World Snooker Tour
The Snooker Main Tour is a game the sport of snooker season, which consists of pre-established tournaments. These include world ranking and invitational tournaments. The main tour begins in late summer and ends with the climax of the season, the World Snooker Championship in early May. It is organized by the WPBSA.
Tournaments
Although the number and venue of the tournaments of the tour will change relatively frequently, some tournaments such as the UK Championship, which is considered the second most important tournament, but are an integral part of the season for decades. Most of the tournaments of the year will take place in the UK. Over time tournaments have taken place but also in some other countries (see map).
Compared to other individual sports, the number of tournaments for a long time was very low. Until the snooker season 2009/10 there were usually under ten tournaments, where world ranking points were awarded. Only by the Players Tour Championship introduced in 2010, this was somewhat mitigated. Because of the relatively small number of ways to collect points for the world rankings, usually occur all professional players at all tournaments. In addition, seeded players automatically get ranking points. This is true even with a first round defeat, so a waiver would start a give away of the points the same. The number of points for winning qualifying rounds depends on the significance of the event, according to the results for the main rounds.
The few tournaments as well as the high-class field of participants in each tournament, have the consequence that very few players can actually win a tournament. So it happens that some players are years placed in the top ten in the world rankings, but not win a single major tournament, others because of their temporary dominance very often. To make matters worse, that the power density in the world rankings is very high; it's no big surprise when world ranking Leading to lose in the first round and excrete.
Seedings
For the ranking tournaments the first sixteen players in the world rankings are set. The special feature is that the reigning world champion, unless he at the same time leading the rankings, there is always second place in the seedings. Should the case occur, that the world champion is not among the places 1-16 of the rankings of the world rankings Sixteenth falls out of the seedings and must qualify as the following, all for the tournaments. For individual tournaments the same may apply, as the defending champion of the tournament is set automatically, even if he does not belong to the top 16. The ranking position on the number of qualifying rounds will decide. The players of the 17-32 positions play a qualifying round, all lower -placed two rounds or more.
Qualify for the main tour
On the Main Tour Snooker usually play 96 players. The 64 top finishers of the Snooker world rankings keep it after the season into place automatically, the rest is redistributed. Eight new starting places will go to the most successful players ( outside anyway qualified Top64 in the world rankings ) of the Players Tour Championship series. A further 12 places will be allocated on the Q School, the DIOS Tour replaced 2011.
The other starting places to get the winner of the IBSF Amateur World Championship, the various continental championships as well as some first place winner of the national rankings. In addition, the WPBSA awards often some wildcards.
From the 2013/14 season, an expansion to 128 players is planned.
German on the main tour
Lasse Munster man ( season 2000/ 01) and Patrick Einsle ( season 2006/ 07 and 2010/11 ) were already two German on the Main Tour. Einsle received the Main Tour ticket twice a wildcard, Munster man by winning the Euro Tour 2000. However, both fell in each case after a season back out of the rankings because they could not collect enough points.
About the EBSA Qualifying Tour 2012/13 Patrick Einsle a main tour secured space for the seasons 2013/14 and 2014 /15 campaign.