Electric Eight Capture Main Tour Cards – Q School 2015

Eights players, including former professionals Daniel Wells and Paul Davison, have gained World Snooker main tour cards for the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons by battling through the two Q School events in Burton.

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Q School Event One – 14-19 May 2015

2011 European Champion Daniel Wells, Englishman Sydney Wilson and Scottish newcomers Eden Sharav and Rhys Clark were the first four to gain main tour cards at Q School Event One after a week's intensive play at the Meadowside Leisure Centre, Burton.

Welshman Wells was on the tour between 2008-2010 and produced a fine run to the final round of qualifying for the 2009 World Championship. More recently as an amateur he qualified for the China Open with a fine 5-3 win against Robbie Williams. He sealed his return to the main tour with a 4-1 win over Alexander Ursenbacher, producing a fine 120 break in the final frame.

Wilson, who beat the recently relegated former pro Marcus Campbell in his first match, had attempted several times before to qualify for the main tour via Q School but failed. He finally secured his professional status for two years by beating the highly fancied Chinese youngster Chen Zhe in a low quality final match 4-1.

Scotland's Sharav and Clark are also joining the main tour as professionals for the first time as they both fought off former pros themselves in their final matches. Sharav recorded breaks of 103 and 83 to beat Adam Duffy 4-3 in a top quality encounter and Clark produced a top run of 63 to see off Leo Fernandez 4-1.

Q School Event Two – 20-25 May 2015

Welsh rookies Duane Jones and Gareth Allen, as well as former professionals Jason Weston and Paul Davison, sealed the final main tour cards on offer at Q School Event Two in Burton.

22-year-old Jones, won his match in the most dramatic of styles against Zhao Xintong, beating the highly rated Chinese player 4-3 on the final black after having fought from 3-1 behind. On route to reaching his final match, Jones only dropped two frames and will no doubt be a handful on the main tour the next two seasons. Click here for the latest odds.

Allen beat another tough Welsh opponent in the form of Alex Taubman in his final match, 4-2. The 26-year-old reached the Last 32 of the Gynia Open last season and recorded a top break of 81 in his victory over Taubman.

Taking up the final Q School places and joining them on the main tour are Weston and Davison, who both turned pro in the early 90's. Weston, age 44, reached the semifinals of the 1991 B&H Championship and beat Kuldesh Johal 4-2 and Davison, age 43, came through an epic four-hour encounter against Luke Simmonds 4-3.

Amongst those who failed this year to gain pro tour cards at the Q School this year were former pros Marcus Campbell, Adam Duffy and Adam Hicks, as well as 10-time world ladies champion Reanne Evans. 

The first pro event of the 2015/16 season is the Australian Open qualifiers which take place next week (June 1-5) at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, England. A lot of the Q School players will be invited to the event via the top-up method. Click here for the draw.