Fergal Quinn secures two-year WST tour card through Q School
He defeated world number 96 Dean Young 4-1 in Leicester in the deciding match, having earlier seen off Ashley Carty - who finished last season at 68 in the world rankings - Keith Keldie, Sean O'Sullivan and Ronnie Sullivan.
It gives the Tyrone native the opportunity to compete at the elite level of the sport as he looks to build on his progress in the amateur game, including reaching the semi-finals of the WSF World Amateur Championship in Morocco in January.
Speaking after securing the tour card, he admitted that he had contemplated his future in the game after so much disappointment over the last half decade.
"I'm just so excited to see what the next two years has to offer, to be honest," he told WST.com
"After this Q School I was genuinely unsure what direction I was going to go down with my life path. I'm 25 years-old, another year, 26, 27... I have big ambitions for myself in my life in general.
"Sometimes it's hard to know and eventually you have to trust that snooker is for me. This game keeps pulling me back in. Maybe I was going to walk away from this game for six months
"Now it's pulled me back in, I'm on the tour - it's a bit crazy, to be honest. Now it gives me something to focus on for the next two years, simplifying my life a lot.
"I'm a professional snooker player now and that's all I have to focus on."
Quinn has been trying to secure a tour card since 2018 and becomes the second Irish player to earn a debut season on the tour after Leone Crowley, who managed it by winning the WSF Junior Championship in January.
Antrim's Mark Allen is the top ranked Irish player at number 10, with Cork's Aaron Hill set to start the new campaign at 49 in the world. Also on tour in the 2025/2026 season will be Jordan Brown, Robbie McGuigan and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty.
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