Four players have booked their places on the professional snooker tour after the first UK Q School event this year, with one graduate ending a lengthy wait to join the big league.
With 128 places available on the pro circuit, eight are decided each year in UK Q School, with another four on offer at the Asia and Oceania Q School.
Anyone can pay their £960 to play in Leicester, meaning there are club players and former ranking event winners scrapping to keep their snooker dreams alive in a behind-closed-doors dogfight.
There are two UK events, with the first concluding on Monday and one new professional emerging from the battle at the Mattioli Arena.
33-year-old Phil O’Kane beat Jamie O’Neill 4-1 in the final round, meaning he has come through Q School at the 14th attempt, having first entered as a teenager in 2011.
He has been close to fulfilling his goal of turning pro a number of times and has finally got it done with five good wins in Leicester, the second of which a 4-3 victory over Zachary Richardson after losing the first three frames.
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Speaking to Metro ahead of this year’s Q School, which he called ‘the worst tournament in the world,’ O’Kane said: ‘I think it’s unrealistic to say now I want to be world champion because that’s every kid’s dream and there’s only a certain few that do it. It’s just one goal at a time. Get on the main tour, get in the 64 and then just see where it goes from there.
‘People around you don’t really understand, people are like, “why are you still chasing? What are you doing?”
‘You’ve got to tell yourself you’re still young enough in the game of snooker and you’ve got to trust your own ability. If you don’t do it, who else will?’
The other three graduates have all been on tour before, with Liam Davies and Cheung Ka Wai both bouncing straight back after dropping off at the end of the season.
19-year-old Davies showed promising signs during his first two years on tour but ultimately fell short of saving his card.
He impressed in Leicester, though, winning three deciders on the spin before a 4-0 victory over Patrick Whelan and a 4-2 win over Dean Young on Monday, including a 134 total clearance.
Hong Kong’s Cheung also first turned pro in 2024 and the 27-year-old gets another crack at the main tour after a 4-1 win over Jack Bedford in the final round.
Sean O’Sullivan is the other graduate from the first event, earning a fourth stint on the pro circuit thanks to a 4-2 win over Josh Thomond.
The Storm has been to the last 16 of a ranking event before and made a 147 on tour, now the 32-year-old will be hoping to push on to more success over the next two years.
The second UK event begins tomorrow, with the final four graduates decided on Sunday and anyone falling short consigned to the amateur ranks for the next year.
The Asia and Oceania Q School has already produced its four graduates, with two newcomers from China in Liu Yang (22) and Deng Haohui (23).
Compatriot Huang Jiahao bounced straight back onto tour after dropping off this year, while Thailand’s Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon returns after a 10 year absence from the professional game.
The 32-year-old emerged as a great talent when he first turned pro in 2010 but dropped off tour in 2016 and was later banned for match-fixing between 2013-15, admitting that he fixed the outcome of six matches.
That ban expired last year and he is now back on tour, still young enough to make an impact.