Jamie Clarke wins Q Tour rankings race to reclaim professional snooker stripes

The 31-year-old from Wales was relegated from the World Snooker Tour at the end of last season, although elected against going to the subsequent Q School to win his place back, preferring to concentrate on opening a cuesports facility near his home.

But the former Welsh national champion and two-time European amateur championship runner-up committed to playing on this season’s Q Tour - snooker’s secondary tier circuit.

Following a last 32 finish at the opening event of the term in Sweden, Clarke recorded successive quarter-final results across the next two legs in Austria and Albania.

It was over the following two stops when he struck a real rich vein of results, though, winning consecutive titles with event four in Leeds, England, and event five in Sofia, Bulgaria - defeating fellow ex-professionals Craig Steadman and Stuart Carrington in those respective finals.

Those triumphs put him in a strong position on the order or merit, from which the top ranked player at the end of the season would secure a two-year professional tour card for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 campaigns.

Clarke collected further points with a last 32 return at event six in Belgium, but could still be overtaken coming into this weekend’s final stop held at the Landywood Snooker Club near Walsall in England.

With work still to be done to assure the number one spot and top flight ticket, Clarke wrapped up a 4-0 victory over former European Tour professional event winner Rory McLeod with a break of 134 before seeing off another former main tour exponent in Jamie Wilson, 4-1, in the last 32.

Due to an early defeat for rankings rival Peter Lines, victory over Belgium’s Sybren Sokolowski in the last 16 would guarantee Clarke the standings title and tour card, and he completed the task in style, compiling back-to-back century breaks during a 4-0 whitewash win.

Returning the next day for the quarter-finals, Clarke was defeated 4-1 by Thai youngster Nattanapong Chaikul, but his main objective of the trip was already in the bag.

Clarke first turned professional in 2018, qualifying through the EBSA Play-Offs having come agonisingly close to promotion to the top flight several times before.

He reached the semi-finals of the Snooker Shoot Out in 2019, and the quarters of the same competition in 2022.

A further six times he has appeared in the last 16 of a ranking event, one of those was in the 2020 World Championship at the Crucible, and in consecutive years at the UK Championship in York (2022 & 2023). He qualified for the Crucible again in 2022.

Returning pro Clarke to have “totally different approach”

Speaking to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association after defeating Sokolowski and winning his pro stripes back, a jubilant Clarke said: “I’m relieved to be honest! I’ve found the Q Tour a really pleasant experience this year, but I’m pleased to get the job done sooner rather than later.”

“I’ve got two years on the Tour now and I’ve got a new outlook on the sport. I have my own academy now in Llanelli where I help out some of the youngsters, as well as having my own practice facility now, so I think think I will have a totally different approach this time around. I’ll just enjoy it, try my best and see how it goes.”

Clarke will receive an invite to the 2026 World Snooker Championship qualifiers in a few weeks time, and will look to follow in the footsteps of last season’s Q Tour number one Zhao Xintong, who historically went all the way to become the first player from Asia to claim snooker’s blue riband prize.

Earlier this season, Clarke was also invited to the 2025 UK Championship qualifiers where he won three matches before being denied a spot in the main draw at the Barbican by Zhou Yuelong, 6-2, at the final qualification hurdle.