Welshman Dylan Emery edged out Yorkshire’s Daniel Womersley 4-3 to make the final round of Q School Event One in Leicester.
Emery earned his place on the tour in 2021 after becoming European Amateur Champion, but a 10-8 loss at the hands of Oliver Brown at Cazoo World Championship qualifying saw him fall off the circuit.
The 23-year-old now needs just one more win tomorrow morning to immediately restore his professional status. He was staring down the barrel of defeat this evening, when he trailed 3-2, but controlled the final two frames to end a 4-3 victory.
Next up he faces fellow former professional Wang Yuchen for a place on the World Snooker Tour. Wang defeated Jenson Kendrick 4-2 this evening.
“It’s a tough one to describe how it feels. When you are playing you are going through the emotions, you might have a good frame, you might have a bad frame. You are here there and everywhere. A win is a win and I just have to focus on tomorrow,” said a relieved Emery.
“Everybody wants to win 4-0. Everybody wants to avoid chasing in matches. That isn’t the way it goes in sport. You have to take the bad with the good.
“Snooker is big in my family. My mum loves it, my dad loves it, my sister loves it and so does her boyfriend. I’d like to do it for myself, because it has been my job for so long and I’d like to do it for them.”
Allan Taylor survived a scare to beat Simon Blackwell 4-3, winning the last two frames to come from 3-2 down. He progresses to face Chris Totten for a fresh two-year tour card.
Scotland’s Totten rallied from 3-1 behind to beat Joshua Cooper 4-3. Totten was previously a professional between 2017 and 2019, but has been an amateur since then.
Latvian Artemijs Zizins and Englands Kayden Brierley will clash to earn a maiden tour card tomorrow morning. Zizins came through 4-2 against Mark Joyce, while Brierley beat Austrian Florian Nuessle 4-3.
Gerard Greene came through a 54-minute final frame to defeat Paul Deaville 4-3. That earns him a final round meeting with Hayden Pinhey, who beat Anton Kazakov 4-1.