Posts by: Matt Huart

World Women’s Rankings – Australian Women’s Open 2018 Update

By In Australian Women's Open, News, Rankings, WLBS Updated: Comments Off on World Women’s Rankings – Australian Women’s Open 2018 Update

The official world women’s rankings have been updated for the third time this season following the latest success for Ng On Yee at the first-ever Australian Women’s Open last weekend.

The WLBS world rankings operate on a rolling two-year basis, with points earned during 2016/17 to be removed during the course of this season. At this revision, no points were removed from the ranking list as there was no corresponding event two years ago, with just points added based on results in Sydney, Australia.

On Yee extends her lead

With victory in Australia, world number one Ng On Yee landed the latest blow in what has so far been an intriguing battle at the top of the world women’s ranking list so far this season.

The campaign began with the 27-year-old having significantly extended her lead at the top of the standings following victory at the UK Women’s Championship in September, only for Reanne Evans to immediately close down the gap with her first title of the season in Belgium earlier this month.

This latest triumph for On Yee however, combined with a semi-final defeat for Evans means that the Hong Kong player is again clear by 10,800 points heading into the final ranking event of the calendar year in Gloucester next month.

Away from the top two the big winner was Katrina Wan, who climbs one place above Laura Evans to a career-best equalling fifth position after she reached the final of a WLBS event for the first time. With 4,850 fewer points to defend than fourth placed Maria Catalano over the coming months, Wan will be targeting a place inside the top four for the first time if she can maintain this form for the rest of the season.

Finally, it was also another milestone event for 18-year-old Nutcharut Wongharuthai as the Thai star broke into the world’s top eight for the first time following her run to the semi-finals in Sydney.

Asian Gains

With only Reanne Evans in action from Europe the event provided a number of Asian players with the opportunity to gain ground on the ranking list and perhaps the biggest winner was Ho Yee Ki who climbs three places to a personal best 13th position following her last 16 run at the Mounties Club.

Also on the rise from Hong Kong are Fong Mei Mei (+1) and quarter-finalist Chu Ying Mini Chu (+3), while Yeeting Cheung climbs nine places to 29th as she also made a career-best break of 80 during a successful weekend in Australia.

There was also a welcome return for Jeong Min Park of South Korea who gains seven places to return to the top 30 as she competed in her first event since the 2017 Festival of Women’s Snooker in England.

Australian representation

There are now over 100 players represented on the official world women’s ranking list for the first time in several years with several newcomers competing at the inaugural tournament in Sydney, Australia.

Prior to the event Oceania was represented by just one player, Judy Dangerfield having played earlier this year at the World Women’s Championship and European Women’s Masters tournaments. She is now joined however by several Australian players who were in action at the Australian Women’s Open, including quarter-finalist Jessica Woods who is a re-entry to the ranking list in 60th position.

Of those who did not progress to the final stages to the main event, Kathy Parashis took victory against Kylie Bellinger to win the Challenge Cup competition.

The final ranking event of the 2018 will be the Eden Women’s Masters, to be held at England’s South West Snooker Academy from 24-25 November. Enter now online HERE.

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On Yee On Top Down Under

By In Australian Women's Open, General News, News, WLBS Updated: Comments Off on On Yee On Top Down Under

Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee has captured her second ranking event title of the 2018/19 World Women’s Snooker Tour (WWST) season following a 4-2 success against compatriot Katrina Wan to win the Australian Women’s Open earlier today.

The four-day tournament was held for the first time at the Mounties Club in Sydney with the support of the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council as the women’s circuit continues to expand its global reach.

Following three days of competition with a mix of local and international tour players there was a familiar line-up on finals day as the top four seeded players were the last women standing to contest the semi-finals. World number one Ng On Yee had shown impressive form throughout the competition and progressed to the title match following a 4-2 victory against Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai, avenging her defeat to the 18-year-old at the recent European Masters in Belgium.

With 11-time world champion Reanne Evans competing in the opposite half of the draw and been in ominous form during the previous days with three century breaks scored, many were anticipating another final between the top two seeds. World number six Katrina Wan had other plans however as she stunned the English player with a brilliant 4-3 victory to reach the final of a WWST event for the first time in her career. It was a first-ever victory against Evans for an emotional Wan and set up the first all-Hong Kong final on the tour since 2012.

Wan picked up where she left off by taking a close opening frame against On Yee in the final, before the top seed dominated the following three frames with a top run of 66 to move to the brink of yet another title. Although Wan was able to respond with a break of 45 to reduce her arrears to a single frame, On Yee compiled a break of 55 in frame six to seal victory.

The success is On Yee’s third title of the calendar year (World Championship, UK Championship) and will see the world number one extend her lead over Reanne Evans at the top of the world rankings heading into next month’s Eden Masters in England.

On Yee also achieved another significant career-milestone in Sydney as her magnificent break of 139 in her semi-final victory against Nutcharut Wongharuthai was not only enough to secure the high break prize in Australia, but is also a new career-best break for On Yee in competition. It was a week of high-scoring throughout with six century breaks compiled between On Yee (139, 108), Evans (137, 110, 109) and Wongharuthai (115), with a further 19 breaks of 50 or better constructed throughout the competition.

We would like to thank all of the players and officials who have supported what has been a landmark event both for the WWST and ABSC and we look forward to visiting Australia again in the future.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour continues later this month with the Eden Women’s Masters which will be played across two days at the South West Snooker Academy on 24-25 November 2018.

Enter online now HERE.

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Australian Women’s Open 2018: Draw Released

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The draw for the round robin group stage of next week’s upcoming Australian Women’s Open 2018 is now available:

To be held in Sydney on 25-28 October for the first time as part of the World Women’s Snooker Tour (WWST), the prestigious new event has attracted an impressive 24-player field boasting the world’s top two players and winners of the last 14 world titles Ng On Yee and Reanne Evans.

Having shared the opening two events of the new season in England and Belgium respectively, the pair will continue their battle for the world number one ranking on unfamiliar ground with England’s Evans looking to make it a title double this month. They will be joined by fellow top 10 players Katrina Wan and recent European Women’s Masters runner-up Nutcharut Wongharuthai, with a further six players currently ranked inside of the world’s top 50 set to compete.

Significantly, the tournament has also attracted several of Australia’s best women players, including reigning national women’s snooker champion Jessica Woods and Kathy Howden, the latter a quarter-finalist at the World Women’s Snooker Championship as recently as 2016.

The landmark event will take place at the Mt Pritchard District and Community Club, known as “Mounties” in Sydney, Australia from 25-28 October 2018 and is the third ranking event of the 2018/19 season. The tournament has been jointly organised with the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council (ABSC), a full member body of the World Snooker Federation.

WLBS looks forward to a successful event and to welcoming both new and returning players to another new territory for the World Women’s Snooker Tour.

For more information and to view results during the event visit the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council website.

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Eden Women’s Masters 2018: Enter Now

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Entries are now being accepted for the Eden Women’s Masters organised by World Ladies Billiards and Snooker (WLBS).

The event will be played on the weekend of 24-25 November 2018 at Gloucester’s South West Snooker Academy.

Last year’s tournament was won by world number one Ng On Yee following a dramatic final against Reanne Evans, while Chloe White (Under-21), Jenny Poulter (Seniors) and Pui Ying Mini Chu (Challenge Cup) claimed victories in the side-events.

This year’s event will be the fourth event of the 2018/19 World Women’s Snooker Tour and the second in England following the UK Women’s Championship in Leeds back in September. Once again there will also be side-events staged for under-21 and senior players, subject to enough entries being received.

Enter online

To enter the event please complete the online entry form HERE.

The full tournament entry pack is also now available to download HERE.

The closing date for entries and payment of entry fees is 4:30pm GMT on Friday 16 November 2018.

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World Women’s Rankings – European Women’s Masters 2018 Update

By In European Women's Masters, News, Rankings, WLBS Updated: Comments Off on World Women’s Rankings – European Women’s Masters 2018 Update

The official world women’s rankings have been updated for the second time this season following victory for Reanne Evans at the European Women’s Masters in Belgium last weekend.

The WLBS world rankings operate on a rolling two-year basis, with points earned during 2016/17 to be removed during the course of this season. At this revision, no points were removed from the ranking list as there was no corresponding event two years ago, with just points added from the European Women’s Masters at De Maxx.

Evans closes the gap

After Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee dramatically extended her lead at the top of the world ranking list with her victory at the season-opening UK Women’s Championship, second ranked Reanne Evans has now narrowed the gap following her latest title success.

With On Yee’s early exit to Nutcharut Wongharuthai at the last 16 stage in Neerpelt, combined with the first silverware of the season for Evans, the 11-time world champion has closed to just 7,050 points behind, compared to 13,612 heading into Belgium.

Elsewhere Keighley’s Rebecca Kenna consolidated third place with her run to the semi-finals, with closest challenger Maria Catalano not competing in the event and therefore unable to add to her total.

The remaining positions inside the top eight are unchanged, but there is a new entrant to the top 10 as 18-year-old Nutcharut Wongharuthai climbs two places to a career-high ninth following her second appearance in a ranking final. Since joining the tour as a regular player back at February’s UK Open, only the top three have gained more ranking points than the talented Thai player who has just 3,300 to be removed from her total during the next 12 months and is on course to continue moving up the list.

Ranking risers

Outside of the top 10, there is a new career-high of 13th for Emma Parker after the 19-year-old reached her first ranking quarter-final in Belgium, while former world number three Jaique Ip also climbs two places to 12th after she also reached the last eight.

Hong Kong’s Ho Yee Ki also rises one place to a new personal best of 16th position, while Germany’s Diana Stateczny re-enters the top 30 after she reached the last 16 stage.

There is a leap of 14 places for home favourite and our host last weekend at De Maxx, Wendy Jans, who is now ranked 31st following her run to the semi-finals.

Finally, Australia’s Judy Dangerfield also moves to a new career-high of 44th after she reached the knockout stages at her second ranking event.

Under-21 rankings

There was a change at the top of the Under-21 rankings in Belgium as Emma Parker ascended to top spot following her fourth Under-21 title victory during the past 18 months.

Having come into the tournament just 300 points behind 16-year-old Shannon Metcalf, Parker defeated the youngster 2-1 in the round robin stages of the European Women’s Masters Under-21 event before defeating Nutcharut Wongharuthai 2-0 in the final to clinch the title.

Parker now sits 3,450 points clear of Metcalf at the top of the list and with fewer points to defend compared to the Leeds-based youngster during the remainder of the season has a good opportunity to remain there for the immediate future.

Further down the list, Thailand’s Wongharuthai climbs two places to fifth following her final appearance with Aimee Benn next in her sights.

The next ranking event will be the WLBS Australian Women’s Open 2018, which will be held for the first time at Mounties in Sydney, Australia from 25-28 October 2018. Enter now online HERE.

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New Dates Announced for Festival of Women’s Snooker

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The Festival of World Women’s Snooker 2019 will be held at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds on 12-15 April 2019.

Following the recent announcement that this season’s event would be rescheduled due to the proximity to the 2019 World Women’s Championship in the U.A.E. we can now confirm that this season’s four-day event will again provisionally include the following five tournaments:

  • World Women’s Under-21 Championship
  • World Women’s Seniors Championship
  • World Women’s 10-Red Championship
  • World Women’s 6-Red Championship
  • World Women’s Pairs Championship

The daily schedule will be confirmed closer to the event, however we would provisionally expect both ranking tournaments (10-Red and 6-Red World Championships) to be held during the weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2018 Festival saw Reanne Evans claim a triple success with victories in the 6-Red, 10-Red and Women’s Pairs events (with Maria Catalano), with Nutcharut Wongharuthai and Jenny Poulter emerging victorious in the Under-21 and Seniors side-events respectively.

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Evans Above at European Women’s Masters

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England’s Reanne Evans lifted her first silverware of the 2018/19 World Women’s Snooker Tour season with a 4-1 victory against Nutcharut Wongharuthai last weekend.

The 11-time world champion and current world number two came into the tournament on the back of a surprise last 16 exit at last month’s UK Women’s Championship, but it was to be a different story at De Maxx club in Neerpelt as she dropped just one frame on her way to the title.

Following victories against Caty Dehaene and Ho Yee Ki, she then avenged her defeat to Rebecca Kenna in Leeds with a dominant 4-0 victory against the world number three in the semi-finals.

For the second time in 2018 it was not long-time rival Ng On Yee who would await her in the final, but instead Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai who once again underlined her credentials as a star of the future this weekend.

Following her progress through the group stages she stunned reigning world champion On Yee with a 3-1 success, before adding the scalps of Emma Parker and home favourite and 12-time EBSA European champion Wendy Jans with a 4-2 semi-final victory.

In a cagey final however it was to be Evans who proved too strong, winning the final three frames from 1-1 to add another ranking title to her already unrivalled CV. Victory also sees Evans significantly close the gap to Ng On Yee at the top of the world rankings ahead of this month’s Australian Women’s Open in Sydney.

For the defeated Wongharuthai she has the consolation of having broken into the world’s top ten for the first time following her final run, a status that few would be surprised to see her retain for some time to come.

Side-events

Despite her unexpected early exit in the main competition the weekend, world number one Ng On Yee would not leave Belgium empty-handed following her success in the Challenge Cup side-event.

A competition open to players who had not reached the quarter-finals of the main competition, the event saw an unusually strong field with four of the world’s top eight players all in action during the final two days.

Following victories against Laura Evans, Diana Schuler and Diana Stateczny, On Yee saw off fellow Hong Kong player Katrina Wan in the final to claim victory.

In the Under-21 competition there was success for England’s Emma Parker who shrugged off the disappointment of losing to Nutcharut Wongharuthai in her first-ever ranking event quarter-final to turn the tables on the Thai player with a 2-0 final victory and win her fourth junior event.

The win also sees Parker achieve a significant milestone as she rises to top spot on the WLBS Under-21 ranking list ahead of Shannon Metcalf for the first time in her career.

Finally there was also victory for India’s Chitra Magimairaj in the Seniors side-event after she defeated Australia’s Judy Dangerfield 3-1 in the final. The success is the first for Magimairaj on the World Women’s Snooker Tour since the 2016 World Championship Seniors competition.

World Ladies Billiards and Snooker extends its thanks to all players and supporters who attended the event, in particular Wendy Jans (and her father Guy) who as the owner of De Maxx was a fantastic host and could not have been more accommodating of the event.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour continues later this month with the inaugural Australian Women’s Open which runs in Sydney on 25-28 October 2018. The deadline for entries remains open until Saturday 13 October – enter HERE at the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council website.

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European Women’s Masters 2018: Tournament Information

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The European Women’s Masters 2018 tournament runs from 5-7 October at the De Maxx Club in Neerpelt, Belgium.

Follow all of the action from the second ranking event of the 2018/19 World Women’s Snooker Tour season via the following links:

As always, you can follow regular updates from the event via our social media platforms:

Festival of Women’s Snooker to be Rescheduled

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Following today’s announcement that this season’s World Women’s Snooker Championship will take place in Dubai from 28-31 March 2019 we can now also confirm that the dates of next year’s Festival of Women’s Snooker event will now change.

Previously announced to run from 29 March – 2 April 2019, the five-day event which sees up to six world titles decided each spring will now be rescheduled.

Further information about the Festival will appear on our website as soon as possible.

U.A.E. to Host 2019 World Women’s Snooker Championship

By In News, WLBS, World Women's Championship Updated: Comments Off on U.A.E. to Host 2019 World Women’s Snooker Championship

This season’s World Women’s Snooker Championship will take place at the world-famous Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates from 28-31 March 2019.

Organised by World Ladies Billiards and Snooker (WLBS), this season’s showpiece event for women’s snooker will again be contested as part of next year’s World Snooker Federation Championships. Current world number one Ng On Yee from Hong Kong will be the defending champion following her incredible triumph in Malta earlier this year during which she did not lose a single frame during the tournament.

This year’s world women’s champion will earn the top prize of €6,000 as well as a coveted place at next year’s professional World Championship in Sheffield at which Ng On Yee and Reanne Evans have competed in recent seasons.

Once again each of the quarter-finalists will receive automatic entry into the mixed gender WSF Championship which carries a first prize of €10,000 and a place on the World Snooker Tour from the start of the 2019/20 season. Last season’s event saw Reanne Evans, Rebecca Kenna and Nutcharut Wongharuthai among those competing, with Evans successfully progressing to the knockout rounds.

This season’s tournament will run with the support of the U.A.E. Billiards and Snooker Association with whom the WSF has worked closely to organise the event.

Mandy Fisher, WLBS President said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm that this season’s World Women’s Snooker Championship will be held in Dubai for the first time. Following our successful events in Singapore and Malta during the last couple of years it is exciting to be heading to another new territory as part of this year’s WSF Championships.

“I am already looking forward to being able to welcome both new and familiar faces from across the world to what promises to be an event to remember at a spectacular location.”

Further information, including entry criteria and process will be released as soon as possible.

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