The qualification criteria for the 2019 Betfred World Championship has today been announced by snooker’s world governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and World Snooker.

As in previous season, the top 16 players on the world ranking list following the conclusion of next month’s China Open will be seeded straight through to the final stages of the tournament at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre which will be played from 20 April – 6 May 2019.

They will be joined at snooker’s most famous venue by 16 qualifiers who will emerge from a field of 128 players during the previous week. The qualifying line-up will comprise all remaining professional players who are eligible to enter, to be topped up to a maximum of 112 with players from the 2018 Q School Order of Merit.

The field will be completed by 16 amateur players who have achieved success through the WPBSA qualifying criteria set out below:

4 – Challenge Tour 2018/19 – top four ranked players (Brandon Sargeant, David Grace, Mitchell Mann and David Lilley)
5 – EBSA European U-21 / U-18 Championship 2018 semi-finalists (Jackson Page, Aaron Hill, Ross Bulman, Dylan Emery, Florian Nüßle)
2 – World Women’s Snooker Tour – top two ranked players (Ng On Yee, Reanne Evans)
1 – World Seniors Snooker Tour –top ranked player Jonathan Bagley
1 – African champion (TBC)
1 –Americas champion (Igor Figueiredo)
1 – Oceania champion (TBC)
1 – CBSA nomination (TBC)
Should any of the above-named players decline their invitation then consideration will be given to alternative qualifying routes, to include continental championships and the 2018 Q School Order of Merit.

The draw for the qualifiers, which will be held at the English Institute for Sport in Sheffield will be made following the conclusion of the China Open next month. Each of the players competing must win three matches to earn a coveted place at the final stages of snooker’s most prestigious tournament.

Source-World snooker