Snooker Tour Cards and Q School: How Players Turn Professional
The tour: 128 players hold a World Snooker Tour card in 2026/27. A new card lasts two seasons, and a player keeps their place by finishing in the top 64 of the two-year world ranking list after the World Championship; four more are saved by the one-year list.
Getting a card: mainly through Q School (12 cards in 2026: 8 in Leicester, 4 in Bangkok, entry £960 in Leicester), the WPBSA Q Tour (4 cards) and places nominated by amateur and women's tours around the world. The WPBSA can also give invitational cards, currently to Jimmy White and Marco Fu.
Snooker's professional tour is a closed list: only tour card holders get into every ranking event, and each season some players fall off and others earn their way on. Here is how the 2026/27 tour was put together, how Q School works, and what happens to a player who loses their card.
How the 2026/27 tour is made up
| Route | Places |
|---|---|
| Top 64 of the world ranking list after the 2026 World Championship | 64 |
| Players in the second year of a two-year card | 33 |
| Top 4 of the 2025/26 one-year list not already qualified | 4 |
| Q School, Leicester | 8 |
| Asia-Oceania Q School, Bangkok | 4 |
| WPBSA Q Tour | 4 |
| World Snooker Federation championships (men's and junior) | 2 |
| World Women's Snooker | 2 |
| European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) | 2 |
| Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) China Tour | 2 |
| Asia-Pacific, Pan-American and African nominations | 1 each |
| Total | 128 |
Allocation as published by the WPBSA for 2025/26 and used again for 2026/27; player list from WST's 2026/27 tour announcement (4 June 2026) and SnookerHQ's breakdown. The same allocation has been used since 2024/25.
The WPBSA notes that there may also be invitational cards, and places for amateurs who qualify for the Crucible and would not otherwise get a card.
How long a card lasts, and how to keep it
A new professional gets a two-year card: players who came through Q School in 2026 are on tour for 2026/27 and 2027/28. At the end of each season, the cut is made on the official world ranking list after the World Championship:
- the top 64 of the two-year prize-money list keep their place for the next season;
- players at the end of a two-year card who finish outside the top 64 can still earn a new two-year card through the one-year list: the top four on that season's list who have not already qualified.
At the 2026 cut, Jordan Brown finished 64th and kept his card, while Antoni Kowalski, just outside the top 64, earned a new card through the one-year list. Because the ranking list is prize money over two years, a big result can keep a player on tour for a long time; how the list works is explained in how snooker rankings work, and what each event pays is in snooker prize money 2026/27.
Q School
Q School is the open qualifying event for tour cards, held every May after the World Championship. In 2026 there were two versions:
Leicester (open to all)
- Two knockout events at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, starting on 20 May 2026, played back to back;
- entry fee £960 including VAT, with no limit on entries;
- every match is best of 7 frames;
- the four semi-finalists in each event earn a two-year card, 8 in total; anyone who qualifies in Event 1 is removed from Event 2;
- 64 players are seeded: those who dropped off the tour that season and the top of the previous year's Q School order of merit;
- new professionals must attend a WPBSA player support programme (at Lilleshall, 28–29 July in 2026).
Asia-Oceania Q School (Bangkok)
- Two events in Bangkok in mid-May, open only to citizens of Asian and Oceanian countries;
- entry £560 (or 25,000 baht), up to 128 players;
- the two finalists in each event earn a card, 4 in total.
The 2026 Q School graduates were Cheung Ka Wai, Phil O'Kane, Sean O'Sullivan, Liam Davies, Andrew Higginson, Gong Chenzhi, Stuart Carrington and Mitchell Mann in Leicester, and Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon, Deng Haohui, Huang Jiahao and Liu Yang in Bangkok.
The Q School order of merit
Everyone who plays Q School and misses out still earns a place on the order of merit: one point for every frame won, and four points for a first-round bye. During the season this list is used to top up ranking event fields when there are withdrawals, so a good Q School can still mean several professional events as an amateur. It is also used to seed Q Tour events.
The Q Tour
The WPBSA Q Tour has been the main amateur series since 2021. It awards four two-year cards: one to the player ranked first in Q Tour Europe, and three at the Global Play-Offs, where the next sixteen European players and qualifiers from other regions play in sections of eight. In 2026/27 Q Tour Europe has seven events, from Leeds (27–30 August 2026) to Sheffield (11–14 February 2027), each with a £30,000 prize fund and best-of-7 matches. There are also five Q Tour Asia-Pacific events in Australia and New Zealand.
Nominated places
Eleven cards go to players nominated by other bodies, usually as champions of their region or tour: the World Snooker Federation championships (men's and junior), World Women's Snooker (two places, for the 2026 women's world champion and the world number two, Bai Yulu), the European, Asia-Pacific, Pan-American and African federations, and the CBSA China Tour, whose two places in 2026/27 went to Wang Xinbo and Luo Zetao.
Invitational tour cards
Since 2014/15 the WPBSA board can invite a player onto the tour at its discretion; nobody can apply for one. An invitational card holder can enter ranking events and earn ranking prize money, is seeded below all main tour players, and earns a full card by finishing inside the top 64. Jimmy White and Marco Fu hold invitational cards for 2025/26 and 2026/27. Ken Doherty held one for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and Stephen Hendry, who had one from 2020, turned down a renewal in 2024.
What happens when a player loses their card
They become an amateur again, but not shut out. They can go back to Q School, where former professionals are seeded; play professional events as a top-up from the order of merit; play the Q Tour; and enter the amateur places at some events, such as the 16 amateur places at the 2026 World Championship qualifiers. Zhao Xintong showed how far that can go: he won the 2025 World Championship as an amateur, and the £500,000 counted in full, taking him from unranked to 11th in the world.
Age and eligibility
Q School has no formal age limit, but the 2026 entry form allowed the WPBSA and WST to refuse anyone under 16 on the first day, and under-18s needed written confirmation and a parent or guardian with them. Entrants must be members of, or in good standing with, their national federation.
Follow the tour week by week
Our snooker section updates scores, results and the schedule every hour during events, with the world rankings and player pages for the top 16.
See the world rankings →FAQ
How many players are on the snooker tour?
128 in 2026/27: the top 64, players in the second year of a card, and players who came through Q School, the Q Tour and nominated places. The WPBSA can also award invitational cards; Jimmy White and Marco Fu hold one this season.
How do you get a snooker tour card?
Mostly through Q School (12 cards in 2026), the WPBSA Q Tour (4 cards) or a nominated place from a regional, junior or women's tour. Players already on tour keep their card by finishing in the top 64.
How long does a snooker tour card last?
A new card lasts two seasons. After that, a player stays on tour by finishing in the top 64 of the two-year ranking list, or among the top four on the one-year list who have not already qualified.
How much does Q School cost?
The 2026 Leicester Q School cost £960 including VAT to enter, and the Asia-Oceania Q School in Bangkok £560 (25,000 baht).
Can amateurs play in professional snooker events?
Yes. Amateurs top up ranking event fields from the Q School order of merit, and some events reserve amateur places; the 2026 World Championship qualifiers had 16. Prize money an amateur wins at a ranking event can count towards the rankings, as Zhao Xintong's 2025 world title did.
Related reading: How Snooker Rankings Work · Snooker Prize Money 2026/27 · The Snooker Triple Crown · Snooker calendar 2026/27
Sources: WPBSA, World Snooker Tour cards page (2025/26 allocation, 15 April 2025) and invitational tour cards pages (2017, 2020, 2024, 2025); WST, 2026/27 World Snooker Tour players (4 June 2026), and world rankings update (7 May 2025, Zhao Xintong); SnookerHQ, World Snooker Tour players 2026/27 (7 June 2026); 2026 Q School entry form (WPBSA, 22 April 2026) and Asia-Oceania Q School entry pack; WPBSA Q School order of merit, Q Tour and Q Tour Europe 2026/27 dates pages; World Women's Snooker, Channoi and Bai earn WST cards (21 May 2026); WPBSA, 2026 World Championship amateur places. Q School graduates as listed on Wikipedia's 2026 Q School page, citing WST. This article contains no sponsored or affiliate links.