It’s quite a busy month ahead with several snooker tournaments to keep an eye on throughout the month of February.
After Chris Wakelin’s triumph in the Snooker Shoot Out on Saturday, the outcome of three more ranking titles will be determined in the second month of 2023.
German Masters
Feb 1-5
The snooker action in February commences with a return to the Tempodrom in Berlin for the annual staging of the German Masters.
The Tempodrom is widely considered among the best venues to visit on the calendar, but this season’s German Masters has taken a number of hits.
Only six members from the top 16 in the world rankings survived the qualifiers, and two of those have since been suspended amid an ongoing match-fixing investigation.
That includes both of last year’s finalists – Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao – while Li Hang and Zhao Jianbo also miss out through suspension.
Top-ups or replacements aren’t an option given the tournament has already technically started with the two preliminary rounds back in November.
There are only 28 players heading to Germany then, among them Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, Jack Lisowski, and Luca Brecel.
Welsh Open
Feb 13-19
The third longest-running snooker ranking event, the Welsh Open is back in February and heading to the Venue Cymru for the first time.
Following Germany, it will represent the last counting competition on the BetVictor Series, whereby the highest-earner from the eight total tournaments will receive a jackpot worth £150,000.
Some of the Welsh Open first-round ties have already taken place too, although those involving the higher seeds have been held over to the television stages.
Joe Perry is the reigning champion having collected the Ray Reardon Trophy a year ago at the expense of Judd Trump.
Results in the Welsh Open will also be important in terms of the qualification for the Players Championship a week later.
Players Championship
Feb 20-26
Featuring the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list, the Players Championship is the second of three events on the Duelbits Series.
Mark Allen was crowned the champion of the first, with the Northern Irishman outlasting Trump in an entertaining World Grand Prix title decider in January.
Allen and several others like Ryan Day, Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui, and Mark Selby have guaranteed their spots in the lucrative ranking event in Wolverhampton.
But the lineup is far from complete, and there are several heavy hitters who are provisionally below the cut-off point as things stand.
That group includes world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and defending Players Championship winner Neil Robertson.
Championship League Snooker
Feb 7-10; 27-28
Meanwhile, the invitational version of the Championship League also continues in February.
The three remaining groups will take place, from which the respective table-toppers will join Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Kyren Wilson, and Judd Trump in the Winners’ Group, which takes place in the first couple of days of March.
The Championship League doesn’t carry ranking points and is held behind closed doors, but emerging victoriously will provide an avenue to qualify for next term’s Champion of Champions.
Asia-Pacific Women’s Championship
Jan 31 – Feb 3
The latest ranking event on the World Women’s Snooker schedule gets under way on the last day of January.
But the champion of the Asia-Pacific Women’s Championship will be crowned on the first day of February in Sydney, Australia.
Mink Nutcharut will look to make it a hat-trick of consecutive victories following her glories in the Eden Women’s Masters and the Belgian Women’s Open.
Hong Kong former world champion Ng On Yee is the other heavy hitter in the draw.
WSF Championship
Feb 4-11
Elsewhere, the World Snooker Federation Championship will take place in Australia.
Not only will there be a prestigious international title on the line, but there will also be a ticket onto the professional main tour for the winner.
The WSF Junior Championship is additionally being played between January 31st and February 3rd.
Featured photo credit: WST
