# Q Tour

The Q Tour, officially the WPBSA Q Tour, is a second-tier series of snooker tournaments immediately below the level of the World Snooker Tour, consisting of amateur and ex-professional players to compete for qualifying places to the main tour. It is organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
The tour originally ran from the 1994–95 season as professional non-ranking events. Due to the large numbers of players on tour at that time, the new WPBSA Minor Tour was formed so players lower down the rankings had tournaments to play in. Being subsequently rebranded the UK Tour and then the Challenge Tour, The WPBSA operated the three-level circuit until the end of the 2002–03 season when it split with the amateur governing body English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB) and professional players were no longer eligible to enter through the third-tier International Open Series (PIOS). The Challenge Tour was axed upon completion of the 2004–05 season.
It was revived for the 2018–19 season and being rebranded as the Q Tour for the 2021–22 season.

## History

The concept of a secondary professional tour was first experimented with in the 1994–95 season in the form of the WPBSA Minor Tour to provide competition for lower ranked professionals, but only ran for a season. Due to over-subscription of the World Snooker Tour, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted from the 1997–98 season resulting in the Main Tour and the UK Tour. The Main Tour had an exclusive membership, whereas initially the whole professional membership could compete on the UK Tour and the best performers could earn promotion. From the 1999–2000 season, entry was limited to players not competing on the Main Tour, and from the 2001–02 season the UK Tour itself had an exclusive membership. From the 2000–01 season it was rebranded the Challenge Tour.
In its first season there were five events, but the number was reduced to four in the following seasons. There were two official maximum breaks at the UK Tour, both in the 1998–99 season; the first was made by Stuart Bingham against Barry Hawkins in Event 3, and the second by Nick Dyson against Adrian Gunnell in Event 4.
The Pro Challenge Series was introduced for the 2009–10 season, all tour players being eligible to play. Only four of the planned seven events were played before the series was axed due to low player participation. The following season, 2010–11, saw the Pro Challenge Series replaced by the Players Tour Championship, a series of minor-ranking tournaments that were open to the entire professional membership with an amateur leg, effectively making it an open tour. They also counted towards the rankings for professionals on the Main Tour, and any player who finished in the top 8 of the PTC Order of Merit was guaranteed a tour card for the following season.
The Challenge Tour was revived in the 2018–19 season, consisting of ten events each played over one or two days, with prize money offered and a maximum field of 72 players (top 64 of the Q School Order of Merit, plus eight wildcards). The top two players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit received a tour card for the following season. From the 2020–21 season, the Challenge Tour was rebranded as the Q Tour.

## Event finals

| Season | Event | Winner | Runner-up | Final score | Venue |
| WPBSA Minor Tour (professional non-ranking) |||||||
| 1994–95 | Event 1 | Jamie Woodman | Matt Wilson | 6–2 | Antwerp |
| 1994–95 | Event 2 | Noppadon Noppachorn | Sammy Chong | 8–6 | Khon Kaen |
| 1994–95 | Event 3 | John Lardner | Eddie Manning | 5–2 | Munich |
| 1994–95 | Event 4 | Colin Morton | Matthew Couch | 6–5 | Helsinki |
| 1994–95 | Event 5 | David Roe | Tony Drago | 6–3 | Marsaskala |
| 1994–95 | Event 6 | Drew Henry | Mark Williams | 6–5 | Beijing |
| UK Tour (professional non-ranking) |||||||
| 1997–98 | Event 1 | Paul McPhillips | Michael Holt | 6–5 | Aldershot |
| 1997–98 | Event 2 | Mark Fenton | Antony Bolsover | 6–4 | Stockport |
| 1997–98 | Event 3 | Simon Bedford | Robert Milkins | 6–4 | Swindon |
| 1997–98 | Event 4 | Patrick Wallace | Shaun Murphy | 6–4 | Stirling |
| 1997–98 | Event 5 | Paul Sweeny | Hugh Abernethy | 6–5 | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| 1998–99 | Event 1 | Alfie Burden | Anthony Davies | 6–5 | Stockport |
| 1998–99 | Event 2 | Joe Swail | Alfie Burden | 6–1 | Swindon |
| 1998–99 | Event 3 | Stuart Bingham | Matthew Couch | 6–1 | Swindon |
| 1998–99 | Event 4 | James Reynolds | Jason Ferguson | 6–4 | Stockport |
| 1999–2000 | Event 1 | Matt Wilson | Barry Hawkins | 6–4 | Oldham |
| 1999–2000 | Event 2 | Andrew Higginson | Scott MacKenzie | 6–3 | Swindon |
| 1999–2000 | Event 3 | Simon Bedford | Barry Hawkins | 6–5 | Stockport |
| 1999–2000 | Event 4 | Barry Hawkins | Craig Butler | 6–1 | Swindon |
| Challenge Tour (professional non-ranking) |||||||
| 2000–01 | Event 1 | Adrian Rosa | Surinder Gill | 6–4 | Swindon |
| 2000–01 | Event 2 | Andrew Norman | Luke Fisher | 6–3 | Harrogate |
| 2000–01 | Event 3 | Shaun Murphy | Andrew Norman | 6–3 | Swindon |
| 2000–01 | Event 4 | Shaun Murphy | Luke Simmonds | 6–2 | Harrogate |
| 2001–02 | Event 1 | James Reynolds | Steve Judd | 6–5 | Harrogate |
| 2001–02 | Event 2 | Leo Fernandez | Ryan Day | 6–3 | Swindon |
| 2001–02 | Event 3 | Lee Spick | Joe Delaney | 6–3 | Harrogate |
| 2001–02 | Event 4 | David Gilbert | Ryan Day | 6–3 | Swindon |
| 2002–03 | Event 1 | Chris Melling | Tom Ford | 6–2 | Mansfield |
| 2002–03 | Event 2 | Adrian Rosa | Stuart Mann | 6–5 | Swindon |
| 2002–03 | Event 3 | Michael Rhodes | Luke Simmonds | 6–5 | Swindon |
| 2002–03 | Event 4 | Kurt Maflin | James Leadbetter | 6–2 | Prestatyn |
| 2003–04 | Event 1 | Stefan Mazrocis | Paul Davison | 6–2 | Prestatyn |
| 2003–04 | Event 2 | Hugh Abernethy | Gary Wilson | 6–0 | Prestatyn |
| 2003–04 | Event 3 | Brian Salmon | Steve James | 6–1 | Prestatyn |
| 2003–04 | Event 4 | Gary Wilson | Jin Long | 6–4 | Prestatyn |
| 2004–05 | Event 1 | Jamie Cope | Chris Norbury | 6–2 | Prestatyn |
| 2004–05 | Event 2 | James Tatton | Matthew Barnes | 6–4 | Prestatyn |
| 2004–05 | Event 3 | James McBain | Mark Allen | 6–3 | Prestatyn |
| 2004–05 | Event 4 | Jamie Cope | Matthew Couch | 6–0 | Prestatyn |
| Challenge Tour (amateur) |||||||
| 2018–19 | Event 1 | Brandon Sargeant | Luke Simmonds | 3–1 | Burton upon Trent |
| 2018–19 | Event 2 | David Grace | Mitchell Mann | 3–0 | Preston |
| 2018–19 | Event 3 | Barry Pinches | Jackson Page | 3–2 | Riga |
| 2018–19 | Event 4 | Mitchell Mann | Dylan Emery | 3–0 | Fürth |
| 2018–19 | Event 5 | David Lilley | Brandon Sargeant | 3–1 | Derby |
| 2018–19 | Event 6 | David Grace | Ben Hancorn | 3–0 | Lommel |
| 2018–19 | Event 7 | Joel Walker | Jenson Kendrick | 3–0 | Barnsley |
| 2018–19 | Event 8 | Simon Bedford | David Lilley | 3–1 | Budapest |
| 2018–19 | Event 9 | Adam Duffy | Matthew Glasby | 3–1 | Sheffield |
| 2018–19 | Event 10 | George Pragnell | Callum Lloyd | 3–2 | Gloucester |
| 2019–20 | Event 1 | Ka Wai Cheung | Oliver Brown | 3–1 | Nuremberg |
| 2019–20 | Event 2 | Jake Nicholson | Andrew Pagett | 3–1 | Newbury |
| 2019–20 | Event 3 | Andrew Pagett | Robbie McGuigan | 3–0 | Leeds |
| 2019–20 | Event 4 | Ashley Hugill | Aaron Hill | 3–1 | Bruges |
| 2019–20 | Event 5 | Allan Taylor | Michael Collumb | 3–1 | Leicester |
| 2019–20 | Event 6 | Oliver Brown | Ashley Hugill | 3–1 | Budapest |
| 2019–20 | Event 7 | Dean Young | Andrew Pagett | 3–1 | Pelt |
| 2019–20 | Event 8 | Lukas Kleckers | Tyler Rees | 3–1 | Tamworth |
| 2019–20 | Event 9 | Ashley Hugill | Sydney Wilson | 3–1 | Llanelli |
| 2019–20 | Event 10 | Adam Duffy | Kuldesh Johal | 3–1 | Leicester |
| 2019–20 | Tour Playoff | Allan Taylor | Adam Duffy | 4–0 | Sheffield |
| Q Tour (amateur) |||||||
| 2021–22 | Event 1 | David Lilley | Si Jiahui | 5–1 | Brighton |
| 2021–22 | Event 2 | Si Jiahui | Michael White | 5–4 | Llanelli |
| 2021–22 | Event 3 | Sean O'Sullivan | Julien Leclercq | 5–2 | Leicester |
| 2021–22 | Event 4 | Robbie McGuigan | Michael Collumb | 5–3 | Leeds |
| 2021–22 | Playoff | Julien Leclercq | Alex Clenshaw | 5–2 | Darlington |
| 2022–23 | Event 1 | Ross Muir | George Pragnell | 5–2 | North Shields |
| 2022–23 | Event 2 | Martin O'Donnell | George Pragnell | 5–1 | Brighton |
| 2022–23 | Event 3 | Farakh Ajaib | Harvey Chandler | 5–3 | Mons |
| 2022–23 | Event 4 | Billy Castle | Andrew Higginson | 5–4 | Stockholm |
| 2022–23 | Event 5 | Daniel Wells | Sydney Wilson | 5–2 | Walsall |
| 2022–23 | Event 6 | Martin O'Donnell | Ross Muir | 5–1 | Leeds |
| 2022–23 | Playoff | Ashley Carty | Florian Nüßle | 5–2 | Darlington |
| 2023–24 | Event 1 | Liam Davies | Craig Steadman | 5–2 | North Shields |
| 2023–24 | Event 2 | Michael Holt | Liam Davies | 5–2 | Stockholm |
| 2023–24 | Event 3 | Umut Dikme | Hamim Hussain | 5–1 | Heilbronn |
| 2023–24 | Event 4 | Antoni Kowalski | Rory McLeod | 5–3 | Great Wyrley |
| 2023–24 | Event 5 | Michael Holt | Daniel Womersley | 5–1 | Brighton |
| 2023–24 | Event 6 | Michael Holt | Alfie Davies | 5–4 | Sofia |
| 2023–24 | Event 7 | Peter Lines | Umut Dikme | 5–1 | Leeds |
| 2023–24 | Playoff 1 | Duane Jones | Liam Davies | 10–9 | Sarajevo |
| 2023–24 | Playoff 2 | Amir Sarkhosh | Iulian Boiko | 10–8 | Sarajevo |
| 2023–24 | Playoff 3 | Mohamed Shehab | Yu Kiu Chang | 10–8 | Sarajevo |

## Order of Merit winners

| Season | Winner |
| UK Tour (professional non-ranking) ||
| 1997–98 | Paul McPhillips |
| 1998–99 | Alfie Burden |
| 1999–2000 | Barry Hawkins |
| Challenge Tour (professional non-ranking) ||
| 2000–01 | Shaun Murphy |
| 2001–02 | Ryan Day |
| 2002–03 | Martin Gould |
| 2003–04 | Brian Salmon |
| 2004–05 | Jamie Cope |
| Challenge Tour (amateur) ||
| 2018–19 | Brandon Sargeant |
| 2019–20 | Ashley Hugill |
| Q Tour (amateur) ||
| 2021–22 | Si Jiahui |
| 2022–23 | Martin O'Donnell |
| 2023–24 | Michael Holt |
| 2024–25 | Zhao Xintong |