The 2025/26 snooker season commences later this month, but who are the rookie players who will be cueing up for the first time this term?
The preliminary phases of the Wuhan Open and the British Open will take place at the Mattioli Arena from June 22nd to 28th, with the same venue in Leicester staging Championship League Snooker soon after.
There will be plenty of new faces on display when the action for the new campaign finally gets under way.
Among the 129 spots on the World Snooker Tour this term, 13 represent players who will be participating as professionals for the first time.
That figure could rise to 14 depending on the outcome of the African Snooker Championship, which will be held in Morocco at the end of June.
Either way, it will fall just shy of the 15 rookie players who made their debuts on the main tour during the 2024/25 snooker season.
Several of those – including Bai Yulu, Gong Chenzhi, Antoni Kowalski, and Bulcsu Revesz – orchestrated some impressed results.
Here is a brief overview of who will be hoping to make an immediate impression during the 2025/26 campaign and how they gained their professional statuses.
Leone Crowley
In recent times, the players emerging from the Republic of Ireland have generally hailed from Cork, and so it is the case again with 19 year-old talent Leone Crowley.
Already a prolific winner on the Irish junior circuit, Crowley triumphed at the WSF Junior Championship at the start of 2025 to earn a maiden two-year card.
Michal Szubarczyk
There is plenty of excitement and hubbub surrounding the emergence of Michal Szubarczyk, who will become snooker’s youngest ever professional player.
The 14 year-old went on a memorable run to the final of the EBSA European Amateur Championship, where he was pipped to glory by Liam Highfield.
As Highfield had already sealed his return to the main tour through the Q Tour, the lucrative ticket went to Poland’s Szubarczyk instead.
Mateusz Baranowski
Continuing the Polish theme, Mateusz Baranowski will make it three from the country on the main tour next season.
The 27 year-old, who has coached the likes of Szubarczyk in the past, emerged as one of seven rookie graduates from Q School.
Fergal Quinn
A former Northern Ireland Under-21 champion, Fergal Quinn was another player who came through the dreaded Q School competition.
Quinn, aged 25 and from the same town in County Tyrone that produced 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, beat Dean Young in the final round.
Connor Benzey
Somewhat strangely, although perhaps a sign of the times, Connor Benzey represents the only newcomer from England this term.
Like several others, Benzey boasts some main tour experience as a top-up player in the past, but he will be able to mix it with the best on a more regular basis from now on.
Chatchapong Nasa
All four players who gained promotion from the Asia and Oceania leg of Q School will be first-timers on the World Snooker Tour.
That includes Chatchapong Nasa, the 27 year-old taking the number of Thai pros on the circuit to five.
Liu Wenwei
The other three from the Q School event in Thailand were players from China.
Liu Wenwei, still only 21, joined Nasa from the first event where he beat the likes of Tian Pengfei and Manasawin Phetmalaikul.
Xu Yichen
One might be forgiven for thinking that any new Chinese player would contribute to the lowering of the average age on the tour.
But 38 year-old Xu Yichen sealed his debut in dramatic fashion by edging Babar Masih in a final-round thriller at Q School on the last black.
Zhao Hanyang
Zhao Hanyang didn’t let the disappointment of losing to Chatchapong Nasa in event one of Q School in Thailand affect him.
The 25 year-old counted Rory Thor among his victims as he stormed his way through event two and earn a maiden two-year card.
Florian Nuessle
Florian Nuessle (pictured) has long been threatening to make the step up from amateur to professional status.
The 23 year-old has been around for a long time, losing in finals of the European Under-18 and Under-21 Championships in addition to a painful loss at the Q Tour Playoffs in 2023.
But it was at the same playoff tournament that he earned his ticket this year, becoming the first professional player from Austria in the process.
Sahil Nayyar
For large periods of the 1980s and 1990s, it was common to see several Canadian players feature prominently near the top of the rankings.
Those heady days have long since gone, but Sahil Nayyar will hope to rekindle some of the Canadian magic after becoming the Americas champion.
Yao Pengcheng
Yao Pengcheng played Alan McManus as a wildcard at the 2015 Shanghai Masters, losing 5-2.
A decade later and the 28 year-old has earned his right to compete in events as a professional player after sealing one of two CBSA China Tour nominations.
Lan Yuhao
The other nomination went to Lan Yuhao, who lost in the final round of Q School Asia and Oceania a year ago.
Lan takes the number of Chinese snooker players on the main tour up to 28 – second only to the 43 who will represent England.
Featured photo credit: WST
