Famous Crucible figures advance at Q School in bid to claim place on main tour

Rory McLeod and James Cahill – two figures who enjoyed huge shock wins at the World Championship in recent years – remain in the hunt to reclaim their respective spots on the main professional snooker circuit via this year’s Q School event in Leicester.

McLeod famously completed a 10-8 win over Judd Trump in the first round of the 2017 World Championship at Crucible as a 1000-1 outsider, while amateur Cahill upset snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan by the same scoreline at the same stage two years later.

Both are hoping to recapture former glories ahead of the new season, chasing four more wins to earn a new two-year card on Saturday morning at the city’s Mattioli Arena.

McLeod completed a 4-2 win over Mark Lloyd in round two of qualifying event two on Wednesday morning, boosted by a 63 break in the first frame that saw him lead from start to finish. He will face Steven Hallworth on Thursday afternoon.

Cahill also enjoyed a 4-2 win over 15-year-old Welsh talent Riley Powell on Tuesday to secure a third-round meeting with Hayden Staniland on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, there were also wins for Mark Joyce against Jake Robinson (4-0) and Ukraine teenager Iulian Boiko in easing past Matthew Roberts (4-0) to reach the third round.

But evergreen former world No. 2 Tony Knowles lost 4-2 to Martyn Taylor in the second round, while three-time women’s world champion Ng On Yee was defeated 4-0 by Alex Taubman.

Four tour cards are up for grabs at qualifying event two, with Allan Taylor, Haydon Pinhey, Wang Yuchen and Artemijs Zizins all earning spots on the main circuit for the next two seasons via qualifying event one.

Sunny Akani and Kok Leong Lim secured places on the main circuit for next season via the Asia and Oceania Q School in event one in Bangkok, with two more tour cards available from event two’s final day on Sunday.