2011 saw World Snooker's first QSchool come into action as a way for amateurs being able to turn pro and follow their dreams on a journey to lift the biggest prize - the World Championship. Everyone who turns pro has that dream. Since the first edition, which saw three rounds of action, hundreds of players have signed up for the toughest hard knocks to see if they can achieve their dreams.
Here's a quick rundown of how many centuries have been made since 2011, according to the snooker statistics data from CueTracker:
Snooker QSchool tons
- 2011 saw a total of 40 tons made across three editions
- 2012 saw 49 tons across three editions made
- 2013 saw just 27 across three editions made
After 2013, there were just two editions of the event and the tons were as follows:
- 2014 saw 32 tons in total made
- 2015 saw 25 tons made
- 2016 saw 33 tons potted
- 2017 saw just 26 tons racked in the event
This year, the event ran back to three editions of the school and there were 74 made.
That's the highest number of centuries made in the Qschool to date. What does that show exactly? Is the standard getting higher?
The graduates of 2018/19
30 players so far - including the 12 who qualified this season from QSchool who have managed to book their place on an ever-growing and lucrative World tour - with 64 players plus top-ups now chasing two tour cards on the Challenge Tour which starts in Burton this weekend and runs across the 2018/19 season.
At least seven players this season will have joined the tour for the first time, and the World Snooker tour welcomes these players on to the circuit for two years. They are:
- England's Harvey Chandler
- Germany's Simon Lichtenberg
- Welshman Kishan Hirani
- England's Ashley Carty
- Poland's Adam Stefanow
- England's Joe O'Connor
- Welshman Jamie Clarke
The rest are a combination of ex-pros or pros who were regulated only last season and managed to jump back on the tour bus at Burton.
For those who earn a two-year card each year, the hard work starts right now as one ex-pro once stated it is harder to stay on the tour rather than get on in the first place.
World Champion Mark Williams is leading the way for Wales, with the likes of Ryan Day and Michael White following behind. Two more Welsh additions to the tour are healthy for Welsh snooker.
There are nine more additions to the circuit for China as growth continues in Asia and beyond. Egypt sees two players on the tour. Germany now has two players on tour. Iran has two. The tour is becoming ever increasingly global!
One player in QSchool who came extremely close to earning a two-year ticket was former World Championship semi-finalist Andy hicks, who made a valiant attempt in Burton to get back on since he left the circuit five years ago, and was a pro between 1991 - 2013.
His semi-final at the Crucible came in 1995.
Hicks, of course, has made it on the Challenge Tour in the QSchool Order of Merit. The first Challenge Tour begins over the weekend and runs for two days in Burton.
