Next snooker season will be interesting to say the least for a number of reasons. Not only because of the incredible affect three players have had on the tour this season in the name of the class of 92 in Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins. But, also, because the World Snooker tour continues its global expansion with another player from Egypt emerging onto the tour.
The latest player to turn pro is Egypt's Mohamed Ibrahim, winner of the African National Snooker Championship and the country which is one of several members of the new World Snooker Federation.
Before that, Hatem Yassen was a proud tour pro in 2015/16 after winning the same tournament the ABSF African National Championship as was 2017 winner Basem Eltahan, still on the tour.
The 17 graduates so far
Ibrahim joins the tour with so far at the time of writing this, 16 other players, which include:
- England's Harvey Chandler - winner of the European Snooker Championships in Sofia
- Germany's Simon Lichtenberg, who becomes the second player to graduate from that country after he won the EBSA European Under-21 Championship in Bulgaria.
- Luo Honghao, winner of the first World Snooker Federation Championship (although it's been reported he has VISA issues so may not actually join the tour properly next season?
- Welshman Jamie Clarke who was one of two players to qualify in the EBSA play offs that were played earlier last month at the English Institute of Sport during the World Championship qualifiers
- Joe O'Connor, who also qualified at the EBSA play offs will also join the tour next season.
- IBSF World Champion Amateur at Under-21 level China's Fan Zhengyl
At the time of writing, Burton on Trent is hosting the annual QSchool event at the Meadowside Leisure Centre where another 12 lucky players will earn a spot on the tour and join those already qualified.
Already, eight players with a spot on the tour from the one-year ranking order of merit are:
- Elliot Slessor
- Oliver Lines
- John Astley
- China's Tian Pengfei
- Lee Walker (part of team Mark Williams, who became the 2018 Betfred World Snooker Champion)
- China's Mei Xi Wen
- Alfie Burden
- Zhang Anda
From the CBSA China tour, two Chinese players will join. They are:
- Zhang Jian Khang
- Chen Fellong
An ever-expansive global tour
Egypt's Ibrahim becomes the second Egyptian to be on the tour next season as he joins his colleague Basem, also a former winner of the ABSF African National Snooker Championship in 2017 in Tunisia. The tour is truly global with players from China, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Europe, Asia, Australia, and of course the five parts of the UK, namely, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
