WST Pro Series: A Great Innovation
WST Chairman Barry Hearn has described the new WST Pro Series as a “fantastic addition to our tour” following the conclusion of the event on Sunday.
Mark Williams won the inaugural title by topping the final group, finishing ahead of Ali Carter, with Sam Craigie third and Judd Trump fourth.
The world ranking event started in January with an innovative format, giving all 128 tour players the opportunity to play seven matches a day in a round robin group in Milton Keynes. The players were split into 16 groups of eight, with the top two in each group going into phase two.
Those 32 players were split into four more groups of eight for phase two, with the top two in each contesting the final group on Sunday.
The event was broadcast on the Matchroom.Live platform, which gives fans around the world the chance to watch a wide range of WST events. The action was also broadcast on selected betting sites and online platforms in China.
Gary Wilson was the only player to make a 147 during the event, and in total there were 146 centuries.
Hearn said: “The WST Pro Series has proved a fantastic addition to our tour this season. It has provided every player on the circuit with the opportunity to play a series of matches in top class conditions, for significant levels of prize money. The format has worked well, with most groups going down to the last round of matches. It has provided plenty of entertainment and drama for fans watching on platforms including Matchroom.Live. My congratulations go to Mark Williams as the inaugural champion.
“We are now working on a packed calendar for the 2021/22 season, to be released in due course. Given the success of the WST Pro Series it may appear on the schedule again next season.”
The event had total prize money of £420,500, here’s where it went:
Allan Taylor £500
Fan Zhengyi £500
Zhao Jianbo £500
Billy Castle £500
Anthony McGill £500
Ken Doherty £500
Lei Peifan £500
Brandon Sargeant £500
Martin Gould £500
Kuldesh Johal £500
David Grace £500
Farakh Ajaib £500
Alex Clenshaw £500
Joe O’Connor £500
Jamie Wilson £500
Barry Pinches £500
Rod Lawler £1,000
Kacper Filipiak £1,000
John Astley £1,000
Ashley Carty £1,000
Peter Devlin £1,000
Brian Ochoiski £1,000
Anthony Hamilton £1,000
Michael White £1,000
Peter Lines £1,000
Dylan Emery £1,000
Jordan Brown £1,000
Duane Jones £1,000
Gao Yang £1,000
Lukas Kleckers £1,000
Chen Zifan £1,000
Hossein Vafaei £1,000
Jak Jones £1,500
Yuan Sijun £1,500
Gary Wilson £1,500
Scott Donaldson £1,500
Lee Walker £1,500
Michael Holt £1,500
Leo Fernandez £1,500
Zak Surety £1,500
Elliot Slessor £1,500
Tian Pengfei £1,500
Riley Parsons £1,500
Gerard Greene £1,500
Oliver Brown £1,500
Eden Sharav £1,500
Mark Joyce £1,500
Steven Hallworth £1,500
Daniel Wells £2,000
Li Hang £2,000
Liam Highfield £2,000
Chris Wakelin £2,000
Si Jiahui £2,000
Xu Si £2,000
Mitchell Mann £2,000
Jackson Page £2,000
David Gilbert £2,000
Chang Bingyu £2,000
Igor Figueiredo £2,000
Alexander Ursenbacher £2,000
Robbie Williams £2,000
Matthew Selt £2,000
Tom Ford £2,000
Jimmy White £2,000
Matthew Stevens £2,500
Pang Junxu £2,500
Jamie O’Neill £2,500
Jamie Clarke £2,500
Andy Hicks £2,500
Alan McManus £2,500
Ashley Hugill £2,500
Andrew Higginson £2,500
Ian Burns £2,500
Simon Lichtenberg £2,500
Noppon Saengkham £2,500
Jimmy Robertson £2,500
Nigel Bond £2,500
Soheil Vahedi £2,500
David Lilley £2,500
Jamie Jones £2,500
Lu Ning £4,000
Fergal O’Brien £4,000
James Cahill £4,500
Ricky Walden £4,500
Ben Hancorn £5,000
Louis Heathcote £5,000
Oliver Lines £5,000
Zhou Yuelong £5,000
Zhao Xintong £5,500
Luo Honghao £5,500
Lyu Hoatian £6,000
Shaun Murphy £6,000
Robert Milkins £6,000
Joe Perry £6,000
Mark Davis £6,000
Sunny Akani £7,000
Stuart Carrington £7,000
Luca Brecel £7,000
Mark Selby £7,000
Dominic Dale £7,000
Ryan Day £8,000
Martin O’Donnell £9,000
Ben Woollaston £9,000
Barry Hawkins £9,000
Jack Lisowski £12,500
Xiao Guodong £13,500
Stuart Bingham £15,500
Kyren Wilson £16,000
Judd Trump £19,000
Sam Craigie £20,500
Ali Carter £24,000
Mark Williams £31,500