Q School 2020: Event One Qualifiers
Fan Zhengyi, Peter Devlin, Lee Walker and Simon Lichtenberg are all set to feature on the World Snooker Tour for at least the next two seasons after graduating from the 2020 Q School Event One at the English Institute of Sport.
Fan, Walker and Lichtenberg immediately bounce back to snooker’s top tier after relegation during the Betfred World Championship Qualifiers here last month, whilst Devlin earns promotion to the professional circuit for the first time.
First to make it through in Sheffield was Fan. The Chinese teenager got the better of Tyler Rees, Jake Nicholson and Oliver Brown – all qualifiers for this season’s Challenge Tour play-offs – before triumphs over Liam Graham and then two-time ranking event winner Michael White 4-2 in the final round.
Devlin will realise a career ambition when he steps up into the big time later this year. The 2016 English Under-21 Champion scored an impressive 4-2 penultimate round victory over Thor Chuan Leong and then repeated the dose against John Astley to secure a maiden berth amongst the world’s elite.
Former Crucible quarter-finalist Walker claimed his card following a 4-1 success over Simon Blackwell. In the previous round, the 44-year-old Welshman denied fellow countryman Jamie Jones by the same scoreline. It is the second time that Walker has emerged from the school; he did so back in 2014.
Winner of the EBSA European under-21 championship in 2018, Germany’s Lichtenberg overcome a tricky gauntlet of players to restamp his main tour passport. This included wins against Kishan Hirani, Stephen Craigie, Dean Young and finally Leo Fernandez 4-1.
A further eight professional passes are on offer over the weekend in Yorkshire with event two taking place on Saturday and event three on Sunday.
Article by Michael Day.
