility that they may once again have had two guaranteed places, rather than the one which it was cut to for this year. The longer the season has gone on though, the more likely it was that the guaranted places had gone, but nobody from WS would confirm the position. AFAIK none of the UK NGBs have actually been consulted about how the change of structure might affect them.

All of the NGBs or a representative of them, had meetings with WPBSA during the UK Championships in York. WS discussed some, but maybe not all, of their new plans and visions for the sport.
But having spoken to every NGB in the past three weeks, it seems none of them were clear as to whether they were getting MT places for 2012 or 1 or 2 free entries to Q School.

[JanieWatkins]

I agree that WSA tend to announce these things at very short notice, but with 12 Q-school places (held in the UK), 2 European title places (the best players are from the UK) and more than half a dozen PTC events in the UK to earn points in......sorry but the "W" in WSA has to apply sometimes. The UK players have more than enough opportunities to join a tour already bursting at the seams with UK players.

I don't think the two additional European places will be filled by UK players.
I'm not 100% sure but I'd guess that the two extra Euro places will come from an EPTC ranking list for Europe, similar to that list being used this season to get the wildcards for German Masters.
There are actually 4 PTCs in the UK next season, all at South West Snooker Academy.
WS have said, in a separate release that the Q School ranking list - ie those ranked 13 and lower, will be used to get wildcards for MT events should they not have a full entry.
In terms of UK NGB players finding £100 in a couple of days, as I understand it the MT places have been replaced by Q School places, so presumably those at No 1 in their rankings, like Duane Jones, James McBain, Rodney Goggins etc would get a free entry to Q School.
Having said that all these players had paid considerable entry fees, travel costs, hotels etc to compete to get to No. 1 and now they're going to have to find another raft of money to pay for a long stay in Sheffield for Q School, so they are going to be financially disadvantaged.

[JIMO96]

I was meaning THIS season Janie.....7 PTCs held in the UK. Plus I was referring to the Euro Champion and the Euro U21 champion (not the EBSA nominations), one of whom is Scottish and the other undecided. It's bad luck on the guys who've been aiming for a place via their NGB's all season, but do the UK players have any grounds for complaint compared to the overseas guys?

[JanieWatkins]

I was meaning THIS season Janie.....7 PTCs held in the UK. Plus I was referring to the Euro Champion and the Euro U21 champion (not the EBSA nominations), one of whom is Scottish and the other undecided. It's bad luck on the guys who've been aiming for a place via their NGB's all season, but do the UK players have any grounds for complaint compared to the overseas guys?

sorry. I didn't read it properly. Yes Michael Leslie is the European under 21 nomination of course. Whoever wins the European Championship will miss the first couple of qualifiers because WS qualifiers start 4 June and we start Euro champs in Latvia on - er 4 June!!

[JIMO96]

sorry. I didn't read it properly. Yes Michael Leslie is the European under 21 nomination of course. Whoever wins the European Championship will miss the first couple of qualifiers because WS qualifiers start 4 June and we start Euro champs in Latvia on - er 4 June!!

Lol that's a typical WSA own goal. They should really make a special case in these circumstances and hold back the one section of the draw that the Euro champ gets drawn into, and play it out after the Euros.

[bigbreak]

With regard to the additional 2 Europe places, apparently it's up to the EBSA to decide and inform World Snooker Ltd.