2014–15 snooker season
Series of snooker tournaments
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The 2014–15 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 8 May 2014 and 4 May 2015. The Riga Open was the first professional snooker tournament held in Latvia.[1] The season also saw the first professional tournament in Portugal as the Lisbon Open took place.[2]
Nations that hosted an event in the snooker calendar during the 2014–15 season | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 May 2014 – 4 May 2015 |
| Tournaments | 30 (11 ranking events) |
| Triple Crown winners | |
| UK Championship |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Masters | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |
| World Championship | Stuart Bingham (ENG) |
← 2013–14 2015–16 → | |
In November, it was announced that the World Open would not be held this season after the contract with the promoter was not renewed and a new venue was not found in time. But the intention was to bring the event back for the next season.[3]
The structure of the World Championship was changed. The top 16 seeds still qualified automatically for the first round at the Crucible, but all non-seeded players had to start in the first of three qualifying rounds. The overall championship was increased from 128 to 144 players, with the additional places made available to former world champions and players from emerging countries.[4]
New professional players
Countries:
The 2014/2015 season was made up of 128 professional players.[n 1] The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2014 World Championship,[7] and the 33 players earning a two-year card the previous year[n 2] automatically qualified for the season.[10] The top eight players from the European Tour Order of Merit and top four players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, who had not already qualified for the Main Tour, also qualified. Another three players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs,[11] and a further eight places were available through the 2014 Q School.[12] The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body nominations. All players listed below, except Hossein Vafaei[n 3] received a tour card for two seasons.[14]
Calendar
The following table outlines the results and dates for all the World Snooker Tour, World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association, seniors and other events.[32][33][34]
World Snooker Tour
| Ranking event |
| ‡ Minor-ranking event |
| † Non-ranking event |
World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association
| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct | 5 Oct | Eden Classic | Cueball Derby in Derby, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) |
5–3 | Maria Catalano (ENG) |
[61] |
| 31 Jan | 1 Feb | Eden Masters | Crucible Sports Club in Newbury, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) |
5–1 |  Ng On-Yee (HKG) |
[62] |
| 28 Mar | Connie Gough Trophy | Dunstable Snooker Club in Dunstable, England | Reanne Evans (ENG) |
4–1 | Jasmine Bolsover (ENG) |
[63] | |
| 18 Apr | 21 Apr | World Ladies Championship | Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England | Ng On-Yee (HKG) |
6–2 | Emma Bonney (ENG) |
[64] |
Seniors events
| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Mar | 3 Mar | World Seniors Championship | Circus Arena in Blackpool, England |  Mark Williams (WAL) |
2–1 |  Fergal O'Brien (IRL) |
[65] |
Other events
| Start | Finish | Tournament | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May | 11 May | Vienna Open | 15 Reds Köö Wien Snooker Club in Vienna, Austria | Mark King (ENG) |
5–2 | Nigel Bond (ENG) |
[66] |
| 4 Jun | 8 Jun | Pink Ribbon | The Capital Venue in Gloucester, England | Peter Lines (ENG) |
4–1 | Lee Walker (WAL) |
[67][68] |
| 12 Oct | 18 Oct | General Cup | General Snooker Club in Hong Kong, China | Ali Carter (ENG) |
7–6 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |
[69] |
Points distribution
2014/2015 points distribution for World Snooker Tour ranking and minor-ranking events:[70]
| Tournament\Round→ | R144 | R128 | R96 | R80 | R64 | R48 | R32 | R16 | QF | SF | F | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Tour events | – | 0 | – | – | 200 | – | 600 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Wuxi Classic | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| Australian Goldfields Open | – | 0 | 83[n 14] | – | 417 | 889[n 14] | 5,000[n 14] | 6,667 | 9,444 | 11,111 | 17,778 | 41,677 |
| European Tour events | – | 0 | – | – | 583 | – | 1,000 | 1,917 | 3,333 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,883 |
| Shanghai Masters | – | 0 | 400[n 14] | – | 1,750 | 2,500[n 14] | 6,000[n 14] | 8,000 | 12,000 | 19,500 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| International Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 7,000 | 12,000 | 17,500 | 30,000 | 65,000 | 125,000 |
| UK Championship | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 9,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 70,000 | 150,000 |
| German Masters | – | 0 | – | – | 1,250 | – | 2,500 | 4,167 | 8,333 | 16,667 | 29,167 | 66,667 |
| Welsh Open | – | 0 | – | – | 1,500 | – | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 |
| Indian Open | – | 0 | – | – | 2,000 | – | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 13,500 | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Players Championship Grand Finals | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,000 | 7,000 | 12,500 | 20,000 | 38,000 | 100,000 |
| China Open | – | 0 | – | – | 3,000 | – | 6,500 | 8,000 | 12,500 | 21,000 | 35,000 | 85,000 |
| World Championship | 0 | – | – | 6,000 | – | 9,000 | 12,000[n 14] | 20,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 125,000 | 300,000 |
Notes
- Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and James Wattana are not listed there, despite having received an Invitational Tour Card,[5] because they were not automatically eligible to compete at tournaments.[6]
- Jin Long and Shi Hanqing didn't renew their WPBSA membership,[8] while Patrick Einsle resigned from the Main Tour.[9]
- Hossein Vafaei received special dispensation to play on the Main Tour until the end of the season, when he will receive a two-year tour card.[13]
- Event also known as the 2014 Yixing Open.
- Event also known as the 2014 Riga Open.
- Event also known as the 2014 Paul Hunter Classic.
- Event also known as the 2014 Bulgarian Open
- Event also known as the 2014 Haining Open.
- Event also known as the 2014 Lisbon Open.
- Event also known as the 2015 Xuzhou Open
- Event also known as the 2015 Gdynia Open.
- Event also known as the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final.
- Players, who lose their first match, receive no ranking points.