Who is fighting for their future at snooker Q School? Format explained for 2023 event at Leicester's Morningside Arena

The 2023/24 snooker season begins in earnest on Friday morning with the latest edition of Q School at the Morningside Arena in Leicester. It is the 13th time the pressurised event has been staged with 208 players competing for only eight World Snooker Tour cards that will earn them playing rights for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, respectively. Ad There are two tournaments with the four semi-finalists from each earning coveted spots on the professional circuit.

Snooker'They don't cue straight' – Holt makes fascinating revelation about iconic world champion duo19/05/2023 AT 19:51 Event One runs from Friday 26 May until Wednesday 31 May with the second competition starting on Thursday 1 June until Tuesday 6 June. A player entering in round one will have to win six matches to earn their card with those coming in at the second stage needing five wins from the best-of-seven frame contests. Former Shoot Out winner Michael Holt saw his 26-year stay on the circuit come to an end after finishing 65th in the rankings at the conclusion of the 2021/22 season before failing to regain his card at Q School a year ago.

“It was a disaster dropping off, but the analogy I would use is having a stone in your shoe. It feels really big at the time, but when you stop and take your shoe off you realise it is only small,” he said. “I’m sure if I was a single 25-year-old it would have been a bigger thing, snooker was all my life was at that point.

Now it is a part of my life that I want to get back. I have a wife and kids now. “It has given me time to explore stuff I simply wouldn’t have done if I was on the tour.