Jamie Clarke made it two victories on the bounce on the Q Tour as he triumphed in Event 5 at the weekend, strengthening his position in the race for main tour cards.
The Welshman beat Stuart Carrington 4-2 in the final at the Bulgarian Snooker Academy in Sofia, compiling breaks of 83, 75, and 52.
Carrington had won the opening frame and was later tied at 2-2, but Clarke pinched an important fifth frame from 62 behind before duly sealing his success in the next.
Earlier in the tournament, the 31 year-old from Llanelli thumped fellow former professional Andrew Higginson in the last 32.
Comprehensive victories over Nicolas Mortreux and Alfie Davies took him through to the semi-finals where he was pushed the distance before overcoming Alfie Burden in a deciding frame.
Beating Carrington in the final makes it back-to-back glories for Clarke, who also prevailed in Q Tour Event 4 last month at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.
After his seven-year stint as a professional player ended in May through failing to hold onto his top-64 ranking, Clarke opted against entering Q School.
Instead, the former World Championship qualifier decided to take some time away from intense competition to focus on the development of his club and academy.
That respite seems to have done him the world of good, because he now ranks on top of the Q Tour rankings for the ongoing 2025/26 snooker season.
The number one player at the end of the campaign on the European swing of the feeder circuit will be awarded with a two-year card onto the main tour.
Clarke boasts a lead of more than 4,000 points to Peter Lines in second, with just two events left in Belgium and England early next year.
When the seventh event concludes, those ranked from 2nd to 17th will be invited to a Play Off tournament – which will also feature champions from the Global Q Tour – to determine the destination of three additional main tour cards.
Q Tour Event 6 takes place in Mons from February 12th to 15th.
Q Tour Event 2
Selected Results
Last 16
Peter Lines 4-3 Mykhailo Larkov
Stuart Carrington 4-3 George Pragnell
Oliver Sykes 4-2 Brian Ochoiski
Simon Blackwell 4-1 Ryan Thomerson
Jamie Clarke 4-1 Nicolas Mortreux
Alfie Davies 4-3 Craig Steadman
Mark Joyce 4-3 Ryan Davies
Alfie Burden 4-2 Hammad Miah
Quarter-Finals
Stuart Carrington 4-1 Peter Lines
Oliver Sykes 4-0 Simon Blackwell
Jamie Clarke 4-0 Alfie Davies
Alfie Burden 4-3 Mark Joyce
Semi-Finals
Stuart Carrington 4-2 Oliver Sykes
Jamie Clarke 4-3 Alfie Burden
Final
Jamie Clarke 4-2 Stuart Carrington
Rankings (Dec 8th)
1. Jamie Clarke – 28,540
2. Peter Lines – 24,160
3. Hammad Miah – 22,200
4. Stuart Carrington – 18,690
5. Oliver Sykes – 18,340
6. Simon Blackwell – 18,230
7. Craig Steadman – 15,230
8. Mark Joyce – 13,790
9. Patrick Whelan – 13,720
10. George Pragnell – 13,130
11. Alfie Davies – 12,835
12. Alfie Burden – 12,410
13. Ryan Thomerson – 11,085
14. Mykhailo Larkov – 10,155
15. Barry Pinches – 9,910
16. Sean O’Sullivan – 9,840
17. Peter Devlin – 9,400
The full rankings list is available at snooker.org.
Featured photo credit: WST
