# 2014–15 snooker season

The 2014–15 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 8 May 2014 and 4 May 2015. The Riga Open was the first professional snooker tournament held in Latvia. The season also saw the first professional tournament in Portugal as the Lisbon Open took place.
In November, it was announced that the World Open would not be held this season after the contract with the promoter was not renewed and a new venue was not found in time. But the intention was to bring the event back for the next season.
The structure of the World Championship was changed. The top 16 seeds still qualified automatically for the first round at the Crucible, but all non-seeded players had to start in the first of three qualifying rounds. The overall championship was increased from 128 to 144 players, with the additional places made available to former world champions and players from emerging countries.

## New professional players

Countries:
* Australia
* China
* England
* Iran
* Malaysia
* Malta
* Scotland
* Thailand
* Wales
The 2014/2015 season was made up of 128 professional players. The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2014 World Championship, and the 33 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season. The top eight players from the European Tour Order of Merit and top four players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, who had not already qualified for the Main Tour, also qualified. Another three players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further eight places were available through the 2014 Q School. The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body nominations. All players listed below, except Hossein Vafaei received a tour card for two seasons.

## Calendar

The following table outlines the results and dates for all the World Snooker Tour, World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association, seniors and other events.

### World Snooker Tour

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 17 Jun | 21 Jun | Asian Tour – Event 1‡ | Yixing Sports Centre in Yixing, China | Ding Junhui (CHN) | 4‍–‍2 | Michael Holt (ENG) |
| 23 Jun | 29 Jun | Wuxi Classic | Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi, China | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 10‍–‍9 | Joe Perry (ENG) |
| 30 Jun | 6 Jul | Australian Goldfields Open | Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia | Judd Trump (ENG) | 9‍–‍5 | Neil Robertson (AUS) |
| 7 Aug | 10 Aug | European Tour – Event 1‡ | Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia | Mark Selby (ENG) | 4‍–‍3 | Mark Allen (NIR) |
| 20 Aug | 24 Aug | European Tour – Event 2‡ | Stadthalle in Fürth, Germany | Mark Allen (NIR) | 4‍–‍2 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 1 Sep | 6 Sep | Six-red World Championship† | Montien Riverside Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand | Stephen Maguire (SCO) | 8‍–‍7 | Ricky Walden (ENG) |
| 8 Sep | 14 Sep | Shanghai Masters | Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai, China | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 10‍–‍3 | Mark Allen (NIR) |
| 1 Oct | 5 Oct | European Tour – Event 3‡ | Universiada Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 4‍–‍2 | Martin Gould (ENG) |
| 20 Oct | 24 Oct | Asian Tour – Event 2‡ | Haining Sports Center in Haining, China | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 4‍–‍0 | Oliver Lines (ENG) |
| 26 Oct | 2 Nov | International Championship | Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, China | Ricky Walden (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Mark Allen (NIR) |
| 3 Nov | 9 Nov | Champion of Champions† | Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 19 Nov | 23 Nov | European Tour – Event 4‡ | RWE-Sporthalle in Mülheim, Germany | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 4‍–‍0 | Robert Milkins (ENG) |
| 25 Nov | 7 Dec | UK Championship | Barbican Centre in York, England | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 10‍–‍9 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| 11 Dec | 14 Dec | European Tour – Event 5‡ | Casal Vistoso Sports Centre in Lisbon, Portugal | Stephen Maguire (SCO) | 4‍–‍2 | Matthew Selt (ENG) |
| 11 Jan | 18 Jan | Masters† | Alexandra Palace in London, England | Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 10‍–‍2 | Neil Robertson (AUS) |
| 20 Jan | 24 Jan | Asian Tour – Event 3‡ | Xuzhou Olympic Center in Xuzhou, China | Joe Perry (ENG) | 4‍–‍1 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) |
| 4 Feb | 8 Feb | German Masters | Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany | Mark Selby (ENG) | 9‍–‍7 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |
| 5 Jan | 12 Feb | Championship League† | Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, England | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 3‍–‍2 | Mark Davis (ENG) |
| 16 Feb | 22 Feb | Welsh Open | Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales | John Higgins (SCO) | 9‍–‍3 | Ben Woollaston (ENG) |
| 25 Feb | 1 Mar | European Tour – Event 6‡ | Gdynia Sports Arena in Gdynia, Poland | Neil Robertson (AUS) | 4‍–‍0 | Mark Williams (WAL) |
| 4 Mar | 6 Mar | Shoot Out† | Circus Arena in Blackpool, England | Michael White (WAL) | 1‍–‍0 | Xiao Guodong (CHN) |
| 10 Mar | 14 Mar | Indian Open | Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, India | Michael White (WAL) | 5‍–‍0 | Ricky Walden (ENG) |
| 16 Mar | 22 Mar | World Grand Prix† | Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales | Judd Trump (ENG) | 10‍–‍7 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| 24 Mar | 28 Mar | Players Tour Championship Finals | Montien Riverside Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand | Joe Perry (ENG) | 4‍–‍3 | Mark Williams (WAL) |
| 30 Mar | 5 Apr | China Open | Beijing University Students' Gymnasium in Beijing, China | Mark Selby (ENG) | 10‍–‍2 | Gary Wilson (ENG) |
| 18 Apr | 4 May | World Championship | Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England | Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 18‍–‍15 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |
* Ranking event
* ‡ Minor-ranking event
* † Non-ranking event

### World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 4 Oct | 5 Oct | Eden Classic | Cueball Derby in Derby, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) | 5‍–‍3 | Maria Catalano (ENG) |
| 31 Jan | 1 Feb | Eden Masters | Crucible Sports Club in Newbury, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) | 5‍–‍1 | Ng On-Yee (HKG) |
| 28 Mar | 28 Mar | Connie Gough Trophy | Dunstable Snooker Club in Dunstable, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) | 4‍–‍1 | Jasmine Bolsover (ENG) |
| 18 Apr | 21 Apr | World Ladies Championship | Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England | Ng On-Yee (HKG) | 6‍–‍2 | Emma Bonney (ENG) |

### Seniors events

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
| 2 Mar | 3 Mar | World Seniors Championship | Circus Arena in Blackpool, England | Mark Williams (WAL) | 2‍–‍1 | Fergal O'Brien (IRL) | |

### Other events

| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 8 May | 11 May | Vienna Open | 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club in Vienna, Austria | Mark King (ENG) | 5‍–‍2 | Nigel Bond (ENG) |
| 4 Jun | 8 Jun | Pink Ribbon | The Capital Venue in Gloucester, England | Peter Lines (ENG) | 4‍–‍1 | Lee Walker (WAL) |
| 12 Oct | 18 Oct | General Cup | General Snooker Club in Hong Kong, China | Ali Carter (ENG) | 7‍–‍6 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |

## Points distribution

2014/2015 points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking and minor-ranking events:
| Tournament\Round→ | R144 | R128 | R96 | R80 | R64 | R48 | R32 | R16 | QF | SF | F | W |
| Asian Tour events | – | 0 | – | – | 200 | – | 600 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Wuxi Classic | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| Australian Goldfields Open | – | 0 | 83 | – | 417 | 889 | 5,000 | 6,667 | 9,444 | 11,111 | 17,778 | 41,677 |
| European Tour events | – | 0 | – | – | 583 | – | 1,000 | 1,917 | 3,333 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,883 |
| Shanghai Masters | – | 0 | 400 | – | 1,750 | 2,500 | 6,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 19,500 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| International Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 7,000 | 12,000 | 17,500 | 30,000 | 65,000 | 125,000 |
| UK Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 9,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 | 150,000 |
| German Masters | – | 0 | – | – | 1,250 | – | 2,500 | 4,167 | 8,333 | 16,667 | 29,167 | 66,667 |
| Welsh Open | – | 0 | – | – | 1,500 | – | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 |
| Indian Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,000 | – | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 13,500 | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Players Championship Grand Finals | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,000 | 7,000 | 12,500 | 20,000 | 38,000 | 100,000 |
| China Open | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| World Championship | 0 | – | – | 6,000 | – | 9,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 125,000 | 300,000 |