Dylan Emery fills professional tour card spot left vacant by World Snooker Champion Zhao Xintong

The 24-year-old cueist from Caerphilly has been a very familiar face on snooker’s top tier this season as an amateur top-up player for events, but he has now earned back his full professional stripes after being relegated in spring 2024.

It looked like Emery was heading to the upcoming UK Q-School in Leicester in an attempt to regain his tour place, but due to Zhao Xintong’s remarkable run - and ultimately title triumph - at the Crucible, Emery will be spared that bother.

That’s because Emery now takes World Champion Zhao’s pro ticket from this season’s Q Tour rankings.

Following the expiration of his 20-month ban from the sport last September, Chinese cueist Zhao returned to competitive action on the Q Tour - snooker’s secondary circuit, open to amateurs - in a bid to win promotion back to the professional tour.

The former UK Champion and world number six was sensational on the Q Tour, winning four successive events, making two maximum 147 breaks, and finishing top of the rankings with an event to spare.

That feat earned him a two-year pro card starting from the 2025/26 term, but also an invite to the 2025 World Professional Snooker Championship in which he created history by becoming the first Asian winner of the sport’s blue riband event.

The first amateur, and only the third qualifier to conquer the Crucible, Zhao won a record nine matches en route to glory - four qualifying ties and five in the main draw. No-one had won so many before in lifting the trophy.

Due to his winning streak coming at snooker’s richest event, the prize money Zhao won had a big impact on his world ranking status.

As a non-tour card holder - until next season - Zhao didn’t have a ranking at the start of the Championship, but he earned enough money to break into the world’s top 64, and was therefore able to keep his ranking points going into next season, instead of starting on zero. However, due to the wording on previous correspondence from the World Snooker Tour sent to players, this has proved controversial.

By getting to the semi-finals in Sheffield - where he defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 with a session to spare - Zhao earned enough money to obtain a ranking for the start of the 2025/26 term, instead of beginning at the back with no points.

However, in going all the way at the Crucible, Zhao pocketed the first prize of £500,000, and moved up to number 11 in the world rankings, although due to a long-standing rule involving reigning World Champions, he’ll be at least the number two seed for most events next season anyway.

The situation is similar to that of Luke Littler when he reached the final of the 2023/24 World Darts Championship as an amateur.

As Zhao broke into the world’s top 64, that becomes his primary method of qualifying for next season’s professional circuit, therefore meaning his two-year ticket via the Q Tour rankings becomes vacant.

And that’s where Emery steps in. As this season’s Q Tour offers four spaces on the 2025/26 World Snooker Tour - one via the ranking list, and three via the global play-offs which were decided in Türkiye several weeks ago - second-placed on the ranking list Emery receives the card.

Emery enjoyed a fantastic Q Tour campaign, winning event two in Sofia, Bulgaria, reaching the final of event seven in Walsall, England, and making two further semi-finals.

Elsewhere on the amateur circuit this season, former Welsh national champion Emery got to the semi-finals of the 2025 European Amateur Snooker Championship where he was ousted 4-3 by eventual champion Liam Highfield.

Having earned a place by winning the European Under-21 Snooker Championship in 2021, Emery first turned professional for the 2022/23 term.

Eight times he has made it to the last 32 of a professional ranking event, including two this season as an amateur at the Shoot Out and the German Masters.

For the official World Snooker Tour announcement on Emery’s professional card, visit their website here.