Tag: Reanne Evans

Women’s Snooker Review 2019/20

By In General News, News, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Women’s Snooker Review 2019/20

Today we look back on a 2019/20 World Women’s Snooker Tour season which has seen some fantastic snooker played across the globe by the world’s leading female players.

Of course, the end of the season has not concluded in the way that we would have liked with the unavoidable postponement of both the Festival and World Championship tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has nevertheless been an important 12 months for women’s snooker with tournament entries and media exposure continuing to increase.

Below we pick out a few of the highlights of the campaign and reflect on the action we have seen on the baize…

Title Triple

For the first time since the 2016/17 season we crowned three ranking event champions as regular champions Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee were joined in the winner’s circle for the first time by Nutcharut Wongharuthai.

Having been knocking on the door for the previous 18 months with four ranking event final appearances to her name, the Thai star memorably broke her title duck at the Australian Women’s Open with victory against On Yee in the final. The win saw her become only the sixth active player to have won a full-ranking event title and reach a new career-high ranking of third in the world where she remains today.

Either side of her triumph came further victories for England’s Reanne Evans, who added record-extending ninth and sixth triumphs at the UK Women’s Championship and Eden Women’s Masters tournaments respectively. The wins helped our reigning world champion extend an unbeaten run dating back to October 2018 and underline her status as the undisputed number one on tour.

It was however Ng On Yee who ended the winning streak of Evans at our most recent competition in Bruges back in February, a 4-2 final success marking her own return to form as she claimed her first title in over a year on the WWS circuit at the second Belgian Women’s Open.

Crucible Return

Prior to the ranking event action though it was at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield where the new season was launched as women’s snooker returned to the home of snooker for the first time in 16 years.

The new Women’s Tour Championship saw our top four ranked players take to the baize at the venue which has hosted the professional World Championship since 1977, with only Reanne Evans have competed there previously.

With plenty of drama, tension and high quality snooker on display, the event represented a wonderful showcase of women’s snooker and demonstrated what our top players can do on the big stage.

  • Read our full report from the day HERE.

Participation on the Rise

The primary objective of WWS remains to provide opportunities for women and girls to pick up a cue and play snooker, providing the platform for players around the world, of any age or level of experience, to do so competitively.

We have been delighted this season to welcome several new players to the World Women’s Snooker Tour with no fewer than 35 women competing on the circuit for the first time.

With a total of 152 players from 29 countries currently ranked – an increase from just 38 players only six years ago – the tour is bigger than it has ever been during the current generation with more players joining all the time.

Among those to have joined the circuit, Northern Ireland’s Chucky Preston made an immediate impression at the Eden Masters by reaching the quarter-finals on her debut, while she was also one of a number of newcomers to reach the final of one of our side-tournaments during the campaign.

For the first time we welcomed players from Morocco as African Games champion Yousra Matine and Hind Bennani travelled to England to compete, with Hind reaching the Challenge Cup final at the UK Championship despite playing with a borrowed cue after her own did not arrive in time.

We have also been excited to welcome new players from Guernsey, Scotland, Russia, New Zealand and more.

Ranking Risers

It has been another season which has seen key movements across the world ranking list with a number of players reaching new career-high positions as they continue to develop their game.

As already mentioned above the most notable example is Thailand’s Nutcharut Wongharuthai who climbed to third position behind leading duo Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee at the top of the list.

Not far behind her and up to a new career-best of seventh is Emma Parker of England, who enjoyed another strong season by reaching her second ranking event semi-final at the Belgian Women’s Open, as well as winning Under-21 tournaments in Bruges and Leeds. She also achieved success at national level by claiming the English Women’s Championship for the first time.

Other notable players to have made significant gains at the top end of the rankings include former European champion Wendy Jans, while 17-year-old Ploychompoo Laokiatphong is up to 14th after she reached her first ranking event semi-finals at the UK Women’s Championship and Eden Masters tournaments.

Professional Opportunities

It has been another season where together with our friends at the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and World Snooker Tour, we have continued to work to provide new opportunities for our stars to compete at the highest level.

Most significantly this season saw our reigning world champion Reanne Evans qualify to play at the professional Champion of Champions for the first time, where she took on former triple crown winner Shaun Murphy live on ITV4. There she was able to recover from 3-0 down to force a deciding frame, before Murphy was able to get over the line with a one-visit break.

Once again Evans was also invited together with Nutcharut Wongharuthai to compete at the Shoot Out professional ranking event, although both ultimately found themselves up against impressive performances from opponents Ian Burns and Thor Chuan Leong respectively in the first round.

Both Evans and Ng On Yee also competed at the prestigious SangSom 6-Red World Championship in Thailand last September, while our top three ranked players were also set to play at the Betfred World Championship qualifiers in Sheffield this month, prior to the postponement of the tournament until later this summer.

What have been your memories of the 2019/20 season? Let us know on social media using the hashtag #WomensSnooker

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Chucky Preston Q&A

By In Festival, General News, Interviews, News, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Chucky Preston Q&A

Prior to the Eden Women’s Masters last November few had heard of the name Chucky Preston, but after the Northern Irish potter reached the quarter-finals of her maiden ranking event in South London she had already established herself as one to watch on the World Women’s Snooker Tour.

We recently caught up with the 32-year-old, who is already up to number 43 in the world rankings, to talk about her experience on the circuit so far and her passion for snooker…

How much have you enjoyed being a part of the WWS circuit so far, having competed both at the Eden Women’s Masters and the recent Belgian Women’s Open earlier this month?

I have really enjoyed it. At the Eden Masters I was very nervous, I didn’t know anyone and it was all very new to me.

But in Belgium I was a lot more relaxed and it was a lot of fun. I am definitely looking forward to the Festival in Leeds now!

Your debut was particularly impressive as you qualified from your group and went on to reach the quarter-finals. What were your expectations heading into the tournament?

To be honest I did not expect much. I thought that I was way over my head even entering, but it was Rebecca Kenna who encouraged me over Facebook to just go for it and start to entering these events, and I did.

Now I am glad I did, I had not expected to get to the quarters so that was a bonus for me! I am currently receiving from coaching from [former professional] Joe Swail to know that he had a lot of confidence in me helped a lot.

In the last eight you faced 12-time world champion Reanne Evans. Although you lost out on that occasion, is it good to test yourself against the very best players like her?

Absolutely yes. I went into that match to have fun and gain experience. I relaxed a lot in that match as I knew that my chances of winning were slim to none so I watched a lot of her shots selections and positional play. I would say I learnt a few things in that match.

How did you get into snooker and how long have you been playing?

My dad first pushed me into snooker when I was seven and took me to our local club every week until I was old enough to go myself. I played until I was 15, but then quit due to women’s snooker disbanding in Northern Ireland.

I have only recently got back into snooker during the last two years. I found it hard getting back into it as I used to be quick and my game flowed as a kid, but now it is all about thinking and the tactical side is very important.

You have been involved in establishing the Northern Irish Ladies Tour back home. How is this growing and how can you get more women involved in snooker?

Yes I started up the NI Tour in October 2019 and was pleased that we had great numbers for it. It is growing slowly but we are advertising it and pushing it all over social media to encourage more girls to come forward to play.

I will always push it and I will help every player we have on the tour to become better and gain confidence to come to bigger events.

I also created my ‘Chucky Preston all about snooker’ Facebook page to help the girls with routines and drills.

Are there opportunities for women to compete against men in amateur snooker in Northern Ireland?

Yes in the Northern Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association (NIBSA) tour which I play in. It is tough, but you can’t give up. The only way to get better is to keep competing, even if you are getting beat every time.

I urge the girls to play in these and over the next year I hope we have at least three girls playing on the NIBSA tour.

You are also friends with former Masters champion Mark Allen back home and played in his pro-am last year. How did you get to know him?

Yes I have played in his pro-cam tournament on a couple of occasions, which is an excellent tournament to be part of. I have known both Mark and Jordan Brown from my younger days, but not very well back then.

More recently I have got to know Mark more from being in the club and we have just got on well. He couldn’t do enough for people, for example before I played at the Eden Women’s Masters he gave me a little pep talk which also helped me there.

We have also seen that you have recently introduced your wife Avril to snooker – could we see a Preston double act at the upcoming World Women’s Pairs Championship in Leeds?

Haha I hope so! But I don’t think so just yet, but it would be great though!

She said maybe next year, but in the meantime I will try to change her mind. Her excuse is she is my bigger fan and wants to be standing by all my matches to watch!

What would your message by to any other women and girls who are considering picking up a cue and joining the WWS circuit?

Absolutely do it. Why not, what have to got to lose?

No matter the level of your ability, the WWS events are fantastic to play in. You get plenty of table time and you gain a lot of experience and confidence. If anything, these events will help you to progress even further!

Finally, what are your interests and hobbies away from the table?

I am a business owner of a tattoo studio where I am the solo artist there.

I also like to go out on my motorbike which I find to be relaxing and de-stressing. I am also taking flying lessons at the moment and hope to gain my pilot’s licence.

I am also a big gamer and I could spend hours on my Xbox. There are just not enough hours in the day!

Chucky will next be in action at the Festival of Women’s Snooker, which takes place from 3-6 April 2020 at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. Entry for the event is open online HERE.

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Festival of Women’s Snooker 2020: Enter Now

By In Festival, General News, News, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Festival of Women’s Snooker 2020: Enter Now

Entries are now being accepted for the 2020 Festival of Women’s Snooker as the World Women’s Snooker Tour returns to Leeds, England.

The event will take place across four days from 3-6 April 2020 at the Northern Snooker Centre and as in previous years will incorporate five world championship competitions:

  • Friday 3 April – World Women’s Under-21 Championship / World Women’s Seniors Championship
  • Saturday 4 April – World Women’s 10-Red Championship
  • Sunday 5 April – World Women’s 6-Red Championship
  • Monday 6 April – World Women’s Pairs Championship

A year ago it was world no.1 Reanne Evans who for the second successive year was able to claim a hat-trick of titles with individual victories in the 10-Red and 6-Red competitions, as well as in the pairs tournament together with Maria Catalano. There was also success for Ploychompoo Laokiatphong and Jenny Poulter who claimed silverware in the Under-21 and Seniors events respectively.

The closing date for entries and payment of entry fees is 4:30pm BST on Friday 27 March 2020.

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Evans and Wongharuthai to Star at Snooker Shoot Out

By In Eurosport, General News, News, World Snooker, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Evans and Wongharuthai to Star at Snooker Shoot Out

WST has today announced that England’s Reanne Evans and Nutcharut Wongharuthai of Thailand will both compete at this season’s BetVictor Shoot Out which will be staged at the Watford Colosseum from 20-23 February 2020.

The pair, who last June contested the final of the World Women’s Snooker Championship, won 6-3 by Evans in Thailand, have been selected for the professional event among eight wildcard players including players recognised for their achievements at World Snooker Federation and Challenge Tour events.

Both Evans and Wongharuthai, the latter who will make her debut at a main tour ranking event, will join 126 other players looking to take home the £50,000 top prize live on Eurosport.

Read the full announcement via WST HERE.

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World Rankings – Belgian Women’s Open 2020 Update

By In Belgian Open, General News, News, Rankings, WWS Updated: Comments Off on World Rankings – Belgian Women’s Open 2020 Update

The official world women’s rankings were updated for the first time this calendar year following Ng On Yee’s triumph at the Belgian Women’s Open last weekend.

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 points earned at the 2018 British Open were replaced by those earned at this year’s Belgian Women’s Open.

There are now over 150 players from 29 countries currently ranked on the circuit after a further eight new players joined the tour in Bruges.

Evans Retains Advantage

Following her title victory in Bruges, Ng On Yee of Hong Kong, China has closed the gap to England’s Reanne Evans at the top of the world rankings, but it is the 12-time world champion who retains a significant advantage with two events still to be played this season.

Having entered the tournament with a lead of 22,850, runner-up Evans has seen her lead trimmed to 17,900, with the points from her British Open triumph in February 2018 replaced by those earned this week in Belgium.

With On Yee set to defend a significant amount of points over the next six months however, the victory is nevertheless important to her as she looks to keep hold of second position ahead of the ever-improving Nutcharut Wongharuthai, who missed out on the chance to close the gap following her semi-final defeat to On Yee last weekend.

The Top Ten

While the top four remains unchanged, there have been a number of movements elsewhere within the world’s top 10.

Despite her quarter-final defeat to Nutcharut Wongharuthai, five-time former world finalist Maria Catalano rises one place to fifth position ahead of Welsh cueist Laura Evans.

It was also another strong weekend for 20-year-old Emma Parker, who reached the semi-finals of a ranking event for only the second time in her career and is rewarded with a new career-high ranking of number 7 ahead of Suzie Opacic who drops one position to eighth.

Rounding out the top 10, home player Wendy Jans climbs five places to number nine, her last 16 run allied to the fact that she did not compete in the corresponding event two years ago meaning that she gained points relative to a number of players around her on the ranking list. Similarly Thailand’s Waratthanun Sukritthanes also moves up on place into the top 10 for the first time, despite not having competed this weekend in Bruges.

Notable Moves

Outside of the top 10 there were notable gains for a number of players who were competing at the weekend, including Chloe White who moves up three positions to a career-high 21st in the rankings, while Belgium’s Caty Dehaene is up 10 places to 37th after finishing third in her round-robin group.

Also ascending the list are several players who have joined the circuit this season including Chucky Preston (43), Harriet Haynes (48), Bennani Hind (55) and Kate Le Gallez (56). Our most notable new entries are 15-year-old Albina Liashcuk of Belarus and Belgium’s Belinda Focquaert, who are straight in at 74th position after both players progressed to the last 16 on their return to the circuit.

Under-21 / Seniors

Emma Parker remains at the head of the Under-21 ranking list following her sixth career Under-21 victory ahead of Nutcharut Wongharthai, who Parker edged out in the semi-finals. Runner-up Albina Liashcuk is a new entry at 11th following a sensational run which including wins against English pair Steph Daughtery and Chloe White.

In the new for 2019/20 Seniors ranking list, Belgium’s Caty Dehaene moves straight into fourth position after she successfully defended the title that she previously won 12 months ago with victory against third placed Jackie Ellis. Deahene is one of five new additions to the Seniors rankings following the event.

Please note that for this season ranking points in the Under-21 and Seniors rankings will be awarded in accordance with the new side-events points schedule available HERE.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour will return with the Festival of Women’s Snooker from 3-6 April 2020. Entries for the event will open shortly.

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On Yee On Top In Bruges

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Ng On Yee has defeated Reanne Evans 4-2 in a reverse of last year’s final claim her first ranking title of the season at the Belgian Women’s Open in Bruges.

The victory represents a first ranking event triumph of the season for Asia’s number one player and ends a ranking title drought that had stretched back to the 2018 Australian Women’s Open.

World number two On Yee progressed to the semi-final stages with comfortable victories against Albina Liashcuk of Belarus and England’s Steph Daughtery, where she would face third seed Nutcharut Wongharuthai. Having lost her previous three encounters against the Thai youngster, On Yee recovered from 1-0 and 2-1 behind to secure a 4-2 victory with top runs of 71, 60 and 58.

Awaiting her was top seed Reanne Evans, who entered the tournament looking to extend an unbeaten run dating back to October 2018 and capture her third title of the season. Following a 3-0 victory against Harriet Haynes on Saturday evening, the 12-time world champion survived a valiant comeback from compatriot Rebecca Kenna in the quarter-finals to win 3-2, before dispatching Emma Parker in the last four to reach the final.

There it was Evans who would make the stronger start as she claimed the opening frame with an impressive clearance of 76, before On Yee turned the tables by taking two close frames to lead with a top break of 41.

Defending champion Evans responded with a green to pink clearance to level again at 2-2, but from there it was On Yee who added the final two frames to secure a confidence-boosting victory.

“It feels really good to win this title,” said On Yee. “The last time was 15 months ago and I have been questioning myself in the last year because I wasn’t doing so well in tournaments. Of course Reanne, Mink and other players are getting better so I have to improve myself too.”

“I didn’t play well in the first two rounds until I played Nutcharut, then I started to play a bit better. There were a few frames in the final where Reanne was 30-40 in front and I came back which were important.”

“There is a lot of negative news in Hong Kong and around the world so hopefully this is good news for Hong Kong!”

The 29-year-old, who also revealed that she has been suffering from a skin allergy during the past few days, added that despite her previous title drought on tour, that she feels that she is continuing to improve a player.

“I do feel like I am improving from last year but it has not shown in the results,” added On Yee. “I have to still try to do the simple things, trust myself, believe in myself and hopefully the results will follow.”

Victory for On Yee represents not only her first win on tour for 15 months but also her first win against top ranked Evans since the 2017 Eden Masters.

Her success sees her join Evans and Nutcharut Wongharuthai as ranking event winners this season and also consolidates her position in second place in the world rankings.

Side-tournaments

Emma Parker claimed her sixth-career junior title with a 2-0 victory against Albina Liashcuk in the final of the Under-21s competition in Bruges. The 20-year-old booked her place in the final with wins against Zoe Killington and Nutcharut Wongharuthai, before seeing off debut finalist Liashcuk who had impressed many at just 15-years-old with wins against Steph Daughtery and Chloe White.

It was a weekend to remember for Belgium’s Caty Dehaene who successfully defended her Seniors title, as well as adding victory in the Challenge Cup side-event to secure a title double.

Her Seniors success came against England’s Jackie Ellis with a 2-0 win, while she won a dramatic contest 2-1 against Northern Ireland’s Chucky Preston to win the Challenge Cup as all three frames were decided by the final black ball.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour returns with this year’s Festival of Women’s Snooker, an event which features five individual tournaments, to be played over four days from 3-6 April 2020 at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds, England.

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Belgian Women’s Open 2020: Tournament Information

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Tournament information for this weekend’s Belgian Women’s Open to be held at The Trickshot Snooker Club in Bruges is now available:

The Belgian Women’s Open will be the fourth ranking event of the 2019/20 World Women’s Snooker Tour season and our first in mainland Europe as we return to The Trickshot following our successful first event at the venue last year.

To be held over three days, the event has seen an incredible 50% rise in entries with 36 players set to contest four tournaments, including the main competition and side-events for Under-21 and Seniors players. During a season which has seen a significant interest in new players on the circuit, we are delighted to welcome a further six debutants to the Tour this weekend.

Last year’s final saw world number one Reanne Evans claim the title with a 4-1 win against Ng On Yee in the final, while fellow Englishwoman Steph Daughtery claimed a brace of titles with success in the Under-21 and Challenge Cup tournaments. Belgium’s Caty Dehaene claimed victory in the Seniors competition.

Format

The top two seeds have been seeded straight through to the last 16 stage, with the remaining 33 players drawn in seven round-robin groups of 4/5 players. The top two players from each group will progress to join Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee in the last 16 stage.

There will be live streaming of the event during Saturday and Sunday, available to watch via our Facebook page.

If you have any questions please contact a member of the team via our website or social media.

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Belgian Women’s Open 2020: Enter Now

By In Belgian Open, News, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Belgian Women’s Open 2020: Enter Now

Entries are now being accepted for the Belgian Women’s Open as the World Women’s Snooker Tour returns to Belgium next year.

Won last year by world number one Reanne Evans, the three-day event will take place from 31 January – 2 February 2020 and will once again be played at The Trickshot club, situated in the centre of the historic city of Bruges.

The event will include a full-ranking main tournament contested, as well as side-events staged for under-21 and senior players, won last year by Steph Daughtery and Caty Dehaene respectively. There will also be a Challenge Cup side-event held for players who do not qualify for the knockout stages of the main event.

The closing date for entries and payment of entry fees is 4:30pm GMT on Friday 24 January 2020.

Hotel / Shuttle information

We are pleased to be able to offer a 15% discount on hotel rooms at the Hotel Velotel during the tournament and would like to thank Benoit and his team at the Velotel for their continued support. The discount is only available on bookings made directly through their website and full details can be found within the event entry pack.

We can confirm that a shuttle service will be provided between the Velotel and the venue during the event by club owner Olivier Vandenbohede and his team.

There will also be a shuttle service provided to/from three local airports, again this can be found within the full event entry pack.

Match schedule

As this is a three-day event, where possible we will consider individual requests to schedule group stage matches e.g. late Friday, or Saturday only for players unable to play on Friday.

Please note however that we may not be able to accommodate all scheduling requests and we will not be able to confirm the final format until final entries are known.

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Women’s Snooker: A Year of Opportunity

By In News, Women's Tour Championship, World Women's Championship, WPBSA, WWS Updated: Comments Off on Women’s Snooker: A Year of Opportunity

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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World Rankings – Eden Women’s Masters 2019 Update

By In Eden Women's Masters, General News, News, Rankings, WWS Updated: Comments Off on World Rankings – Eden Women’s Masters 2019 Update

The official world women’s rankings were updated for the final time in 2019 following victory for Reanne Evans at the Eden Women’s Masters last weekend.

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 points earned at the 2017 Eden Masters were replaced by those earned at this year’s Eden Masters.

Evans Extends Her Advantage

World number one Reanne Evans underlined her status as the number one player in the world by completing the year unbeaten on the World Women’s Snooker Tour with victory in Coulsdon.

Having entered the event with an already commanding lead of 19,100, Evans leads by an impressive 22,850 points after she reversed the final result at this event from two years ago with a 4-2 success last weekend.

With both players set to defend a similar amount of points during the remainder of the season Evans looks virtually certain to remain in top spot for the foreseeable future, while Ng On Yee consolidated second position ahead of Eden quarter-finalist Nutcharut Wongharuthai.

The Top Ten

In fact it was a quiet month in the top ten with no changes of position inside the top eight, the first mover being Germany’s Diana Schuler who returns to the top 10 at the expense of Katrina Wan following her last 16 run in Coulsdon.

The most significant gain was made by Thailand’s Ploychompoo Laokiatphong, the 17-year-old climbing 11 places to 15th having reached her second semi-final of the season. With no ranking points to defend during the remainder of the season, the talented youngster is well-placed to challenge for a place in the top ten over the coming months.

There are new career-highs for a number of players including Waratthanun Sukritthanes (11), Yee Ting Cheung (17), Connie Stephens (19) and 13-year-old Zoe Killington (34), while debut quarter-finalist Chucky Preston is immediately up to 56th position after her first event.

There are now 145 players currently holding a world ranking, up from 92 just two years ago.

Under-21 / Seniors

Nutcharut Wongharuthai is up to second position in the latest Under-21 rankings after she completed her career ‘triple crown’ of junior titles at the World, UK and Masters events with victory against compatriot Ploychompoo Laokiatphong.

In the new for the season Seniors rankings Jan Hughes retains top spot after she reached the final in Coulsdon, with champion Jenny Poulter moving into second position following yet another success in the over-40s age group.

Please note that for this season ranking points in the Under-21 and Seniors rankings will be awarded in accordance with the new side-events points schedule available HERE.

The World Women’s Snooker Tour will return with the Belgian Women’s Open from 30 January – 2 February 2020. Entries for the event will open shortly.

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