Four players have emerged from the Asia and Oceania leg of Q School with two-year cards to compete on the World Snooker Tour.
A hectic couple of weeks of action in Bangkok saw two tournaments take place at the Kiatthada Billiards Snooker Club.
Dozens of hopefuls from the Asia and Oceania regions started out with aspirations of graduating to the main tour for the upcoming 2025/26 and 2026/27 campaigns.
The four winners will now have an opportunity to compete for millions of pounds worth of prize money, earnings that most snooker fans can only dream of pocketing at sites like https://crystalrollcasino.net/ where free spins and sign-up bonuses are readily available.
Who qualified from Q School Asia & Oceania Event 1?
Chatchapong Nasa and Liu Wenwei were the last players standing from the first event, with each prevailing against Chinese opposition in the final round.
Nasa, a 27 year-old from Thailand, actually defeated Chinese opposition in his last four rounds – recording a 4-0 victory over Liu Linhao to safeguard his promotion.
“I was very nervous at the start because this match meant so much to me,” Chatchapong Nasa said, as quoted by the World Snooker Tour.
“I have entered Q School for four years – the first time in the UK – but I didn’t succeed. This is my third time trying in Thailand.”
“I have been training six to eight hours every day for this event. After I won four matches in the earlier rounds, I told myself ‘this is it. I must qualify this year.’
“I’m so relieved to get through in the first event and not have to start all over again tomorrow.
“I want to thank the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand for providing this opportunity for Thai and Asian players to earn tour cards without having to travel to the UK.
“I also want to express my sincere gratitude to S1 and all my sponsors who have supported me throughout.”
Liu, 21, had a much more testing time of it in his concluding fixture but managed to prevail against countryman Luo Zetao with a 4-3 scoreline.
Perhaps inspired by the success of compatriot Zhao Xintong at the recent World Championship, six out of last eight in event one were from China.
Q School Asia & Oceania 1
Selected Results
Last 16
Liu Linhao 4-2 Chhay Suon
Xing Zihao 4-3 Xu Jianhao
Zhao Hanyang 4-0 Chaiyasap Kitjaroenchai
Chatchapong Nasa 4-1 Feng Yu
Liu Wenwei 4-2 Chen Qi’en
Nattanapong Chaikul 4-1 Mohsin Amin
Peng Yisong 4-1 Deng Jinhong
Luo Zetao 4-1 Zhou Jinhao
Last 8
Liu Linhao 4-0 Xing Zihao
Chatchapong Nasa 4-2 Zhao Hanyang
Liu Wenwei 4-3 Nattanapong Chaikul
Luo Zetao 4-2 Peng Yisong
Finals
Chatchapong Nasa 4-0 Liu Linhao
Liu Wenwei 4-3 Luo Zetao
Who qualified from Q School Asia & Oceania Event 2?
There was a similar theme in event 2 with both spots going to players who have never been members of the main tour before.
The likes of former professionals Tian Pengfei, Rory Thor, Pankaj Advani, and Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon exited in the fray in the earlier rounds.
The two final matches pitted China’s Xu Yichen (pictured) and Zhao Hanyang against Babar Masih of Pakistan and Narongdat Takantong of Thailand respectively.
The Chinese pair duly prevailed with Xu’s progression particularly dramatic – overcoming Masih on the final black in the deciding frame.
There are eight more tickets to the World Snooker Tour up for grabs via the Q School being currently held in Leicester, England.
Q School Asia & Oceania 2
Selected Results
Last 16
Pankaj Advani 4-1 Luo Zetao
Babar Masih 4-3 Peng Yisong
Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 4-0 Deng Jinhong
Xu Yichen 4-3 Soheil Vahedi
Siyavosh Mozayani 4-2 Digvijay Kadian
Narongdat Takantong 4-3 Liu Linhao
Zhao Hanyang 4-1 Chhay Suon
Rory Thor 4-2 Ma Hailong
Last 8
Babar Masih 4-1 Pankaj Advani
Xu Yichen 4-3 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
Narongdat Takantong 4-2 Siyavosh Mozayani
Zhao Hanyang 4-3 Rory Thor
Finals
Xu Yichen 4-3 Babar Masih
Zhao Hanyang 4-1 Narongdat Takantong
Featured image credit: WST
