Four Players Earn Tour Cards at Q School Event 1 in Leicester
Davies and Cheung Bounce Back Immediately After Tour Exit
Q School Event 1 concluded on Monday in Leicester with four players securing two-year professional tour cards, bringing an end to what had been a gruelling week of knockout snooker for those seeking a place on the main circuit. The quartet of Liam Davies, Cheung Ka Wai, Sean O'Sullivan and Phil O'Kane will all compete as professionals for at least the next two seasons, having come through the final round of the event.
Two of the graduates — Davies and Cheung — had dropped off the tour at the conclusion of the most recent campaign, having failed to maintain positions inside the world's top 64. Both responded by going straight back through the Q School door. Cheung Ka Wai, the Hong Kong cueist who claimed the 2024 WSF Championship title, defeated Jack Bradford 4-1 in his final-round match. It represented a measure of redemption for Cheung, who fell at the final hurdle of the Asia-Oceania Q School back in 2023. During his first stint as a professional, the 2024 WSF champion produced some notable results but was unable to generate the consistency required to push up the world rankings.
Welsh teenager Liam Davies, meanwhile, secured his return to the professional game with a 4-2 victory over Dean Young, during which he compiled a break of 134 — a score that underlined the quality that has long made him one of the most highly regarded young players to emerge from British snooker in recent years. At just 19 years of age, Davies will have every opportunity to establish himself on tour over the coming two seasons. Speaking to the World Snooker Tour after his match, Davies was candid about the pressures of the week: "It feels unbelievable. Some of the games this week, the way I was playing, I thought snooker might not be for me. I managed to scrape through, and I played pretty well in the last two games. I never want to come back here. I will be honest with you."
O'Sullivan Returns to Tour for Third Time via Q School Route
Sean O'Sullivan's journey through professional snooker is one of the more well-documented of the modern era. The 32-year-old first turned professional in 2012 and has since experienced multiple cycles of promotion and relegation — a pattern that has become something of a defining feature of his career. Monday's 4-2 victory over Joshua Thomond sealed what is now his third promotion to the main tour via the Q School route, a statistic that speaks to both his persistence and the fine margins that have characterised his time in the professional game. O'Sullivan had last featured on the main circuit as recently as 2024, meaning his absence has been relatively brief, though no less motivating for that.
O'Kane Fulfils Lifelong Dream at 33
Perhaps the most emotionally resonant story of the week belonged to Phil O'Kane. The 33-year-old Englishman had spent the entirety of his snooker career to this point on the amateur circuit, never previously reaching the final round of Q School. On Monday, in his maiden appearance at that stage, O'Kane took his opportunity with both hands — defeating Jamie O'Neill 4-1 to become a professional snooker player for the first time. The win drew a visibly emotional response. "I'm overwhelmed. I was clearing up at the end whilst holding back tears, sweating, and shaking," O'Kane told the World Snooker Tour. "I was an emotional wreck, and it just means the world to me." O'Kane also revealed that a conversation at a pool tournament approximately eight weeks ago had served as additional motivation, with the owner of his local club subsequently messaging him on the morning of his final to acknowledge that the hard work had paid off.
Event 1 Graduate Summary
The four players who earned two-year tour cards from Q School Event 1 are as follows:
Liam Davies (Wales) — beat Dean Young 4-2 | Cheung Ka Wai (Hong Kong) — beat Jack Bradford 4-1 | Sean O'Sullivan (England) — beat Joshua Thomond 4-2 | Phil O'Kane (England) — beat Jamie O'Neill 4-1
Q School Event 2 follows in due course, with a further batch of tour cards available to players who were unsuccessful this week or who did not enter Event 1. All four Monday graduates will now begin preparations for life on the professional circuit, with the 2026–27 season schedule set to be confirmed by World Snooker Tour in the coming weeks.
