Q School concluded on Saturday as eight more players earned two-year professional cards to compete on the Main Tour.
Paul Davison put the disappointment of losing in the final round of Q School Event One behind him to seal an immediate return to the circuit.
The Englishman, who knocked out three-time Irish champion TJ Dowling in the penultimate round, was already assured of his place through the Q School Rankings list but advanced in style, with a 4-2 victory over James Cahill leaving no doubt as to where his status lies.
In fact, the majority of the competitors who graduated in Preston were indeed players securing a quick return to the Main Tour having failed to break into the world’s top 64 at the end of the last campaign.
Duane Jones and Sanderson Lam recorded 4-2 triumphs over Alex Davies and Joe Swail respectively.
Veteran Swail managed to do enough to squeeze into the top of four of the Q School Rankings list at the last moment, thus also earning his invite back onto the tour.
Sean O’Sullivan, Zhang Yong, and Martin O’Donnell were the other three cueists who received a second chance at plying their trade professionally.
O’Donnell edged out teenage Welsh talent Jackson Page in the Q School Rankings by the narrowest of margins, ensuring the young star will have to prolong his wait to make his seemingly inevitable move up onto the next level.
Finally, China’s Chen Zifan was the only amateur to emerge from Q School Event Two as he romped to an automatic spot.
In his last four rounds, Chen lost only a single frame to nervelessly earn a professional card for the first time in his career.
The eight players join Q School Event One graduates Allan Taylor, Lukas Kleckers, Ashley Hugill, and Billy Joe Castle.
Attention will now turn to the start of the 2017/18 season which gets under way in less than a fortnight with the Riga Masters qualifiers back at the Guild Hall.
It’s not unusual to see some of the Q School graduates perform well in the early events as they are generally match sharp following their gruelling pre-season test.
There’ll be further build up to the new campaign in the coming days.
