Amateur wildcards to look out for at World Snooker Championship qualifying

The qualifiers in the ‘Steel City’ consist of four rounds, with players entering at different stages depending on their world ranking position. There are 16 golden tickets on offer, with those successful qualifiers lining up alongside the competition’s top 16 seeds in round one of the main draw at the Crucible Theatre (April 18-May 4).

All current professional tour card holders were permitted to enter the Championship, with only a handful of players electing not to enter. Due to the expanded field for snooker’s blue riband event, a plethora of standout amateur stars are invited to the qualifiers due to their performances over the past several months.

The amateur wildcards taking part in this year’s staging can take inspiration from reigning world champion Zhao Xintong, who himself was invited to the qualifiers last year due to his results on the secondary tier Q Tour.

Zhao had to navigate all four qualifying hurdles to reach the Crucible, where he won a further five matches to create history in becoming the first cueist from Asia to claim the crown.

The equivalent of Zhao at this year’s qualifiers is 31-year-old Welshman Jamie Clarke, who finished top of this season’s Q Tour rankings list and will be back on the professional circuit full-time from next season.

Clarke was relegated from the World Snooker Tour last season but decided against going to the subsequent Q School as he focused on opening a cuesports venue near his home. But the Llanelli cueman did elect to participate on the Q Tour, where he won back-to-back events en route to the order of merit title.

Former world number 43 Clarke will be a dangerous prospect at the world qualifiers, a gauntlet he has twice completed, in 2020 and 2022. On his Crucible debut, he defeated number four seed Mark Allen, 10-8, before being ousted by Anthony McGill, 13-12, in the last 16.

Earlier this season as an invited amateur, Clarke won three successive matches to reach the final round of UK Championship qualifying before being stopped by Zhou Yuelong.

Clarke meets Haydon Pinhey in qualifying round one, with the winner to meet Belgian youngster Ben Mertens in the second round.

Wang Xinbo is another exciting young talent fresh from the Chinese conveyor belt. The teenager - who turned 18 in January - made the finals of both the World Snooker Federation Junior and Open Championships in Bulgaria a few months’ back. It is understood he is in a very strong position to qualify for next season’s pro tour due to his placing on the China national ranking list.

Wang has featured at several professional tournaments this term as a wildcard, making an impact at the recent World Open in Yushan where he fashioned a break of 141 during a 5-0 whitewash victory over professional player Mitchell Mann - the opponent he will face in the first round of qualifying at the EIOS.

He took top 16 exponent Si Jiahui close at the Shanghai Masters (losing 6-4), and made a 132 during a 5-2 defeat to Crucible king Zhao Xintong at the Xi’an Grand Prix. Wang also defeated three-time ranking event semi-finalist Robbie Williams at the Wuhan Open.

Alfie Burden is set to turn 50 later this year, but ‘The AB of London’ has enjoyed his most memorable 12 months on the baize.

It has been a rollercoaster experience for Burden who was relegated from the top tier after last year’s World Championship qualifiers, but only a few weeks’ on at the Crucible, he won the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship.

He was unsuccessful at Q School in attempting to earn his tour card straight back, and didn’t make a big impact on the Q Tour. However, a few weeks after playing at the Champion of Champions due to his seniors success, Burden received a very late call-up to the Snooker Shoot Out in Blackpool.

In a fairytale story, Burden went all the way, defeating former world champion Stuart Bingham in the final to win his maiden ranking event title and the £50,000 champion’s purse. That incredible run means that Burden will return to the pro ranks later this year via his position on the one-year ranking list.

Burden’s solitary appearance in the main draw of the world championship came in 1998, and he’ll try to begin his long journey back with an intriguing opening qualifying round tie with English youngster Liam Pullen, who is one of the most improved players on the scene this season.

Two qualifying participants who have Crucible experience - and fairly recently at that - are Ashley Carty and Ashley Hugill.

The two Ashleys have been away from the professional circuit, but will be back on it again soon after emerging from the Global Q Tour Playoffs that were held in Gandia, Spain last month.

Carty qualified for the Crucible in 2020, and has enjoyed a fruitful campaign on the amateur scene winning national events, and a Q Tour stop in Belgium. He meets Cheung Ka Wai in round one.

Hugill made the Crucible grade in 2022 and has regularly featured on the World Snooker Tour this season as a top-up player. He has picked up several wins, and nearly eliminated world champ Zhao on live TV at the British Open. In Sheffield, Hugill faces David Grace at the start of the qualifying maze.

Another player to keep an eye on is Ukraine’s Anton Kazakov who recently made history in winning both the European under-21 and amateur championship titles.

A former World Snooker Federation Junior Champion, Kazakov struggled during his debut spell on the professional tour, but appears to have changed his game and is reaping the rewards. The 21-year-old shares the baize with Dylan Emery in the first qualifying round.

For the full 2026 World Snooker Championship qualifying draw and schedule, visit the World Snooker Tour website here.