A run to the quarter-finals at Q Tour Event 7 proved to be more than sufficient for Jamie Clarke to end the regular season on the amateur circuit ranked number one.
As a result, the Welshman will earn a two-year card to compete on the professional World Snooker Tour for the upcoming 2026/27 and 2027/28 snooker seasons.
Clarke, who already led the standings, knew heading into the final tournament of the campaign in Walsall that his main tour destiny was in his own hands.
With all his closest rivals exiting by the round-of-16 stage, Clarke was guaranteed to end the Q Tour season as the number one – leaving his 4-1 defeat to Nattanapong Chaikul in the last eight largely redundant.
The 31 year-old, who reached the second round of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in 2020 before dropping off the main tour last year, won both Q Tour Event 4 and Event 5.
Those victories helped him to amass enough ranking points that ultimately proved to be insurmountable for the chasing pack.
“I’m relieved to be honest,” Jamie Clarke told the WPBSA. “I’ve found the Q Tour a really pleasant experience this year, but I’m pleased to get the job done sooner rather than later.”
“Playing in the World Championship, UK Championship, and all the big tournaments is brilliant, but you’re already on a bit of prize money and ranking points so you can be a bit more relaxed.
“As strange as it sounds, at tournaments such as Q Tour or Q School it feels like ‘all or nothing’ and so in a way the pressure is even higher.
“I’ve got two years on the [pro] tour now and I’ve got a new outlook on the sport.
“I have my own academy now in Llanelli where I help out some of the youngsters, as well as having my own practice facility now.
“So I think I will have a totally different approach this time around. I’ll just enjoy it, try my best, and see how it goes.”
Ashley Hugill ended up winning Q Tour Event 7, overcoming Thailand’s Chaikul in the semi-finals before beating Alfie Davies 4-2 in the final.
The triumph earned Hugill £6,000 but crucially kept alive hopes of his own return to the main tour after a spell back in the amateur ranks.
The Q Tour provides four tickets to the main tour in total, so there are another three still up for grabs in a play-off tournament that will be held later in March.
That event will feature 24 players – 16 from the regular Q Tour rankings and an additional eight from the Global Q Tour series of events held in various areas around the world like the Middle East, the Americas, and Oceania.
The final lineup has not yet been confirmed but will likely include the likes of Hugill, Peter Lines, Stuart Carrington, Ashley Carty, and Barry Pinches.
Hammad Miah finished the European Q Tour season in second position but won’t have to go to the play-off tournament having already secured a tour card through his success at the WSF Championship.
Alfie Burden, meanwhile, has qualified for the play-offs and could participate, although the Snooker Shoot Out champion might not feel like he has to as, unless something strange happens at the World Championship, he’s effectively guaranteed a fresh pro card already through the one-year rankings from the main tour.
Andrew Higginson was the first player to miss out on a spot in the play-offs so will be hoping there’s still a chance that he could receive a call-up.
The Q Tour Global Play Offs will take place from March 15th to 17th in Granada.
Final 2025/26 Q Tour Rankings
1. Jamie Clarke
———————————–
2. Hammad Miah (WSF Championship winner)
3. Peter Lines
4. Oliver Sykes
5. Craig Steadman
6. Stuart Carrington
7. Ashley Hugill
8. Ashley Carty
9. Simon Blackwell
10. Alfie Davies
11. George Pragnell
12. Patrick Whelan
13. Mark Joyce
14. Ryan Thomerson
15. Luke Pinches
16. Barry Pinches
17. Alex Millington
18. Alfie Burden
Featured photo credit: WST
