Duane Jones, Amir Sarkhosh, and Mohammed Shehab prevailed in the Q Tour Global Playoffs this week in Sarajevo.
The trio came through the field of 24 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, landing coveted two-year cards to compete on the World Snooker Tour.
The Q Tour Global Playoffs were split into three brackets with eight competitors in each mini tournament.
It meant that three victories were required in order to seal a potentially lucrative ticket to the professional circuit.
A dramatic final day on Friday saw 55 out of a possible 57 frames played, as all three finals went down to the wire at the Hotel Hills.
Duane Jones, previously a pro from 2015 to 2023 and a former ranking event semi-finalist, won the last three frames to deny fellow Welshman Liam Davies in a deciding frame.
Earlier in the competition, the 30 year-old had thrashed Vito Puopolo 5-0 before a 6-3 defeat over Florian Nuessle helped him through to his final.
Jones led 6-3 after the first session against Davies, but the latter fought back and won six out of the next seven to seemingly ascertain control of the contest.
However, Jones dug deep to deny the up-and-coming 17 year-old at the very end.
Sarkhosh, meanwhile, withstood a spirited comeback from Iulian Boiko – eventually beating the Ukrainian 10-8.
Iran’s Sarkhosh led 9-5, scoring the highest break of any of the three finals with an excellent contribution of 125.
His opponent scrambled his way back and almost forced a decider, but Sarkhosh held on to clinch pro status for the first time in his career.
In the other final, UAE’s Shehab earned his long-awaited return to the main tour with a remarkable string of triumphs.
The 47 year-old previously competed as a professional in the 1996/97 and 2006/2007 seasons, and he’s now back to the elite level after an absence of almost 20 years.
Shehab hammered Daniel Womersley 5-0 in his first match but was then taken the distance by Umut Dikme, ultimately denying the German in a deciding frame.
Against Chang Yu Kiu in his final, the former Asian Indoor Games gold medalist won 10-8 following a mostly scrappy affair with the Hong Kong cueist.
“I feel brilliant,” Shehab said afterwards. “I came here prepared for a challenge – not only to secure the tour card, but to represent my country and the Middle East.”
“It is the first time we have had the Q Tour in the Middle East and the top two players have qualified. That’s a clear message that there are good players in the region.”
Jones, Sarkhosh, and Shehab will all gain cards to compete on the main tour during the upcoming 2024/25 and 2025/26 snooker seasons.
They will join Michael Holt, who was ranked number one on the Q Tour rankings and automatically gained his return to the pro scene without the need of the Global Playoffs.
Q Tour Global Playoffs
Tour Card 1
Quarter-Finals
Liam Davies 5-2 Peter Devlin
Rory McLeod 5-2 Hamim Hussain
Duane Jones 5-0 Vito Puopolo
Florian Nuessle 5-2 Craig Steadman
Semi-Finals
Liam Davies 6-1 Rory McLeod
Duane Jones 6-3 Florian Nuessle
Final
Duane Jones 10-9 Liam Davies
Tour Card 2
Quarter-Finals
Tyler Rees 5-3 Peter Lines
Iulian Boiko 5-1 Chris Totten
Steven Hallworth 5-2 Barry Pinches
Amir Sarkhosh 5-4 Harvey Chandler
Semi-Finals
Iulian Boiko 6-1 Tyler Rees
Amir Sarkhosh 6-2 Steven Hallworth
Final
Ami Sarkhosh 10-8 Iulian Boiko
Tour Card 3
Quarter-Finals
Umut Dikme 5-1 Ryan Davies
Mohammed Shehab 5-0 Daniel Womersley
Chang Yu Kiu 5-3 Alfie Davies
Antoni Kowalski 5-0 Hasanain Khalid Alsultani
Semi-Finals
Mohammed Shehab 6-5 Umut Dikme
Chang Yu Kiu 6-4 Antoni Kowalski
Final
Mohammed Shehab 10-8 Chang Yu Kiu
Featured photo credit: WPBSA
