Considering all the snooker that we watch consists of main-tour events where professionals compete to take a bite of the £14 million+ season prize fund, the Challenge Tour exists to provide amateur players the opportunities to advance their progress to reach the main tour and professional status. The Challenge Tour is a secondary circuit run throughout the snooker season whereby successful individuals will be granted a two-year tour card to compete with the best.
Much like events such as the World Open, Grand Prix and Paul Hunter Classic, the Challenge Tour was formerly known by different monikers such as the UK Tour or Minor Tour. It mainly ran from 1997-05 but was then recently revived in the 2018/19 season with more events and opportunity for those in the amateur game. The Challenge Tour used to contain four tournaments throughout the season but since its recent revival, this number has been increased to ten.
Eligible contestants for the Challenge Tour are those at the top of the Order of Merit (i.e. equivalent Q-School ranking) with the exception of those who have already qualified for the main tour via Q-School. Each of the ten tournaments will include 64 participants with a potential of up to 8 wildcard players being considered to compete if number count is low.
Prize money is also up for grabs for those who compete in the Challenge Tour; albeit a fairly minimal amount. While it is better than nothing, it can be difficult to offset some of the travel and accommodation costs unless you win an event, particularly as some of the events can take place across Europe. Winning an event will earn a competitor £2000 and the Order of Merit ranks these players in the same way as professionals – using the money list, i.e. £2000 is equivalent to 2000 ranking points and all matches are played over a best-of-five (first to three frames).
The top two performers in the Challenge Tour will be granted a two-year tour card. In the case of the 2019/20 season, a series of playoffs will be contested which will involve the winners of the ten challenge events as well as some from the rankings that perhaps didn’t win an event. The two final winners of the playoffs (i.e. the semi-finalists) are the successful players that are then ranked professional status.
But how does the Challenge Tour differ from Q-School? While Q-School is the formal qualification process for the main snooker tour, the Challenge Tour provides those who weren’t successful another chance to secure a tour card for the following season through these ten events. If they are not successful in the Challenge Tour, they can try via Q-School once again to qualify for the main tour next season.
The renewal of the Challenge Tour has aided in bridging the gap between amateurs and professionals by providing them a platform to increase their competitive exposure. While it may not be perfect, amateurs of the sport will be grateful for the additional chances to accomplish their goals of becoming a professional player and competing with those they aspire towards.
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