Higginson, Mann, Carrington and Gong Conquer Q School And Earn Tour Cards

Andrew Higginson, Mitchell Mann, Stuart Carrington and Gong Chenzhi successfully negotiated the final round of Q School Event Two to earn fresh two-year tour cards in Leicester.

Higginson earned a return to the circuit, after a season away, with a 4-1 win over fellow ex professional Mark Joyce.

The Cheshire cueman, who was runner-up to Neil Robertson at the 2007 Welsh Open, dropped off the tour following the conclusion of the 2005 World Championship.

In his 12-month hiatus, Higginson didn’t feature at all on the World Snooker Tour and competed on the Q Tour, where he finished the campaign ranked 19th. The 49-year-old fared better at Q School and beat the likes of Shaun Liu and Mark Davis en route to the final round. Breaks of 89 and 61 helped Higginson over the line to secure his tour card.

Higginson said: “It feels great and that was a very tough match with Mark, who I’ve never beat before. This is a nice time to get my first win against him.

“I’ve played the game for so long I just roll with the punches now. Q School is very difficult, but it is the easy part compared to staying on the tour. I need to make the two years count rather than be a yo-yo player and drop off again.”

Mann immediately responded to tour relegation by beating Allan Taylor 4-2 and preserving his professional status.

Mann’s 25/26 season was highlighted by a run to the quarter-finals of the British Open, but that wasn’t enough to sustain his tour card. Things didn’t look good when he lost out in the opening round of event one, but a dramatic reversal of fortunes in event two mean the Englishman will be on tour next year.

Breaks of 54, 52 and 50 helped Mann to victory today and ended Taylor’s hopes of an immediate tour return of his own.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous playing snooker. There is so much riding on it. I put everything into it and luckily for me I managed to get the result today,” said 34-year-old Mann.

“The people who really know me will know my work rate isn’t good enough. That is one thing I want to change. Another is to lose some weight and feel better in myself. Working harder is the main focus.”

Carrington defeated Israel’s Yaron Bodor 4-1 to regain his tour card following relegation last month.

The Grimsby cueist dropped off the tour at the conclusion of the 2025 World Championship, having regained his tour spot at Q School in 2023. His bid for Q School success this year was stunted when he was unable to take the baize in event one due to a neck injury. However, he managed to recover sufficiently for event two and ran the gauntlet to reach snooker’s top tier once more.

Carrington said: “There are so many emotions going through my body and my head. It is relief in the end. It is torture down here for everybody. You just want to get that win and I’ve done it.

“It has been a tough couple of years. I’ve been struggling with the yips and that is magnified in this pressure. With my back and neck I wasn’t sure I’d be able to play. It just happened when I was practising and up until four or five days ago I couldn’t even get down to the shot, never mind hit a ball properly. The pain is more or less gone now. I didn’t expect too much this week.”

Former WSF Junior Championship finalist Gong beat Frenchman Brian Ochoiski 4-2 to reclaim his place on tour.

Gong, who has previously reached the last 32 of the Wuhan Open, earned a place on the circuit two years ago after his performances on the CBSA Tour. However, he failed to establish himself in the top 64 and dropped off.

The 19-year-old never trailed during this morning’s match and a top score of 61 helped him to get over the line.