2017–18 snooker season
Series of snooker tournaments
The 2017–18 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 4 May 2017 and 7 May 2018. The season began with the pro–am Vienna Snooker Open in May 2017 and ended with the 2018 World Snooker Championship in April the following year. Ronnie O'Sullivan earned a joint-record five ranking titles in the season. He joined Stephen Hendry (1990/1991 ), Ding Junhui (2013/2014 ), and Mark Selby (2016/2017 ) in winning five ranking titles in the same season.[ 1]
The China Championship became a ranking event and was brought forward to a mid-August date, ahead of the Paul Hunter Classic . The Shanghai Masters was initially withdrawn from the season calendar, but was later rescheduled for November 2017.[ 2] The biennial World Cup team event was played in July 2017. Another event not held every year returning in 2017 was the 2017 IWGA World Games . The Snooker Shoot Out was brought forward to the start of February, ahead of both the World Grand Prix and Welsh Open .[ 3]
A new World Seniors Tour was formed by Snooker Legends for players over 40 years of age, comprising four events, including the World Seniors Championship which has returned to Scunthorpe in 2018.[ 4]
The second edition of the Home Nations Series was being held in this season with the English Open , Northern Ireland Open , Scottish Open and Welsh Open tournaments. For a single winner of all four tournaments would earn a bonus of £1 million.[ 5]
Ronnie O'Sullivan won five ranking events during the season, with Mark Williams winning three times and Ryan Day , John Higgins and Mark Selby each winning twice. Shaun Murphy reached four ranking event finals during the season but lost them all.
Players
The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2017 World Championship , and the 31 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season (Rouzi Maimaiti has resigned his membership). Next, eight places were allocated to the top 8 on the One Year Ranking List who have not already qualified for the Main Tour. Another two players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further places were available through the 2017 Q School , four from each of the two events and the four best-ranked players in the Order of Merit. The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body (NGB) nominations. Hamza Akbar received a tour card as a special dispensation in place of America's nomination.[ 6] [ 7]
The list of all professional players in the 2017/2018 season consist of 131 players , including the standard field of the 128 players and three invitational tour cards (James Wattana has second year of a two-year invitational tour card while Jimmy White and Ken Doherty were awarded the new two-year permission).[ 6] [ 7] Beginning from this season, players with invitational tour cards are eligible to compete in any ranking event.[ 8] These players are seeded after main tour professionals, but above amateur top ups taken from the Q School ranking list.[ 9]
New professional players
All players listed below received a tour card for two seasons.[ 6] [ 7]
Calendar
The following tables outline the dates and results of all events of the World Snooker Tour , World Women's Snooker , the World Seniors Tour , and other events.[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21]
World Snooker Tour
Start
Finish
Tournament
Venue
Winner
Score
Runner-up
Ref.
23 Jun
25 Jun
Riga Masters
Arena Riga in Riga , Latvia
Ryan Day (WAL )
5–2
Stephen Maguire (SCO )
[ 22]
3 Jul
9 Jul
World Cup †
Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium in Wuxi , China
China A
4–3
England
[ 23]
20 Jul
23 Jul
Hong Kong Masters †
Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong , China
Neil Robertson (AUS )
6–3
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
[ 24]
28 Jul
29 Jul
CVB Challenge †
Nanshan Culture & Sports Centre in Shenzhen , China
Great Britain
26–9
China
[ 25]
16 Aug
22 Aug
China Championship
Guangzhou Sport University in Guangzhou , China
Luca Brecel (BEL )
10–5
Shaun Murphy (ENG )
[ 26]
22 Aug
27 Aug
Paul Hunter Classic
Stadthalle in Fürth , Germany
Michael White (WAL )
4–2
Shaun Murphy (ENG )
[ 27]
4 Sep
9 Sep
Six-red World Championship †
Bangkok Convention Center in Bangkok , Thailand
Mark Williams (WAL )
8–2
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA )
[ 28]
12 Sep
16 Sep
Indian Open
Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach in Vishakhapatnam , India
John Higgins (SCO )
5–1
Anthony McGill (SCO )
[ 29]
18 Sep
24 Sep
World Open
Yushan Number One Middle School in Yushan , China
Ding Junhui (CHN )
10–3
Kyren Wilson (ENG )
[ 30]
2 Oct
8 Oct
European Masters
De Soeverein in Lommel , Belgium
Judd Trump (ENG )
9–7
Stuart Bingham (ENG )
[ 31]
16 Oct
22 Oct
English Open
Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley , England
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
9–2
Kyren Wilson (ENG )
[ 32]
29 Oct
5 Nov
International Championship
Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre in Daqing , China
Mark Selby (ENG )
10–7
Mark Allen (NIR )
[ 33]
6 Nov
12 Nov
Champion of Champions †
Ricoh Arena in Coventry , England
Shaun Murphy (ENG )
10–8
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
[ 34]
13 Nov
18 Nov
Shanghai Masters
Shanghai Grand Stage in Shanghai , China
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
10–3
Judd Trump (ENG )
[ 35]
20 Nov
26 Nov
Northern Ireland Open
Waterfront Hall in Belfast , Northern Ireland
Mark Williams (WAL )
9–8
Yan Bingtao (CHN )
[ 36]
28 Nov
10 Dec
UK Championship
Barbican Centre in York , England
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
10–5
Shaun Murphy (ENG )
[ 37]
11 Dec
17 Dec
Scottish Open
Emirates Arena in Glasgow , Scotland
Neil Robertson (AUS )
9–8
Cao Yupeng (CHN )
[ 38]
14 Jan
21 Jan
Masters †
Alexandra Palace in London , England
Mark Allen (NIR )
10–7
Kyren Wilson (ENG )
[ 39]
31 Jan
4 Feb
German Masters
Tempodrom in Berlin , Germany
Mark Williams (WAL )
9–1
Graeme Dott (SCO )
[ 40]
8 Feb
11 Feb
Shoot Out
Watford Colosseum in Watford , England
Michael Georgiou (CYP )
1–0
Graeme Dott (SCO )
[ 41]
19 Feb
25 Feb
World Grand Prix
Preston Guild Hall in Preston , England
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
10–3
Ding Junhui (CHN )
[ 42]
26 Feb
4 Mar
Welsh Open
Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff , Wales
John Higgins (SCO )
9–7
Barry Hawkins (ENG )
[ 43]
7 Mar
11 Mar
Gibraltar Open
Tercentenary Sports Hall, Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar , Gibraltar
Ryan Day (WAL )
4–0
Cao Yupeng (CHN )
[ 44]
14 Mar
18 Mar
Romanian Masters †
Bucharest Metropolitan Circus in Bucharest , Romania
Ryan Day (WAL )
10–8
Stuart Bingham (ENG )
[ 45]
19 Mar
25 Mar
Players Championship
Venue Cymru in Llandudno , Wales
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG )
10–4
Shaun Murphy (ENG )
[ 46]
2 Jan
29 Mar
Championship League †
Ricoh Arena in Coventry , England
John Higgins (SCO )
3–2
Zhou Yuelong (CHN )
[ 47]
2 Apr
8 Apr
China Open
Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing , China
Mark Selby (ENG )
11–3
Barry Hawkins (ENG )
[ 48]
21 Apr
7 May
World Championship
Crucible Theatre in Sheffield , England
Mark Williams (WAL )
18–16
John Higgins (SCO )
Ranking event
† Non-ranking event
World Ladies Billiards and Snooker
World Seniors Tour
Other events
Points distribution
2017/2018 points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking events:[ 68]
Round
Tournament
R144
R128
R80
R64
R48
R32
R16
QF
SF
F
W
Riga Masters
—
£0
—
£1,000
—
£2,000
£4,000
£6,000
£15,000
£25,000
£50,000
China Championship
—
£0
—
£4,000
—
£7,000
£12,000
£18,000
£32,000
£75,000
£150,000
Paul Hunter Classic
—
£0
—
£600
—
£1,000
£1,725
£3,000
£4,500
£10,000
£20,000
Indian Open
—
£0
—
£2,000
—
£4,000
£6,000
£10,000
£15,000
£25,000
£50,000
World Open
—
£0
—
£4,000
—
£7,000
£12,000
£18,000
£32,000
£75,000
£150,000
European Masters
—
£0
—
£2,000
—
£4,000
£6,000
£11,000
£17,500
£35,000
£75,000
English Open
—
£0
—
£2,500
—
£3,500
£6,000
£10,000
£20,000
£30,000
£70,000
International Championship
—
£0
—
£4,000
—
£8,500
£13,500
£21,500
£32,000
£75,000
£150,000
Shanghai Masters
—
£0
—
£4,000
—
£7,000
£12,000
£18,000
£32,000
£75,000
£150,000
Northern Ireland Open
—
£0
—
£2,500
—
£3,500
£6,000
£10,000
£20,000
£30,000
£70,000
UK Championship
—
£0
—
£5,000
—
£10,000
£15,000
£22,500
£35,000
£75,000
£170,000
Scottish Open
—
£0
—
£2,500
—
£3,500
£6,000
£10,000
£20,000
£30,000
£70,000
German Masters
—
£0
—
£2,000
—
£4,000
£5,000
£10,000
£20,000
£35,000
£80,000
Shoot Out
—
£0[ n 2]
—
£500
—
£1,000
£2,000
£4,000
£8,000
£16,000
£32,000
World Grand Prix
—
—
—
—
—
£5,000
£7,500
£12,500
£20,000
£40,000
£100,000
Welsh Open
—
£0
—
£2,500
—
£3,500
£6,000
£10,000
£20,000
£30,000
£70,000
Gibraltar Open
—
£0
—
£1,000
—
£2,000
£3,000
£4,000
£6,000
£12,000
£25,000
Players Championship
—
—
—
—
—
—
£10,000
£15,000
£30,000
£50,000
£125,000
China Open
—
£0
—
£5,000
—
£11,000
£18,000
£27,000
£45,000
£90,000
£225,000
World Championship
£0
—
£9,000
—
£13,500
£18,000[ n 3]
£27,500
£42,500
£85,000
£180,000
£425,000
Notes
^ The three disciplines at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games were part of the same tournament.
^ First round losers in the Shoot Out received £250 prize money which did not count towards the prize money rankings.
^ Players who lose their first match receive no ranking points.
References
External links
Ranking eventsNon-ranking events Seniors events Tours and series Related lists