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44-560: The current incarnation of the World Snooker Tour was created in the early 1970s when the WPBSA took over the running of the professional game. At the time of the takeover, in 1971, there were only a handful of professional events to play in, but further events were gradually added throughout the 1970s, and by the end of the decade there were over twenty events on the calendar and snooker was a regular televised fixture. This period in

88-473: A Main Tour qualification route, and anticipating the streamlining of tour qualification for the 2011–12 season this unpopular contest was discontinued after the 2009–10 season . The Q School was established in an attempt to streamline the qualification process for the World Snooker Tour, and is more or less a replacement for PIOS. A series of play-offs are run through to the quarter-final stages only. Players pay

132-400: A fixed entry fee to enter all the play-off events, and there is no prize money. Each player who wins a quarter-final game qualifies for a two-year tour card on the World Snooker Tour. All the players that have entered the event compete in the first play-off, and those that are not successful are automatically entered into the next play-off and so on. There are some important differences between

176-473: A game using coloured balls, was suggested as a suitable way to sell the new technology. The series helped transform snooker from a minority sport played by just a handful of professionals into one of the most popular sports in the UK. Mark Williams made the highest break in the competition's history, a 119. The BBC began broadcasting in colour in 1967 and was on the lookout for programmes that would exploit

220-541: A large part in the popularisation of the modern game of snooker. The event was first held in 1969 with a field of eight players and ran annually until 1986 . The event resurfaced for three years in both 1991 and 2005. The series was followed by events for other categories of players, with a juniors and seniors events, and a celebrity version held in 2006. The series was created by the BBC2 controller David Attenborough , shortly after BBC2 began broadcasting in colour. Snooker,

264-439: A limited membership, and a secondary professional tour was established for the rest of the professional membership. The World Snooker Tour consists of ranking tournaments that contribute to a player's ranking, and invitational events that do not. All players on the tour can enter a ranking event, whereas the entry criteria for an invitational event is often set by the sponsor or broadcaster, and usually excludes many players on

308-520: A series of minor-ranking tournaments that were open to the entire professional membership. The PTC events also included an amateur leg, effectively making it an open tour. They also counted towards the rankings for professionals on the Main Tour, and any player who finished in the top 8 of the PTC Order of Merit was guaranteed a tour card for the following season. The PTC was discontinued at the end of

352-506: A tour qualification route in 2021. At the end of each season, two-year tour cards are issued to the winner of the World Women’s Snooker Championship and to the highest-ranked player from the women's ranking list who is not already on the tour. If the women's World Champion is already on the tour, that card will be issued to the next highest ranked female player who is not on the tour. The players who retain their place on

396-579: The 2001–02 season , the Challenge Tour had a restricted membership and offered exclusive professional competition to a limited number of professionals that were not members of the Main Tour, and the Open Tour was established which was open to all players—including players on the Main and Challenge tours. The WPBSA operated the three level circuit until the end of the 2002–03 season when it split with

440-517: The 2005–06 season . The amateur status of the event meant that players who had been relegated from the Main Tour and wished to compete on PIOS had to relinquish their professional membership. This had an unpopular side effect, since if players relinquished professional membership they would be unable to enter the World Snooker Championship , which was previously open to all professional members including those who do not compete on

484-552: The 2014–15 snooker season , the World Snooker board has discretion to award invitational tour cards (ITCs) to players who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport. ITCs are typically issued to prominent late-career players who have been relegated from the main tour; players who hold or have held ITCs include Steve Davis , Stephen Hendry , James Wattana , Jimmy White , and Ken Doherty . A maximum of four players can hold ITCs at any one time. An ITC holder who finishes

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528-399: The 2015–16 season , just leaving the Main Tour as the only professional tour. The Challenge Tour was revived for the 2018–19 season . The tour consists of ten events with a 72-player field, drawing the top 64 players from the Q School Order of Merit who did not qualify for the Main Tour, in addition to a maximum of eight wildcards. It also ran during the 2019–20 season , but was axed during

572-640: The 2020–21 season during a truncated season played largely behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The tour was revived again for the 2021–22 season under the new name of the Q Tour . Pot Black Pot Black was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC . Each match was contested over a single frame , where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points , but played

616-484: The 2021-22 snooker season , the tour began to transition some of its events back to a seeded format using qualifying rounds. The Home Nations Series was the first set of events to follow this change, where the first round was played as a qualifying round for all non-Top 16 players, with those in the Top 16 — plus local nation wildcards — having their matches held over to the final venue. The UK Championship followed suit from

660-490: The 2022 edition , which effectively turned the tournament into a near-identical copy of the World Snooker Championship, with the exception being frame length. While some of these changes have been criticised by lower ranked players [due to qualifiers often being played without crowds and in cubicles, a reminder to some of the pre-Barry Hearn era], others have praised them, especially the format change for

704-594: The English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB), an amateur body, took it over from 2002/03 . The event was open to professionals, amateurs and international players for the first couple of seasons, but following the EASB's split from the WPBSA for 2003/04 the entry criteria were revised barring professional and non-English players from entering. After the Challenge Tour was discontinued,

748-414: The English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB). Since the Open Tour fell under the control of the EASB, which is an amateur governing body, the Open Tour took on amateur status and professional players were no longer eligible to enter. The Challenge Tour was axed upon completion of the 2004–05 season , leaving the restricted Main Tour as the only professional competition provided by the WPBSA. There

792-404: The Main Tour. Another issue was that players could not compete on PIOS while competing on the Main Tour, meaning that they were unable to safeguard their membership on the Main Tour by immediately re-qualifying via PIOS, effectively keeping them out of professional competition for a whole season should they drop off the tour. Even though PIOS was a competition in its own right, it primarily served as

836-469: The Q School and PIOS. Q School is purely a qualification process whereas PIOS was a tournament series in its own right. Q School is conducted in a limited time period of two to three weeks in May, during the interlude between seasons, while PIOS events were played over the course of the season. Another important distinction from PIOS is that Q-School is open to everyone, and players who have just been relegated from

880-491: The UK Championship which reverted the tournament to the prestige that it had before the flat-128 draw was imposed upon it. To compete on the World Snooker Tour as a professional player, a player must qualify for it. At the end of each season, a pre-determined number of players are relegated from the tour based on their performance in ranking tournaments and on the secondary tour, making way for new professionals to join

924-502: The World Snooker Tour are eligible to enter and if successful immediately regain their places on the tour. Those who do not manage to qualify for the World Snooker Tour may still be entered into professional tournaments using a Q School top-up list, known as the Order of Merit. This list ranks the amateur players by their performance during the play-offs: should a tournament not consist of 128 World Snooker Tour players for any reason (such as

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968-530: The adoption of a two-tier tour structure. Unlike the Main Tour which had restricted membership, the UK Tour was initially open to all professional members, even those competing on the Main Tour—although members of the Main Tour were prohibited from entering from the 1999–2000 season . It was rebranded the Challenge Tour from the 2000–01 season , and open to all players not on the Main Tour and amateurs. From

1012-411: The event. The first was Eddie Charlton 's break of 110 against Spencer in 1973, which stood as the tournament's record for many years until overtaken by Murphy's 111 against White in 2005, and the 119 clearance by Williams in 2006. The Pot Black tournament used several formats over its history. Eight players participated in the first event, but the number of players varied between six and sixteen over

1056-590: The final. The 2006 edition of the tournament took place at the Royal Automobile Club in Central London on 2 September 2006; Mark Williams defeated John Higgins in the final with a 119 clearance, the highest break in the event's history. In the 2007 edition , the last Pot Black (to date) which aired on Saturday 6 October 2007, Ken Doherty won the final 71–36 against Murphy. There have been six century breaks compiled at

1100-519: The first few years; an aggregate score over two frames was tried in 1974, but this format was abandoned and the single-frame final was reinstated in 1975; the final was decided over three frames from 1978 to 1986, and in 1991. A shot clock timer was added in 1991, to limit the amount of time each player could spend at the table. A Junior Pot Black ran for three years, from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1991. The winners were Dean Reynolds , John Parrott (twice) and Ronnie O'Sullivan. The junior tournament

1144-570: The new technology. The idea of broadcasting snooker, then still a minor sport, was the brainchild of David Attenborough who was the controller of BBC2 at the time. Based on coloured balls , the game of snooker was recognised as a good way to promote the BBC's new colour broadcasting capability. The first Pot Black tournament was held in 1969 at the BBC Studios in Birmingham , and

1188-470: The professional game has come to be known as the "modern era"; it is generally accepted to date from 1969 (when the BBC commissioned Pot Black and the knock-out format that is used by the modern-day World Snooker Championship was introduced) to the present day. Historically a player just needed to become a professional member of the governing body to participate in events, which was attained by formal invitation by an existing current member, and this system

1232-591: The programme in the early 2000s was hosted by Hazel Irvine . Pot Black is credited with producing one of the most memorable British sports quotes. Commentator Ted Lowe , aware that not all viewers had colour televisions at the time, said "Steve is going for the pink ball – and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green." Below is a list of the winners by tournament. International Open Series The International Open Series (often referred to as Pontins International Open Series or PIOS for sponsorship purposes),

1276-475: The recorded Pot Black programme was aired on BBC2 on 23 July 1969. This first edition featured eight players: Gary Owen , Jackie Rea , John Pulman , Ray Reardon , Fred Davis , Rex Williams , Kingsley Kennerley and John Spencer , the eventual winner being Reardon. The programme continued until 1986, by which time an increasing number of snooker events were being televised and the Pot Black format

1320-481: The rest of the membership had to qualify for places through a series of qualifying schools. The qualifying schools were only held the once, and thereafter the main qualification route was via the secondary professional tour. Following the scrapping of the secondary tour, the promotion places were then allocated to the International Open Series (PIOS)—an amateur open tour organised by Pontins —for

1364-704: The season inside the top 64 of the world rankings, or inside the top eight on the one-year list, will earn a full tour card for the following season. There are several routes available to amateurs and they involve competitions provided through various amateur governing bodies. The two main ones beyond Q School are the European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) Qualifying Tour and the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) China Tour. The EBSA also nominates their amateur and junior champions. The World Women’s Snooker (WWS) Tour became

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1408-420: The top players in the sport—often the top 16 ranked players—are usually seeded through to the venue stage and do not have to play a qualification match; however, from the 2013–14 season the circuit began to transition to a flat format structure, with all the players starting in the first round. Some tournaments also have an amateur leg that makes it possible for non-members to enter WPBSA events. Starting from

1452-477: The tour are only guaranteed a place for one further season, while all other players—including those that requalify—are awarded a two-year tour card. A secondary tour was first established in the 1994–95 season ; comprising six tournaments, the WPBSA Minor Tour was open to all professionals, but only ran for one season. The concept was revived in the 1997–98 season in the form of the UK Tour, following

1496-492: The tour. Ranking tournaments are often played in two stages—a qualification stage and the main draw, usually at different locations. The main draw is most likely to be held at a prestigious venue where audiences can purchase a ticket and watch the players compete. Typically only the main draw is televised, and therefore often carries considerably higher prize money than the qualifiers. Players traditionally come into ranking events in different rounds based on their world ranking , and

1540-431: The tour. There are several qualification routes for the tour: a player can gain qualification via the various events organised by the WPBSA itself or affiliate organisations, and a limited number of places are usually made available to players at the discretion of the governing body. Following the creation of the World Snooker Tour in the 1997–98 season , the top ranked professionals qualified automatically for places while

1584-438: The tournaments that ran through the 2020–21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic ), the highest ranked players on the top-up list will be invited to play in professional tournaments as amateurs. In this vein, players are encouraged to perform well, because they may still feature in World Snooker Tour events and thus have television exposure if they manage to reach the televised stages of an event that they have entered. Since

1628-495: The whole tournament was broadcast in a single day. Pot Black ' s theme tune was " Black and White Rag ", composed by George Botsford and performed by Winifred Atwell . The first series of Pot Black in 1969 was presented by Keith Macklin . It was then hosted by Alan Weeks until 1984, and David Icke in 1985 and 1986. Eamonn Holmes was host in 1991 and 1992, and he was replaced by David Vine in 1993. Vine also presented Senior Pot Black in 1997. The latest revival of

1672-429: The years. It was originally played as a knockout tournament , but later employed a round-robin format. The total number of points scored by each player could often become crucial, so the matches were always played to a conclusion with the potting of the black ball . Most of the matches were played over a single frame. Several formats were employed for the final match, which was also played over just one frame for

1716-495: Was Davis and Kay. The match was refereed by Michaela Tabb , presented by Dermot O'Leary and commentated by John Parrott. Each Pot Black tournament was recorded in a single day at the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and the matches were then shown in half-hour Pot Black programmes on BBC2 over the winter. The press co-operated by not revealing the scores until after a match had been transmitted. In 2005 and 2006,

1760-682: Was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season . It was originally called the Open Tour but was renamed in 2005/2006 . The tour was established to provide players not on the WPBSA Main Tour or Challenge Tour with professional competition, and the best performers were promoted to the Challenge Tour . It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) during its first season, but

1804-578: Was another attempt to establish a secondary tour in the 2009–10 season , with the introduction of the Pro Challenge Series . Only four of the planned seven events were played before the series was axed due to low player participation; one of the criticisms of the event was that it offered no ranking points which discouraged participation. The 2010–11 season saw the introduction of the Players Tour Championship (PTC),

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1848-469: Was becoming outdated. The programme was revived in 1990 but was then discontinued after the 1993 edition. A one-day Pot Black tournament was held on 29 October 2005, and the final match was broadcast live on the BBC's Grandstand programme. The eight players in the 2005 event were: Ronnie O'Sullivan , Stephen Hendry , Stephen Maguire , Matthew Stevens , Paul Hunter , John Higgins , Jimmy White and Shaun Murphy , with Stevens beating Murphy in

1892-527: Was eventually replaced by the Pro-Ticket series. The game went open for the 1991–92 season , whereby anyone could apply for professional membership and enter the tournaments. Due to over-subscription, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted for the 1997–98 season : the primary tour—officially now known as the World Snooker Tour but previously known (and still commonly referred to) as the Main Tour—with

1936-460: Was revived in 2006 as a side event to the World Snooker Championship , with the final played on the main match table. A Seniors Pot Black was held in 1997, featuring players aged over 40 at the time. Joe Johnson won the senior event. A one-frame Celebrity Pot Black took place on 15 July 2006 for Sport Relief . It was contested between two teams: Ronnie O'Sullivan and Bradley Walsh against Steve Davis and Vernon Kay . The winning team

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