Clarke Claims Q Tour Crown in Leeds
Jamie Clarke defeated Craig Steadman 4-2 to win the fourth event of the 2025/26 WPBSA Q Tour Europe series at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.
The victory saw Clarke, who held professional status between 2018 and 2025, become the fourth different winner of an event on the Q Tour Europe series this season and earn both the top prize of £6,000 and a place in the UK Championship qualifying rounds.
The event in Leeds saw the most entries in a Q Tour event so far this season with 139 cueists from 25 nations contesting the four-day competition.
Clarke, a former ranking event semi-finalist, dropped just a single frame in his first two matches as he whitewashed Anthony Wall before overcoming France’s Brian Ochoiski 4-1 in the last 64.
A hard-fought contest against William Lemons followed as Clarke came through a deciding frame against the Englishman and then downed George Pragnell 4-2 to secure a place in the concluding day of action.
Event two champion Peter Lines was his opponent in the quarter-finals.
Clarke raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 69 and 71 but Lines quickly turned things around to lead 3-2 with help from a contribution of 74.
The Welshman found his scoring form at the perfect moment, however, to set up a semi-final meeting with Stuart Carrington courtesy of visits of 70 and 105.
A top break of 92 then saw Clarke sweep aside fellow former professional Carrington to set up a title match meeting with recent European Seniors Championship winner Steadman.
Clarke had been the in-form player across the week and looked to be romping to victory as he moved 3-0 ahead in the best-of-seven frame contest.
Steadman refused to go down without a fight, however, and reduced his deficit to just one frame by firing in consecutive century breaks of 126 and 103.
It ultimately proved to be too little, too late though as Clarke took frame six by a 67-37 winning margin to secure the fourth Q Tour Europe title of the season.
The WPBSA Q Tour Europe series continues with event five at the National Snooker Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria on 4-7 December. Enter now via WPBSA SnookerScores.
