European Order of Merit: Fuerth Update
Following his emotional victory at the Paul Hunter Classic on Sunday, Ali Carter has moved up to the top of this season’s European Order of Merit after two of the six season’s six scheduled events and guaranteed himself a place at the Players Championship next March.
He was not the only one to make a move however, as in the race for fresh tour cards from the start of next season, several players won multiple matches in Fuerth to put themselves into contention a third of the way into this season’s Kreativ Dental European Tour.
As in previous seasons, the top eight players at the end of the season on the European Order of Merit, not already qualified for the main tour next season by finishing inside the top 64 on the main two-year world ranking list, will receive a two-year tour card from the start of 2016/17.
Of the players who might be in this position, two were able to reach the quarter-finals at the weekend, namely Ian Burns and Grimsby’s Stuart Carrington.
Although both were early losers at the Kaspersky Lab Riga Open last month, the £3,000 earned by both in Germany could be enough to see them retain their places on the tour already, with £2,583 being enough for James Cahill last season.
Of course both will be hoping to add to their tallies at the season’s four remaining Kreativ Dental European Tour events, which they ultimately hope will help them to break into the top 64 on the main ranking list by the end of the season.
Also able to make it through to the final day in Germany were Scott Donaldson and Malaysian professional Thor Chuan Leong, both of whom also won one match in Riga to leave their current totals at £2,250.
While they are not yet safe, they are currently well placed to retain their professional status at the end of the season and it might be that another couple of wins will be enough.
Beyond them however there is still all to play for, with Lee Walker, Aditya Mehta and Joel Walker currently occupy the next three spots, while amateur Hammad Miah, Peter Lines and Tian Pengfei are all currently in a tie for the final spot on £900.
You might be wondering why both Aditya Mehta and Peter Lines are included in this battle, the answer being that whilst they are currently ranked inside of the world’s top 64 on the official list, if we are to look at the provisional end of season list, which does not include points earned during the 2013/14 season, the duo are both currently outside of the top 64.
There is still lots to play for and no doubt that the situation will change again, but it was an important weekend for some of the players mentioned above and one that could prove crucial come the end of this season.
The Kreativ Dental European Tour continues with the Ruhr Open from the 7th October 2015.
