Tag: Nutcharut Wongharuthai

Women’s Snooker: A Year of Opportunity

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The appearance of Reanne Evans at the prestigious Champion of Champions tournament last month was the latest significant moment for women’s snooker during a year which has seen several new opportunities created for female players in our sport at all levels.

Sport for All

In recent years the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), through its subsidiary body World Women’s Snooker (WWS) has helped to create new opportunities for women and girls across the globe to engage with snooker and ultimately compete at the very top of the game.

With 145 players representing 28 different nationalities aged between 11 and 71 currently ranked on the World Women’s Snooker Tour, the circuit has grown significantly over the past 12 months and is now as diverse as it has ever been.

But as well as the women’s circuit, which primarily exists as a participation body with the goal of helping to encourage women and girls to pick up a cue and play, snooker is a rare example of an inclusive sport that can place both men and women on the same field of play on an equal basis. The World Snooker Tour is often erroneously referred to as the ‘men’s tour’ but in fact the professional circuit is mixed gender and as it has always been, open to any player who is able to qualify regardless of gender.

And this season we have seen just that, with women competing at the professional World Championship and 6-Red World Championship, in addition to the highlights detailed below.

Shoot Out Stars

History was made at the Snooker Shoot Out back in February where the record-breaking Reanne Evans and top ranked junior Emma Parker became the first women to compete at the televised stages of a ranking event in England live on Eurosport.

For both the experience was a new one, the quickfire contest having a significantly different feel to it with a shot clock, timed matches, a different dress code and boisterous crowd encouraged to get involved during the frames. Although neither player was able to win their matches, both performed well and took a lot from the experience.

“I felt really proud and honoured to represent women snooker players.”, said Parker. “It gave me the chance to show that women can play snooker and it was fantastic that both Reanne and my matches were televised which is great promotion for the game. I hope that in the future more women s tournaments will be televised and hopefully it will become as big as other women’s sports like athletics, tennis and football.

“I would love to do it again if I was given the opportunity. It would help me with my career in snooker giving me the confidence I need to carry on in the game I love playing.”

Maximum Mink

It would be just weeks later when women’s snooker witnessed another first as Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai became the first female player to compile a verified perfect 147 break during a practice match at the Hi-End Snooker Club in Bangkok.

The feat followed an already successful start to the season for the then 19-year-old, who has since gone on to establish herself as one of the world’s leading female players, recently claiming her first ranking event victory at the Australian Women’s Open and climbing to a career-high third in the official world rankings.

Record World Championship

It was at the Hi-End Snooker Club where the World Women’s Snooker Tour would go on to stage its biggest World Women’s Championship for a generation in June as 53 players from 13 countries descended upon the world class venue for a fantastic week of snooker.

While several faces both familiar and new were able to make their mark, including 11-year-old Ksenia Zhukova of Russia who won two matches and Nutcharut Wongharuthai who was able to reach her first world final, it would be England’s Reanne Evans who would go on to win her record-extending 12th world crown and first since 2016.

Crucible Chance

There would be further success for Evans at the inaugural Women’s Tour Championship as women’s snooker returned to the home of snooker – Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre – for the first time in over 16 years this August.

The new event, held as part of this year’s World Seniors Championship, saw the top four ranked women players compete live on television at the most iconic venue in our sport. Ultimately it would be Evans and Ng On Yee who would contest the final, with Evans taking home the trophy and helping to further raise awareness of women’s snooker at the same time.

Champion of Champions

Most recently it was Reanne who would again fly the flag for women’s snooker as she qualified to play at the invitational Champion of Champions tournament following her victory at the World Women’s Championship in Thailand.

There she would face former triple-crown winner Shaun Murphy live on ITV4, recovering from 3-0 down to force a deciding-frame, before Murphy dug deep with a break of 130 to progress. Nevertheless, her appearance once again attracted significant media exposure and demonstrated that women can compete with men in our sport.

2020 Vision

Of course, while women’s snooker is currently enjoying an upward trajectory, both the WPBSA and WWS remain committed to increasing participation among women players by providing more opportunities at grassroots and professional level for females to compete.

The continued growth of the World Women’s Snooker Tour, which this year has welcomed players from countries including Morocco (who also competed at the African Games in August), Iran and Japan for the first time, demonstrates that women can play our sport to a high standard and that there is no reason why we cannot one day see women competing regularly with the world’s best.

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Evans is the Master in Coulsdon

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Reanne Evans won the Eden Women’s Masters title for a record-extending sixth time last weekend following a 4-2 defeat of Ng On Yee in London, England.

Held for the first time at Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon, the event saw 30 players of 12 nationalities – including each of the world’s top ranked eight players – compete for the third ranking event title of the season following previous competitions in Leeds and Australia.

Current world number one and reigning world champion Evans maintained her 100% record of final appearances at the tournament since its first staging back in 2013 with victories against Wales’ Sharon Lewis, tour debutant Chucky Preston of Northern Ireland and Thai starlet Ploychompoo Laokiatphong in the knockout stages.

Awaiting her in the final was Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, winner of the Eden Masters back in 2017 and who was looking to end a ranking title drought which now dates back to October 2018. She began her campaign with victories against Harriet Haynes, top ranked under-21 star Emma Parker and former world number one Maria Catalano, which notably included a stunning weekend-high total clearance of 135 in the final frame.

It was On Yee who struck first blood in the title match with a break of 50 to take the opening frame before Evans quickly drew level in their race to four.

The following two frames would prove to be significant as both came down to the final black, Evans claiming both to move into a 3-1 lead and one away from yet another ranking event title. On Yee responded with a match-high break of 52 to stay in the match, but Evans was not to be denied her sixth Eden Masters title – also her sixth ranking event success of the 2019 calendar year – as she sealed a 4-2 victory in the following frame.

The win crowns arguably the most successful season of Evans’ career to date which has seen her claim six ranking event titles, including her record 12th world championship crown back in June and the Women’s Tour Championship at the Crucible Theatre in August.

Side-tournaments

Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai claimed her third career Under-21 title with a 3-0 final victory against compatriot Ploychompoo Laokiatphong.

Having previously won both the World and UK Championship titles at junior level the win sees the 20-year-old complete her own personal ‘triple crown’ of Under-21 titles. During the weekend Wongharuthai was also presented with her award for being the WWS Under-21 Player of the Season by Rob Reed of RR Cue Cases, receiving a stunning handmade cue case bearing her name.

In the Seniors tournament it was veteran potter Jenny Poulter who claimed her first silverware of the season following a 2-0 victory against Jan Hughes. Having seen off debutants Annamaria Wilkins and Amanda Cox, the 59-year-old saw off UK winner Hughes to claim glory.

World number seven Suzie Opacic claimed her first WWS title since April 2017 in the Challenge Cup side-event for players who had exited the main competition prior to the quarter-finals following a 2-1 victory against tour debutant Harriet Haynes. Opacic defeated Zoe Killington, Kristina Mladenovic and Jenny Poulter to reach the final before her success against Haynes.

All at World Women’s Snooker would like to thank event title sponsor Eden Resources and our hosts at Frames Sports Bar who have both provided fantastic support for the event.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour returns in 2020 with the Belgian Women’s Open in Bruges from 31 January – 2 February.

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World Rankings – Australian Women’s Open 2019 Update

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The official world women’s rankings were recently updated for the second time during the 2019/20 season after Nutcharut Wongharuthai claimed her first ranking event title at the Australian Women’s Open last month.

The WWS world rankings operate on a rolling two-year basis, with points earned during 2017/18 to be removed during the course of this season. At this revision, no points were removed, with those earned at this year’s Australian Women’s Open added.

Maximum Mink on the Move

Although a number of the world’s top 10 were absent in Sydney, there was a significant move in the top four as Nutcharut Wongharuthai moved above Rebecca Kenna into third place, a new career-high for the Thai youngster. Having entered the event 3,350 points behind Kenna, ‘Mink’ as she is also known more than did enough to break new ground in Australia as she defeated second ranked Ng On Yee in the final to bag the maximum 7,500 points.

With Kenna set to defend semi-final points at this month’s Eden Masters from two years ago, an event which Wongharuthai did not play in, the Thai star is already guaranteed to end the calendar year in at least third position. Next in her sights will be three-time world champion On Yee, with the Hong Kong star mathematically within reach in Coulsdon later this month if Wongharuthai were to go all the way with On Yee losing out early.

While this would appear unlikely, On Yee does have 7,250 more points to defend during the second half of this season than Wongharuthai meaning that we are set for a real battle for the number two spot behind runaway world number one Reanne Evans over the coming months.

Notable Movers

Elsewhere, Jaique Ip Wan In returned to the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2017 after reaching the semi-finals in Sydney to become the second highest ranked player from Hong Kong and with fewer points to defend this season than anyone else inside the top 14 will be hoping to consolidate her position over the coming months. There is also a notable rise for another Hong Kong native as Pui Ying Mini Chu climbed to 18th position after her own run in Sydney.

Of the Australian players competing on home soil Judy Dangerfield consolidated her position as the highest-ranked in 28th, while quarter-finalist Jessica Woods moves up to 31st, a gain of seven places. Also reaching the last eight from Australia was Carlie Tait, who improved upon her last 16 run in Sydney a year previously and climbs 27 places to number 42.

Also breaking new ground is Tani Mina of Japan who moves to 51st position, while South Korea’s Jeong Min Park is up to 39th after she reached the quarter-finals.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour will return with the Eden Women’s Masters from 23-24 November 2019. Enter online HERE.

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Maximum Mink Wins First Ranking Title

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Nutcharut Wongharuthai has defeated Ng On Yee 4-2 in the final of the Australian Women’s Open to capture her first-ever ranking event title on Sunday.

Held for a second time at the Mounties venue in Sydney, Australia, following last year’s inaugural event, the competition saw 24 players battle it out to become champion across four days of hard-fought action.

It would be the top two seeded players who would make it through to the showpiece match, Thailand’s Wongharuthai ominously doing so for the loss of no frames, while defending champion On Yee made it back-to-back finals in Sydney with victories against Jessica Woods and So Man Yan in the latter rounds.

Contested over the best of seven frames, the final saw 19-year-old Wongharuthai make the faster start by moving into a 2-0 lead, before former world number one On Yee hit back with a run of 70 to get herself off the mark. Mink, as Wongharuthai is also commonly known, took the fourth frame to restore her two-frame advantage, only for On Yee to again close the gap with a second 70 break to stay in the match.

Wongharuthai was not to be denied however, runs of 38 and 37 in the sixth and ultimately final frame proving enough for her to claim glory for the first time on the World Women’s Snooker Tour.

Victory for the Thai star adds to a career-best year which has already seen her reach her first World Championship final and become the first woman to make a verified 147 break back in March. She is now also guaranteed to climb to a new career-high ranking of number three, overtaking Rebecca Kenna who did not compete in Australia.

Wongharuthai’s success also represents the first ranking event win for a player other than On Yee or Reanne Evans on the circuit since Maria Catalano claimed victory at the Connie Gough Trophy back in February 2017 and the Thai star also finished the week with the highest break after her run of 90 during the group stage.

All at World Women’s Snooker would like to thank the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council for their hard work in running this event during the week.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour continues with the Eden Women’s Masters which runs from 23-24 November at Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon, England. Enter the event online HERE.

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Evans is Queen of the Crucible

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World number one Reanne Evans has won the inaugural Women’s Tour Championship title at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The event saw the world’s top four ranked players Evans, Ng On Yee, Rebecca Kenna and Nutcharut Wongharuthai take to the baize as women’s snooker returned to the home of the snooker for the first time since 2003.

Evans began the day with a dramatic black-ball victory against 19-year-old Wongharuthai in what was a repeat of this year’s World Championship final. Having split two high-quality opening frames the match came down to a re-spotted black, which Evans would eventually ‘treble’ into the middle pocket to book her place in the final.

There she would meet long-time rival Ng On Yee after the Hong Kong star defeated third ranked Rebecca Kenna 2-0 in the second semi-final. After On Yee took a scrappy opener, the match was highlighted by a stunning clearance of 47 by the three-time former world champion to seal victory.

The final between the world’s top two players would be played as a single frame shoot-out and it was On Yee who had the first clear chance to build an advantage. A surprising miss on the black however would prove to be her final shot as Evans made no mistake with a decisive break of 79 to clinch the title.

The victory sees Evans pick up from where she left off after a six-title 2018/19 season which saw her regain the world number one ranking and claim her record 12th world title.

“To come back and soak everything up with the one-table set-up, I have absolutely loved it and hopefully it’s a step forward for women’s snooker and for me in general.” said Evans.

“We were happy just to be come and play here as the top four women players at the Crucible Theatre of dreams, every snooker player no matter who you are wants to play her. Then we were told that it was live on TV which added pressure, but it lets people know that we play and people will try to support us more and hopefully we can put on a good show.”

The tournament was held as part of this year’s ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship, which has seen 20 of the world’s best over-40 players compete in Sheffield this week with live coverage in the UK and Ireland broadcast by Freesports TV.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour returns next month with the UK Women’s Snooker Championship from Leeds on 14-15 September 2019. Enter the event now online HERE.

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Women’s Tour Championship 2019

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The draw and format for the Women’s Tour Championship to be held tomorrow (Saturday) at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield is now available.

The inaugurual event, which will be televised live in the UK and Ireland by Freesports TV, will women’s snooker contested at the sport’s spiritual home for the first time in over 16 years.

All matches will provisionally be played over the best of three frames, subject to change depending on timings during the day.

Tickets for the event are still available HERE for just £1.47 when purchased alongside a full-price ticket for the ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship.

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World Women’s Snooker Rankings Review 2018/19

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Following her record 12th world title success last week at the Hi-End Snooker Club in Bangkok, England’s Reanne Evans consolidated her grip on top spot in the world ranking list following her incredible six-title season.

But what have been the other significant movements during a season which has seen the total number of ranked players grow from 87 to 129, with an incredible 22 nationalities now represented?

Like the professional World Snooker Tour, the WWS world rankings operate on a rolling two-year basis, with points earned during 2016/17 replaced by those from this season over the past 12 months.

Number one

The big move during the campaign came at April’s Festival of Women’s Snooker in Leeds when Evans reclaimed top spot on the world ranking list for the first time since February 2018 following her double title success at the event.

In fact it is a measure of how strong a season Evans enjoyed that having begun the season some 5,850 points behind Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, she has now ended it with a significant lead of 16,850 points.

With both players having banked a similar amount of points during the 2017/18 season and those points due to be deducted from their respective totals over the course of the coming 12 months, Evans looks well-placed to retain the top ranking for some time to come.

Following her victories at the UK Women’s Championship and the Australian Women’s Open however, On Yee does continue to hold a comfortable second position, the top two having now locked out all of the ranking titles for a second successive season.

The top eight

Behind the top two Keighley’s Rebecca Kenna is up one place to third from her season-start position after she reached two ranking finals before Christmas.

Hot on her heels is World Championship runner-up Nutcharut Wongharuthai, who is the sole new entrant to the top eight from the start of the season, having surged up the list from 17th place a year ago. The 19-year-old now has a real chance to close the gap to the top three with no points to be removed from her total until 2020 because she did not compete during the opening half of the 2017/18 campaign.

Down two is Maria Catalano following a difficult campaign undoubtedly affected by off-table issues including the passing of her father last year, with Wales’ Laura Evans a place behind with quarter-final runs at the Women’s Masters and Belgian Women’s Open her best performances.

Suzie Opacic remains in seventh position with a semi-final run at the Women’s Masters representing her best performance, while Australian Women’s Open Katrina Wan is down two to eighth having not competed since her run in Sydney.

On the rise

Poised to join the elite top eight next season is Hornchurch youngster Emma Parker, up six places to ninth following a career-best season and now well within striking distance of Wan above her who is not currently competing on the Tour.

Also moving up is Wakefield’s Steph Daughtery who claimed back-to-back Challenge Cup victories mid-season, while Thailand’s Waratthanun Sukritthanes finished the campaign up in 15th position despite only competing at the Festival and World Championship events at the end of the season.

In fact it was quite a year for Thai players as both Ploychompoo Laokiatphong and Baipat Siripaporn both soared up the list, Laokiatphong up into the top 30 having only made her Tour debut last September, with Siripaporn right behind her in 31st after reaching the semi-finals of the World Championship for the first time.

Belgium’s Wendy Jans also became an increasingly familiar face, competing in three ranking events and reaching the semi-finals of each to vault 19 places up the list into the top 16.

The future

While Reanne Evans will take some stopping at the top of the rankings, behind her there are a number of players with positive momentum who have fewer points to defend than those around them.

Already mentioned above, Nutcharut Wongharuthai will have her sights set on the top three while others placed higher on the unofficial one-year list for the 2018/19 campaign, than their positions on the official two-year ranking list include Emma Parker (5th), Wendy Jans (7th), Steph Daughtery (8th) and Jaique Ip Wan In (10th).

Conversely, players who could face a drop down the ranking list having earned significantly fewer points than the previous season having missed out on events include Maria Catalano (19th), Diana Schuler (16th), Aimee Benn (26th) and Jenny Poulter (27th).

The 2019/20 World Women’s Snooker Tour is set to begin with the all-new Women’s Tour Championship invitational event at the Crucible Theatre on 17th August, prior to the first ranking event, the UK Women’s Championship a month later in Leeds. Further details of additional events will be announced soon.

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Evans Wins Record 12th World Championship Title

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England’s Reanne Evans has won the World Women’s Snooker Championship for a record-extending 12th time following a 6-3 victory against Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai in Bangkok this evening.

The world number one has had to watch Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee lift the trophy during each of the past two years since her last success in 2016 but this time was not to be denied as she emerged from a high-quality international field of 53 players to reclaim the biggest title in women’s snooker.

The final proved to be a high-quality affair, 19-year-old Wongharuthai taking the opening frame with a break of 61 before Evans claimed the next two to hit the front.

The following two frames were shared to give Evans a 3-2 lead at the mid-session interval, before the Dudley star added the sixth to move two clear for the first time.

Back came Wongharuthai, who is coached by former professional Stuart Pettman, with a break of 56 but it was Evans who was to finish in style, a tournament-high run of 92 enough to secure the high break prize before she claimed what would prove to be the final frame with a run of 43 to seal the title.

“It feels pretty good!” said a thrilled Evans shortly after the final. “It has been a long time coming after my 11th and it does mean more after losing during the past two years. I had such a good run [winning the title 10 years in a row from 2005-2014] but it obviously has been frustrating and gutting for that to end and to have lost a bit of confidence.

“The final was really tight all the way through. I was a little bit edgy at the start but I still felt good and towards the end I felt even better, I wasn’t letting it go this year.”

Despite her loss in today’s final, Evans was impressed by her young opponent who continues to show improvement in her game.

“You can tell her shot selection is getting better,” added Evans. “Her technique is brilliant, she is a lovely person and her temperament is great. She laughs everything off and just gets on with it, that’s the right way to be.”

Evans reflected on what has been a fantastic week for women’s snooker which saw the staging of the inaugural Women’s Snooker World Cup and the biggest World Championship for a generation with players having travelled from 14 different countries to compete.

“I’m really happy because the standard has been so good here this year,” continued Dudley’s Evans. “It could have been anyone winning it from the quarter-finals stage and fingers crossed that these players will keep competing and inspire others to play. I’m just happy to win against all the youngsters now, they are so attacking. A few shot selections have let them down but that’s about it and that comes with experience.

“The tournament has been amazing, one of the best ones ever. The facilities have been top class, the hospitality has been fantastic, it has been well-run and all the people have been brilliant. It has also been amazing to have so many matches streamed live which will only add to the interest in women’s snooker.”

Earlier in the day Evans came through a tough semi-final contest against another Thai player Baipat Siripaporn winning 5-3, while Wongharuthai ended the challenge of 12-time European champion Wendy Jans 5-2.

The victory represents a sixth ranking event title success of the season for Evans and extends a streak dating back to her maiden title in 2005 of the World Women’s Snooker Championship being won by her and three-time champion Ng On Yee.

There was victory for Hong Kong in the Challenge Cup event for players who did not make it to the knockout rounds of the main competition as So Man Yan defeated India’s Chitra Magimairaj 3-2 in the final.

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Semis Set as Wongharuthai Stuns On Yee

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The semi-final line-up at the 2019 World Women’s Snooker Championship has now been confirmed following a dramatic day at the Hi-End Snooker Club in Bangkok, Thailand which saw the defending champion Ng On Yee defeated at the quarter-final stages.

The day began with the last 16 round which saw smooth progress for the star names including all the top four in the world ranking list, 12-time European champion Wendy Jans and World Cup winning duo Waratthanun Sukritthanes and Baipat Siripaporn of Thailand.

It was to prove an altogether more dramatic evening session however as three-time world champion Ng On Yee was upset by home hero Nutcharut Wongharuthai, who won 4-1 to reach the semi-finals of the biggest competition in women’s snooker for the first time in her career.

Still just 19, Wongharuthai had previously defeated On Yee on two occasions earlier this season and shrugged off her defeat in the round robin stages to India’s Varshaa Sanjeev to record one of the biggest victories of her career to date.

Having dropped the opening frame, ‘Mink’ responded by claiming the next to move 2-1 in front, before then claiming an ultimately pivotal fourth frame from behind after On Yee conceded a number of penalty points when snookered on the final two reds. Although On Yee would not surrender her crown lightly, there was not to be a comeback and Wongharuthai added the fifth frame to claim a significant victory which means that On Yee will not compete in the semi-finals of the World Championship for the first time since 2012.

Awaiting Wongharuthai in the last four is Wendy Jans who enjoyed a more straightforward 4-0 success against another young Thai talent Ploychompoo Laokiatphong. Following her morning victory against India’s Arantxa Sanchis, the Belgian star wasted little time in progressing to her fourth career world semi-final and first since 2014, maintaining her flawless record so far in Thailand having won 17 frames from 17 played.

in the top half of the draw 11-time world champion Reanne Evans survived a scare against another Thai player in Waratthanun Sukritthanes to prevail a 4-2 winner.

After taking the opener, Evans, who is looking to claim her first world title since 2016, fell 2-1 behind and was within a ball of dropping the fourth frame to stand on the brink of a shock exit at the last eight stage. Having potted pink and black to draw level at 2-2 however, Evans quickly added the following two frames with breaks of 50 and 54 to progress to an incredible 17th consecutive world semi-final.

For the second consecutive match she will now face a member of Thailand’s World Cup winning team from earlier in the week after Baipat Siripaporn edged out third seed Rebecca Kenna 4-3 on the black in this evening’s final match to reach the last four for the first time in this event.

It was Siripaporn who was never headed during the match as she led 2-0 and 3-2, but Kenna hit back with a break of 41 to take the match into a deciding frame as she looked to reach the semi-finals for the fourth straight year.

After several hours of high-quality play from both however, the match would cruelly be settled by a fluke on the final pink for Baipat in the decider, which left her in perfect position on the match ball black that she would not miss.

The tournament concludes with both the semi-finals and final on Sunday 23 June, with the last four matches due to start at 11:00am local time.

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Women’s Snooker Set for Thailand

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World Women’s Snooker is set to witness its biggest week for a generation with the staging of two prestigious international competitions in Bangkok, Thailand.

To be held at the spectacular Hi-End Snooker Club with the support of the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand and the World Snooker Federation, the event will be headlined by this year’s World Women’s Snooker Championship from 20-23 June 2019.

Won last year for a third time by Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, the tournament will see 54 players from 15 different countries – more than double the number who played last year – contest the biggest title of this season’s World Women’s Snooker Tour.

Among those taking part will be the world’s top four ranked players including defending champion On Yee and 11-time queen Reanne Evans, as well as 12-time European Championship winner Wendy Jans and several other established faces.

They will be joined by several newcomers to the circuit including players from Iran, Japan, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore and India making this one of the most international editions of the championship ever.

The week will also see the staging of the inaugural Women’s Snooker World Cup from 17-19 June, a new team event featuring 17 teams representing countries from across the globe.

Adopting a similar format to that used at the professional World Cup to be staged by World Snooker later this month in Thailand, matches will see two-player teams contest a combination of singles and doubles frames, initially through round robin groups before knockout stages starting at the quarter-finals.

Each country was permitted to enter up to two teams, with Thailand being granted an extra two as the host country. There is also a wildcard ‘Rest of the World’ team featuring Laura Evans and Wendy Jans as the highest ranked players unable to otherwise compete in the tournament due to being the only players nominated by their countries.

Among those who will be fancied to go all the way will be the England A team featuring top ranked Reanne Evans and world number 3 Rebecca Kenna, as well as those teams featuring the likes of Ng On Yee and home favourite Nutcharut Wongharuthai.

All tournament information, including player lists, draws and results will be available via https://snookerscores.net/organisation/world-womens-snooker throughout the week.

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