2017–18 snooker season

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2017–18 snooker season
Snooker Main Tour 2017-18.png
Nations that hosted a World Snooker Tour event during the 2017/2018 season
Details
Duration4 May 2017 – 7 May 2018 (2017-05-04 – 2018-05-07)
Tournaments38[n 1] (20 ranking events)
Triple Crown winners
UK ChampionshipEngland Ronnie O'Sullivan
MastersNorthern Ireland Mark Allen
World ChampionshipWales Mark Williams

The 2017–18 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 4 May 2017 and 7 May 2018. The season began with the pro–am Vienna Snooker Open in May 2017 and ended with the 2018 World Snooker Championship in April the following year. Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a joint-record five ranking titles in the season. He joined Stephen Hendry (1990/1991), Ding Junhui (2013/2014), and Mark Selby (2016/2017) in winning five ranking titles in the same season.[1]

The China Championship became a ranking event and was brought forward to a mid-August date, ahead of the Paul Hunter Classic. The Shanghai Masters was initially withdrawn from the season calendar, but was later rescheduled for November 2017.[2] The biennial World Cup team event was played in July 2017. Another event not held every year returning in 2017 was the 2017 IWGA World Games. The Snooker Shoot Out was brought forward to the start of February, ahead of both the World Grand Prix and Welsh Open.[3]

A new World Seniors Tour was formed by Snooker Legends for players over 40 years of age, comprising four events, including the World Seniors Championship which has returned to Scunthorpe in 2018.[4]

The second edition of the Home Nations Series was being held in this season with the English Open, Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open tournaments. For a single winner of all four tournaments would earn a bonus of £1 million.[5]

Ronnie O'Sullivan won five ranking events during the season, with Mark Williams winning three times and Ryan Day, John Higgins and Mark Selby each winning twice. Shaun Murphy reached four ranking event finals during the season but lost them all.

Players[]

The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2017 World Championship, and the 31 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season (Rouzi Maimaiti has resigned his membership). Next, eight places were allocated to the top 8 on the One Year Ranking List who have not already qualified for the Main Tour. Another two players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further 12 places were available through the Q School (four Event 1 winners, four Event 2 winners, and four best-ranked players in the Order of Merit). The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body (NGB) nominations. Hamza Akbar received a tour card as a special dispensation in place of America's nomination.[6][7]

The list of all professional players in the 2017/2018 season consist of 131 players, including the standard field of the 128 players and three invitational tour cards (James Wattana has second year of a two-year invitational tour card while Jimmy White and Ken Doherty were awarded the new two-year permission).[6][7] Beginning from this season, players with invitational tour cards are eligible to compete in any ranking event.[8] These players are seeded after main tour professionals, but above amateur top ups taken from the Q School ranking list.[9]

New professional players[]

All players listed below received a tour card for two seasons.[6][7]

Calendar[]

The following tables outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.[18][19][20][21]

Date[n 2] Country Rank Tournament name Venue City Winner Runner-up Score Ref.
05-04 05-07  AUT P/A Vienna Open 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club Vienna England David Grace England Nigel Bond 5–2 [22]
05-24 05-27  BEL P/A Belgium Open Snooker Club Arena Ghent Belgium Bjorn Haneveer Belgium Ben Mertens 6–5 [23]
06-07 06-11  ENG P/A Pink Ribbon South West Snooker Academy Gloucester England Robert Milkins England Rob James 4–2 [24]
06-23 06-25  LAT WR Riga Masters Arena Riga Riga Wales Ryan Day Scotland Stephen Maguire 5–2 [25]
07-03 07-09  CHN TE World Cup Wuxi China China A England England 4–3 [26]
07-20 07-23  HKG NR Hong Kong Masters Queen Elizabeth Stadium Hong Kong Australia Neil Robertson England Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–3 [27]
07-28 07-29  CHN TE CVB Challenge Nanshan Culture & Sports Centre Shenzhen  Great Britain  China 26–9 [28]
07-26 07-30  POL P/A World Games Wrocław Congress Center Wrocław United Kingdom Kyren Wilson United Kingdom Ali Carter 3–1 [29]
08-16 08-22  CHN WR China Championship Guangzhou Sport University Guangzhou Belgium Luca Brecel England Shaun Murphy 10–5 [30]
08-22 08-27  GER WR Paul Hunter Classic Stadthalle Fürth Wales Michael White England Shaun Murphy 4–2 [31]
09-04 09-09  THA NR Six-red World Championship Bangkok Convention Center Bangkok Wales Mark Williams Thailand Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 8–2 [32]
09-12 09-16  IND WR Indian Open Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach Vishakhapatnam Scotland John Higgins Scotland Anthony McGill 5–1 [33]
09-19 09-21  TKM P/A Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Six-red Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat China Yan Bingtao Iran Soheil Vahedi 5–1 [34]
09-18 09-24  CHN WR World Open Yushan Number One Middle School Yushan China Ding Junhui England Kyren Wilson 10–3 [35]
09-22 09-24  TKM TE Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Team Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat  Iran  Qatar 3–0 [36]
09-24 09-26  TKM P/A Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Singles Billiard Sports Arena Ashgabat China Zhao Xintong Iran Hossein Vafaei 4–2 [37]
10-02 10-08  BEL WR European Masters De Soeverein Lommel England Judd Trump England Stuart Bingham 9–7 [38]
10-16 10-22  ENG WR English Open Barnsley Metrodome Barnsley England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Kyren Wilson 9–2 [39]
10-24 10-26  ENG WST UK Seniors Championship Harlequin Theatre Redhill England Jimmy White Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 4–2 [40]
10-23 10-27  CHN NR Haining Open Haining Sports Center Haining England Mark Selby England Tom Ford 5–1 [41]
10-29 11-05  CHN WR International Championship Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre Daqing England Mark Selby Northern Ireland Mark Allen 10–7 [42]
11-06 11-12  ENG NR Champion of Champions Ricoh Arena Coventry England Shaun Murphy England Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–8 [43]
11-13 11-18  CHN WR Shanghai Masters Shanghai Grand Stage Shanghai England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Judd Trump 10–3 [44]
11-20 11-26  NIR WR Northern Ireland Open Waterfront Hall Belfast Wales Mark Williams China Yan Bingtao 9–8 [45]
11-28 12-10  ENG WR UK Championship Barbican Centre York England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Shaun Murphy 10–5 [46]
12-11 12-17  SCO WR Scottish Open Emirates Arena Glasgow Australia Neil Robertson China Cao Yupeng 9–8 [47]
01-06 01-07  IRL WST Seniors Irish Masters Goffs Kill England Steve Davis England Johnathan Bagley 4–0 [48]
01-14 01-21  ENG NR Masters Alexandra Palace London Northern Ireland Mark Allen England Kyren Wilson 10–7 [49]
01-31 02-04  GER WR German Masters Tempodrom Berlin Wales Mark Williams Scotland Graeme Dott 9–1 [50]
02-08 02-11  ENG WR Shoot Out Watford Colosseum Watford Cyprus Michael Georgiou Scotland Graeme Dott 1–0 [51]
02-19 02-25  ENG WR World Grand Prix Preston Guild Hall Preston England Ronnie O'Sullivan China Ding Junhui 10–3 [52]
02-26 03-04  WAL WR Welsh Open Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Scotland John Higgins England Barry Hawkins 9–7 [53]
03-07 03-11  GIB WR Gibraltar Open Tercentenary Sports Hall, Victoria Stadium Gibraltar Wales Ryan Day China Cao Yupeng 4–0 [54]
03-14 03-18  ROU NR Romanian Masters Bucharest Metropolitan Circus Bucharest Wales Ryan Day England Stuart Bingham 10–8 [55]
03-21 03-24  ENG WST World Seniors Championship Baths Hall Scunthorpe Jersey Aaron Canavan Northern Ireland Patrick Wallace 4–3 [56]
03-19 03-25  WAL WR Players Championship Venue Cymru Llandudno England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Shaun Murphy 10–4 [57]
01-02 03-29  ENG NR Championship League Ricoh Arena Coventry Scotland John Higgins China Zhou Yuelong 3–2 [58]
04-02 04-08  CHN WR China Open Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium Beijing England Mark Selby England Barry Hawkins 11–3 [59]
04-12 04-12  ENG WST Seniors Masters Crucible Theatre Sheffield Canada Cliff Thorburn England Johnathan Bagley 2–1 [60]
04-21 05-07  ENG WR World Championship Crucible Theatre Sheffield Wales Mark Williams Scotland John Higgins 18–16
WR = World ranking event
NR = Non-ranking event
TE = Team event
P/A = Pro–am event
WST = World Seniors Tour[4]

Points distribution[]

2017/2018 points distribution for world ranking events:[61]

Round
Tournament
 R144 R128 R80 R64 R48 R32 R16 QF SF F W
Riga Masters — £0 — £1,000 — £2,000 £4,000 £6,000 £15,000 £25,000 £50,000
China Championship — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
Paul Hunter Classic — £0 — £600 — £1,000 £1,725 £3,000 £4,500 £10,000 £20,000
Indian Open — £0 — £2,000 — £4,000 £6,000 £10,000 £15,000 £25,000 £50,000
World Open — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
European Masters — £0 — £2,000 — £4,000 £6,000 £11,000 £17,500 £35,000 £75,000
English Open — £0 — £2,500 — £3,500 £6,000 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £70,000
International Championship — £0 — £4,000 — £8,500 £13,500 £21,500 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
Shanghai Masters — £0 — £4,000 — £7,000 £12,000 £18,000 £32,000 £75,000 £150,000
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 — £2,000 — £4,000 £5,000 £10,000 £20,000 £35,000 £80,000
Shoot Out — £0[n 3] — £500 — £1,000 £2,000 £4,000 £8,000 £16,000 £32,000
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
Gibraltar Open — £0 — £1,000 — £2,000 £3,000 £4,000 £6,000 £12,000 £25,000
Players Championship — — — — — — £10,000 £15,000 £30,000 £50,000 £125,000
China Open — £0 — £5,000 — £11,000 £18,000 £27,000 £45,000 £90,000 £225,000
World Championship £0 — £9,000 — £13,500 £18,000[n 4] £27,500 £42,500 £85,000 £180,000 £425,000

Notes[]

  1. ^ The three disciplines at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were part of the same tournament.
  2. ^ Dates use the month-day format
  3. ^ First round losers in the Shoot Out received £250 prize money which did not count towards the prize money rankings.
  4. ^ Players who lose their first match receive no ranking points.

References[]

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  2. ^ "Calendar 2017/2018". snooker.org. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The Big 2017/18 Season Preview – WPBSA". www.wpbsa.com.
  4. ^ a b "Stephen Hendry Fronts New World Seniors Tour – SnookerHQ". 1 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Preview: Home Nations English Open – SnookerHQ". 15 October 2017.
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  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Tour Players 2017/18 – WPBSA". www.wpbsa.com.
  8. ^ "Invitational Tour Card Holders – World Snooker". 21 June 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Q School Order of Merit (2017)". snooker.org. 2017-05-20.
  10. ^ "Players on the Main Tour". snooker.org. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  11. ^ "2017 EBSA Play-Offs". thecueview.com.
  12. ^ Årdalen, Hermund. "EBSA Play Off (2017) - snooker.org". www.snooker.org.
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  14. ^ a b "Lam Secures Immediate Tour Return – World Snooker". 20 May 2017.
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  19. ^ "Calendar" (PDF). www.worldsnooker.com.
  20. ^ "Calendar" (PDF). www.worldsnooker.com. 2017.
  21. ^ "Updated 2017/18 Calendar – World Snooker". 12 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Vienna Snooker Open 2017". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Haneveer Holds On To Take Title". Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Robert Milkins Captures Pink Ribbon Glory". 13 June 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
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  37. ^ "RESULTS: SNOOKER MEN Single – 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2017 :: Ashgabat – Turkmenistan". www.cuesportsindia.com.
  38. ^ "Judd Trump beats Stuart Bingham 9–7 to retain European Masters title". BBC Sport. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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  49. ^ "Masters 2018: Mark Allen beats Kyren Wilson 10–7 in final to take title". BBC Sport. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  50. ^ "Mark Williams: Welsh snooker player claims German Masters win". BBC Sport. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  51. ^ "Georgiou Wins Maiden Title In Dott Thriller". World Snooker. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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External links[]

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