Lukas Kleckers Earns Main Tour Return

Lukas Kleckers will be competing as a professional again next season after sealing an automatic Main Tour ticket via the 2019/20 Challenge Tour.

Following the completion of the tenth and final tournament on the second-tier tour, Ashley Hugill finished top of the order of merit.

The Englishman was the only player to triumph more than once this term, and he accumulated £6,700 in prize money to top the standings.

However, as Hugill has already guaranteed his Main Tour return thanks to his success in the WSF Open in January, the place will go to the player ranked second on the list.

Germany’s Kleckers finished the campaign strongly – winning event seven and reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last two competitions at the weekend – to move past the long-term leader Andrew Pagett.

The 23 year-old previously competed on the Main Tour between 2017 and 2019, reaching the last 32 of a ranking event five times.

Kleckers was ultimately unable to leave much of a mark on his debut stint, but his immediate revival suggests that he has significantly more to offer.

There’s one remaining place on the professional circuit up for grabs, with the next eight ranked players on the Challenge Tour set for a winner-takes-all play-off – currently scheduled for the end of this month.

Pagett, who had led for much of the campaign before his form tailed off in the last couple of months, is joined by fellow former pros Adam Duffy, Allan Taylor, and Rory McLeod.

Dean Young, Oliver Brown, Patrick Whelan, and Ka Wai Cheung are the other competitors hoping to get promoted via this avenue.

The World Snooker Tour would provide these players with the opportunity to make a living from the game, with more than 20 tournaments and in excess of £15 million in prize money available.

Click here to view the Challenge Tour rankings.

Featured Photo: WST