The 2026/27 snooker season is almost upon us, and a fresh crop of rookie players will be hoping to make an immediate impact on the World Snooker Tour.
While several established stars will once again dominate the headlines, there will also be plenty of intrigue surrounding the nine newcomers who have earned professional status for the first time.
That figure is down from the 13 rookie players who joined the circuit a year ago, but there are several compelling stories among the latest intake.
The class of 2026 includes the youngest newcomer this year in 17 year-old Mykhailo Larkov and the oldest-ever first-time professional in 59 year-old Paul Norris.
China continues to strengthen its presence in the sport with four of the nine newbies hailing from the country, while Thailand’s Panchaya Channoi arrives as the reigning women’s world champion.
Here is a brief overview of the rookie players who will be hoping to make their mark during the 2026/27 campaign and how they secured their places on the main tour.
Paul Norris
Paul Norris will make history this season as the oldest-ever player to turn professional for the first time.
The 59 year-old earned his place on the World Snooker Tour by winning the Asia-Pacific Championship, where he edged Vinnie Calabrese in a dramatic 6-5 final.
English by nationality but based in Australia for many years, Norris has long been involved in the amateur game while his partner Jessica Woods is also a familiar face on the World Women’s Snooker Tour.
Mykhailo (Michael) Larkov
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Mykhailo Larkov, the youngest rookie among this season’s intake.
The 17 year-old Ukrainian secured a two-year card by winning the WSF Junior Championship, beating Wang Xinbo in the final.
Larkov was also crowned the Ukrainian national amateur champion in 2024 and represents another encouraging sign of snooker’s continued growth in Eastern Europe.
Panchaya Channoi
Panchaya Channoi arrives on the professional circuit after enjoying a memorable campaign on the women’s tour.
The 18 year-old completed a prestigious double at the Women’s World Championship in May, capturing both the main title and the under-21 crown.
Channoi defeated Bai Yulu, Mink Nutcharut, and Reanne Evans to become Thailand’s third-ever women’s world champion and compiled a brace of century breaks in the title-deciding contest to underline her considerable talent.
Wang Xinbo
Among the most highly regarded prospects in this year’s rookie class is Wang Xinbo.
The Chinese teenager earned a professional card after finishing at the summit of the CBSA China Tour rankings and boasts plenty of pedigree on the back of winning two matches at the World Snooker Championship qualifying competition in April.
Wang also reached the finals of both the WSF Junior Championship and the WSF Championship in 2026, losing to Mykhailo Larkov and Hammad Miah respectively.
In the upcoming China Open qualifiers, Wang is a 1/2 betting favourite in round one to beat Mark Joyce with bizbet giriş providing more odds for snooker and other sports online.
Oliver Sykes
Oliver Sykes secured his place on the main tour through the European amateur pathway.
The 20 year-old finished runner-up in the EBSA European Amateur Championship but received the nomination after champion Anton Kazakov had already earned promotion by winning the European Under-21 Championship.
Sykes has previously sampled professional competition as an amateur, reaching the second round of the Shoot Out in 2023.
Phil O’Kane
Phil O’Kane’s promotion to the professional ranks was warmly received by many within the snooker community.
The Englishman has spent several years battling through the amateur circuit and suffering a series of missed opportunities before finally breaking through this year.
O’Kane earned his two-year card at Q School, defeating Jamie O’Neill in the final qualifying round to realise a long-held ambition.
Deng Haohui
Deng Haohui enters the professional game after a successful year on the amateur circuit.
The 23 year-old gained promotion from Asia and Oceania Q School in Thailand, where he beat Amir Sarkhosh in the final qualifying round.
Deng also captured the Asian Snooker Championship title in 2026, overcoming India’s Pankaj Advani in the final.
Liu Yang
Another player to emerge from Asia and Oceania Q School was Liu Yang.
The 22 year-old defeated Chen Ruifu in the final qualifying round to secure his maiden professional tour card.
Relatively little is known about Liu compared to some of the other newcomers, but he will be hoping to make an immediate impression as one of four Chinese rookies on the tour this season.
Luo Zetao
The final rookie among this year’s intake is Luo Zetao, who earned the second nomination from the CBSA China Tour.
Luo came close to turning professional a year earlier when he reached the final qualifying round of Asia and Oceania Q School before falling short.
The 25 year-old has now secured his place on the World Snooker Tour and will look to make the most of his opportunity during the next two seasons.
When will the rookies first play?
The rookie players don’t have to wait much longer before getting their opportunities on the professional snooker circuit.
They are each set to feature in the qualifying rounds of both the China Open and the Wuhan Open, which will be staged from June 10th to 18th at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
It will represent the first chance for snooker fans to see the latest crop of rookies competing alongside the established stars of the World Snooker Tour as the 2026/27 season gets under way.
Featured photo credit: WST
As a 55yr old Paul Noble has given me hope lol
Good luck to him
Thanks for your article. I can add my thoughts.
I actually remember Paul Norris from my amateur days the 1990’s, when he was in Sussex! I think he intends to be based at the Castle Club in Brighton and give professional snooker a good try, but with no expectations. He beat Vinnie Calabrese in Albury, although perhaps Vinnie was not particularly interested in the tour card that was on offer. It’s a remarkable sequence of events that led to this bizarre opportunity!
Phil O’Kane is a strong amateur, with a really good set-up in Redhill (also Sussex) where he has his own table. He did really well in the EPBS series a couple of years ago, and improved a lot. However, he struggled on Q Tour. He’s a good all-round practical player, but of course it’s a big step-up to be playing professionals continually.
Mykhailo Larkov is definitely one to watch. He is a very talented player, who can score heavily enough to be dangerous. The real test will be his second season, but he’s still young enough, and improving at an impressive rate.
Oliver Sykes is someone who I have been watching for a few years, and I always expected him to be a fine professional, although maybe he could have qualified earlier. I watched him in the World Championship, where he got a 146 break in a 10-8 win against Lyu Haotian. He’s definitely ready.
I saw Panchaya Channoi in the two Women’s World Championships I attended in Dongguan. She pots a good ball, and can make 50+ breaks when she’s hitting well. She’ll need to be at her best to win frames at this level, and if she starts to feel any negativity, she could be in for a very tough time. I rate her about 400 in the world, which is far from the worst player on tour.
Deng Haohui is a very solid technical player from Guangdong – one of the academy kids coached by Li Jianbing. He was the top-rated junior in China for several years, and given plenty of opportunities, but always choked when trying to qualify for the tour. He’s 23 now, and has finally made it. He’ll do OK.
Liu Yang is a 22-year old from Sichuan, also an academy kid, but not one of the really highly-regarded ones. He’s a good practical player who competed well in the high-pressure Q School scenario. Like many Chinese players, he didn’t play at all during the Covid lockdown years, but has made steady progress since. It’s hard to assess his true potential, but he’ll probably win a few matches in the early rounds.
Wang Xinbo is a top prospect. On my ranking list he’s already close to top-64 in the world: that’s unprecedented for a tour rookie. Last month he won a CBSA event in Wuhan, beating Yuan Sijun, Ma Hailong, Lan Yuhao and Chang Bingyu. He won the final against Chang 5-0 with breaks of 79, 110, 122, 141 and 141! In the 2026 World Championship he had 10-4 wins over Mitch Mann and Iulian Boiko, before coming unstuck against Stuart Bingham. He’s steely determined and very ambitious, like a young Steve Davis. This player is a future World Champion.
Luo Zetao is a flamboyant potter from Hubei. He was taught by Fan Jinxing (coach of Si Jiahui) and had some very good results but was inconsistent. He got a tournament 147 at the age of 18. But he’s recently found form and had an excellent season on the CBSA tour, winning an event in Shanghai. He plays with style and a swagger. His adventures usually end up in spectacular triumph or catastrophic disaster – there is no middle way!
Wang Xinbo is my tip for Rookie of the Year honours.
Hello my friends. I also think Wang Xinbo is ripe for the step up. I just wanted to add that Wang Xinzhong aged 15, has for at least since aged 12, been placed op a pedestal to become a superstar as he has picked up multiple wild cards in which he beat Robbie Williams at age 14 during the 2025 International Championships 6 – 1 and also won over Yulu Bai 6 – 4 at the same tournament. He was playing so well that he just lost to the Magician 6 – 5 in the same tournament.
That said Wang Xinzhong was not good enough to qualify during the Asia Q school.
When he played Wang Xinbo he lost badly so perhaps the next new star might be Wand Xinbo.
Wang Xinzhong has beaten his elder brother a couple of times, but he’s still very inconsistent.
Prior to Wang Xinbo’s qualification, there haven’t been any Chinese players with any brothers at all, apart from Ju Reti who I think had 3 brothers (the one-child policy didn’t apply to Uyghur farmers). However Ju didn’t really compete on tour, only ever playing one match outside China. As a result, the two Wang brothers have attracted a lot of attention. The main thing for Wang Xinbo will be how he adapts to moving to the UK. But we know from many other players how important family can be.