Latest news with #WSFJuniorChampionship
RTÉ News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Aaron Hill books Wuhan Open spot as debutants Fergal Quinn and Leone Crowley whitewashed
Aaron Hill secured a spot in August's Wuhan Open this afternoon but it turned out to be a baptism of fire for Fergal Quinn and Leone Crowley on their WST debuts. Hill comfortably saw off England's Sam Craigie 5-1 with four breaks over 50. The Cork native, who starts the new season at a career high of 50 in the world rankings, raced into a 4-0 lead before Craigie stopped the rot. But 23-year-old Hill won the next frame to secure a place at the tournament proper, alongside Antrim's Jordan Brown, who beat Duane Jones 5-1 yesterday. It wasn't to be for Fergal Quinn who lost out 5-0 to world number 46 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who had a high break of 95. The defeat to the Thai was Quinn's first match since securing a tour card at Q School earlier this month. Elsewhere, fellow debutant Leone Crowley also lost 5-0 to 2010 world champion Neil Robertson. Crowley secured his spot on the tour earlier this year by winning the WSF Junior Championship in Morocco, but The Thunder from Down-Under looked sharp, winning the match with a century along the way in frame two.
RTÉ News
02-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Fergal Quinn secures two-year WST tour card through Q School
Fergal Quinn has secured a two year card on the World Snooker Tour after coming through Q School over the weekend. 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 "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.
