There has been concern for some time in snooker over where new talent will emerge from and ahead of the new season it appears to have sprung up from a wide range of places.
Older players have been dominating the game in recent years, with Ronnie O’Sullivan still riding high as he approaches 50, the likes of Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy now in their forties and Judd Trump no longer classed as a youngster as he turns 35 this year.
Success for anyone under the age of 30 is pretty rare, with Luca Brecel bucking the trend by winning the 2023 World Championship in his twenties, while two of the brightest young tournament-winners – Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao – are banned as part of last year’s match-fixing investigation.
Snooker has been crying out for some promising new talent and there is now plenty to be excited about as a string of bright young things have booked their places on the professional circuit for the next two years.
Not to crush the excitement too early, but these players are just starting out on their professional journeys. They are not being tipped to do an O’Sullivan and win the UK Championship in their teenage years, but as they arrive on the World Snooker Tour it is cause for optimism.
Q School has just come to a close in the UK and Asia, with a 17-year-old Latvian becoming the first player from his country to arrive on the main tour, while he has been joined by a 20-year-old Pole.
Artemijs Zizins will represent Latvia on the pro tour after a brilliant set of performances in Q School, beating three former professionals and knocking in breaks of 120 and 88 in his final win over Kaydon Brierley.
Antoni Kowalski is Poland’s new representative on tour and is already talking a good game, claiming he is immune to feeling pressure and that his A game will beat anyone on the tour.
Also flying his country’s flag on tour next season is Bulcsu Revesz, who will be the first ever Hungarian professional thanks to winning the WSF Junior Championship earlier this year.
Another 17-year-old, Revesz had a crack at World Championship qualifying this year and got an early taste of success, beating then-pro Sean O’Sullivan 10-8 in the first round and showing he is ready to compete at the top level.
The representation of European players on tour is encouraging for the growth of the sport, which can be, at least in part, attributed to the influence of Eurosport showing the game across the continent to new audiences.
The new players are not alone in the continental contingent, with the aforementioned Brecel leading an impressive young Belgian trio as Ben Mertens, 19, and Julien Leclercq, 21, both held onto their tour cards at the end of last season.
The country that has been the most reliable producer of young talent in recent years is China and prospects continue to emerge, with 17-year-old Gong Chenzhi joining the tour for the first time this year through the CBSA Tour.
Also embarking on a new professional career this summer is Women’s World Championship winner Bai Yulu, who may just have the potential to have more impact than any rookie.
That is not to say that the 20-year-old will win more matches than her fellow newcomers, but given the interest in her Women’s World Championship victory this year, she could help encourage many more girls into taking up the sport.
Bai became world champion for the first time in Dongguan Changping in March, with World Women’s Snooker reporting that ‘in China, the event attracted cumulative viewing figures of 175.4 million.’
That’s pretty wild stuff and if Bai can make waves on the main tour as well as earning success on the women’s circuit, she is a huge star in the making.
New professionals from India, Pakistan, Malaysia, UAE and Iran have also emerged in the forms of Kreishh Gurbaxani. Haris Tahir, Lim Kok Leong, Mohammed Shehab and Amir Sarkhosh, further boosting the global growth of the game.
UK fans will undoubtedly be wondering where the homegrown talent is coming from and there is some of that too, with Liam Davies and Robbie McGuigan joining the pro ranks for the first time this season.
19-year-old Northern Irish star McGuigan won the European Championship to book his spot on tour, while 17-year-old Welshman Davies won the junior event to do the same.
Protégés of Mark Allen and Mark Williams respectively, the two teenagers will be looking to make a splash in the big leagues as quickly as possible.
They join the likes of Liam Pullen, Stan Moody and Liam Graham, already on the pro tour as teenagers.
It is now four years since Ronnie O’Sullivan made his memorable comments about needing to lose and arm and a leg to fall out of the world’s top 50, such is the scarcity of young talent around.
There is no quick fix to finding the next star of the baize, but this season’s influx of fresh-faced talent from around the globe is very encouraging.
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