# 2016–17 snooker season

The 2016–17 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 5 May 2016 and 1 May 2017.
The number of ranking events was increased in 2016/17, with a target of 20 ranking events for 2017/18. According to the World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn, total prize money for the World Snooker Tour in 2016/17 hit £10 million for the first time ever. The trophy for the Masters was renamed the Paul Hunter trophy in perpetuity, in memory of the three-time Masters champion who died in 2006.
The Snooker Shoot Out became a ranking event for the first time. The Australian Goldfields Open was cancelled.
The Players Championship featured the top-16 players on the one year ranking list, as the Players Tour Championship has been cancelled and no order of merit was issued.
The new Home Nations Series was introduced in this season with the English Open, Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open tournaments. The winner of all four tournaments could earn a massive £1 million bonus prize.
Mark Selby won five ranking events during the season with Anthony McGill and Judd Trump each winning twice. Trump appeared in five ranking event finals during the season.

## Players

The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2016 World Championship, and the 30 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season (Vinnie Calabrese has resigned his membership). The top eight players from the European Tour Order of Merit and top two players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, who have not already qualified for the Main Tour, also qualify. Another two players come from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further twelve places were available through the Q School. The rest of the places on to the tour come from the amateur events and national governing body nominations. Yan Bingtao's two-year tour card will commence this season. Also, since Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry have both retired from professional play, only James Wattana was offered an Invitational Tour Card. The list of all professional players in the 2016/2017 season includes 129 players.

### New professional players

All players listed below received a tour card for two seasons.

## Calendar

The following tables outline the dates and results of all events of the World Snooker Tour, World Women's Snooker, the World Seniors Tour, and other events.

### World Snooker Tour

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 22 Jun | 24 Jun | Riga Masters | Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 5‍–‍2 | Michael Holt (ENG) |
| 5 Jul | 9 Jul | Indian Open | HICC Novotel Hotel in Hyderabad, India | Anthony McGill (SCO) | 5‍–‍2 | Kyren Wilson (ENG) |
| 25 Jul | 31 Jul | World Open | Yushan No.1 Middle School in Yushan, China | Ali Carter (ENG) | 10‍–‍8 | Joe Perry (ENG) |
| 24 Aug | 28 Aug | Paul Hunter Classic | Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany | Mark Selby (ENG) | 4‍–‍2 | Tom Ford (ENG) |
| 5 Sep | 10 Sep | Six-red World Championship† | Bangkok Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 8‍–‍7 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) |
| 19 Sep | 25 Sep | Shanghai Masters | Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai, China | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 10‍–‍6 | Mark Selby (ENG) |
| 3 Oct | 9 Oct | European Masters | Globus Circus in Bucharest, Romania | Judd Trump (ENG) | 9‍–‍8 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| 10 Oct | 16 Oct | English Open | EventCity in Manchester, England | Liang Wenbo (CHN) | 9‍–‍6 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 23 Oct | 30 Oct | International Championship | Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre in Daqing, China | Mark Selby (ENG) | 10‍–‍1 | Ding Junhui (CHN) |
| 1 Nov | 5 Nov | China Championship† | Guangzhou Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China | John Higgins (SCO) | 10‍–‍7 | Stuart Bingham (ENG) |
| 7 Nov | 12 Nov | Champion of Champions† | Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England | John Higgins (SCO) | 10‍–‍7 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| 14 Nov | 20 Nov | Northern Ireland Open | Titanic Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland | Mark King (ENG) | 9‍–‍8 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) |
| 22 Nov | 4 Dec | UK Championship | Barbican Centre in York, England | Mark Selby (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| 12 Dec | 18 Dec | Scottish Open | Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland | Marco Fu (HKG) | 9‍–‍4 | John Higgins (SCO) |
| 15 Jan | 22 Jan | Masters† | Alexandra Palace in London, England | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Joe Perry (ENG) |
| 1 Feb | 5 Feb | German Masters | Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany | Anthony Hamilton (ENG) | 9‍–‍6 | Ali Carter (ENG) |
| 6 Feb | 12 Feb | World Grand Prix | Preston Guild Hall in Preston, England | Barry Hawkins (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Ryan Day (WAL) |
| 13 Feb | 19 Feb | Welsh Open | Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 9‍–‍8 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 23 Feb | 26 Feb | Shoot Out | Watford Colosseum in Watford, England | Anthony McGill (SCO) | 1‍–‍0 | Xiao Guodong (CHN) |
| 2 Jan | 2 Mar | Championship League† | Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England | John Higgins (SCO) | 3‍–‍0 | Ryan Day (WAL) |
| 3 Mar | 5 Mar | Gibraltar Open | Tercentenary Sports Hall, Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar, Gibraltar | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 4‍–‍2 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 6 Mar | 12 Mar | Players Championship | Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales | Judd Trump (ENG) | 10‍–‍8 | Marco Fu (HKG) |
| 27 Mar | 2 Apr | China Open | Beijing University Students' Gymnasium in Beijing, China | Mark Selby (ENG) | 10‍–‍8 | Mark Williams (WAL) |
| 15 Apr | 1 May | World Championship | Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England | Mark Selby (ENG) | 18‍–‍15 | John Higgins (SCO) |
* Ranking event
* † Non-ranking event

### World Ladies Billiards and Snooker

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 25 Aug | 28 Aug | Paul Hunter Ladies Classic | Ballroom in Nuremberg, Germany | Ng On-Yee (HKG) | 4‍–‍1 | Reanne Evans (ENG) |
| 7 Oct | 8 Oct | UK Ladies Championship | Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) | 5‍–‍1 | Tatjana Vasiljeva (LAT) |
| 14 Jan | 15 Jan | Eden Women's Masters | Cueball Derby in Derby, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) | 4‍–‍0 | So Man Yan (HKG) |
| 18 Feb | 18 Feb | Connie Gough Trophy | Dunstable Snooker Club in Dunstable, England | Maria Catalano (ENG) | 4‍–‍2 | Rebecca Kenna (ENG) |
| 13 Mar | 19 Mar | World Women's Championship | Lagoon Billiard Room in Toa Payoh, Singapore | Ng On-Yee (HKG) | 6‍–‍5 | Vidya Pillai (IND) |
| 7 Apr | 7 Apr | World Women's 6-Red Championship | Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England | Ng On-Yee (HKG) | 4‍–‍3 | Emma Bonney (ENG) |
| 10 Apr | 10 Apr | World Women's 10-Red Championship | Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England | Ng On-Yee (HKG) | 4‍–‍2 | Laura Evans (WAL) |

### Seniors events

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
| 22 Mar | 24 Mar | World Seniors Championship | Baths Hall in Scunthorpe, England | Peter Lines (ENG) | 4‍–‍0 | John Parrott (ENG) | |

### Other events

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 5 May | 8 May | Vienna Open | 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club in Vienna, Austria | Peter Ebdon (ENG) | 5‍–‍1 | Mark Davis (ENG) |
| 8 Jun | 12 Jun | Pink Ribbon | South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester, England | Jamie Jones (WAL) | 4‍–‍3 | David Grace (ENG) |
| 17 Oct | 21 Oct | Haining Open | Haining Sports Center in Haining, China | Matthew Selt (ENG) | 5‍–‍3 | Li Hang (CHN) |
| 19 Dec | 23 Dec | Singapore Open | Lagoon Billiard in Toa Payoh, Singapore | Boonyarit Keattikun (THA) | 5‍–‍4 | Noppon Saengkham (THA) |
| 27 Jan | 29 Jan | Italian Open | Sala Torre in Bolzano, Italy | Martin O'Donnell (ENG) | 3‍–‍2 | Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) |

## Points distribution

2016/2017 points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking events:
| Tournament/Round→ | R144 | R128 | R96 | R80 | R64 | R48 | R32 | R16 | QF | SF | F | W |
| Riga Masters | – | 0 | – | – | 525 | – | 1,050 | 2,250 | 4,500 | 11,250 | 18,750 | 37,500 |
| Indian Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,000 | – | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 13,500 | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| World Open | – | 0 | – | – | 4,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 40,000 | 90,000 |
| Paul Hunter Classic | – | 0 | – | – | 525 | – | 900 | 1,725 | 3,000 | 4,500 | 9,000 | 18,750 |
| Shanghai Masters | – | 0 | 500 | – | 2,000 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 19,500 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| European Masters | – | 0 | – | – | 1,312 | – | 2,625 | 4,500 | 8,250 | 13,125 | 26,250 | 56,250 |
| English Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,500 | – | 3,500 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| International Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 4,000 | – | 7,000 | 12,000 | 17,500 | 30,000 | 65,000 | 125,000 |
| Northern Ireland Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,500 | – | 3,500 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| UK Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 5,000 | – | 10,000 | 15,000 | 22,500 | 35,000 | 75,000 | 170,000 |
| Scottish Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,500 | – | 3,500 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| German Masters | – | 0 | – | – | 1,500 | – | 3,000 | 3,750 | 7,500 | 15,000 | 26,250 | 60,000 |
| World Grand Prix | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5,000 | 7,500 | 12,500 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 100,000 |
| Welsh Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,500 | – | 3,500 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| Shoot Out | – | 0 | – | – | 500 | – | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 32,000 |
| Gibraltar Open | – | 0 | – | – | 525 | – | 900 | 1,725 | 3,000 | 4,500 | 9,000 | 18,750 |
| Players Championship | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,000 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 | 125,000 |
| China Open | – | 0 | – | – | 4,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| World Championship | 0 | – | – | 8,000 | – | 12,000 | 16,000 | 25,000 | 37,500 | 75,000 | 160,000 | 375,000 |