Mark Williams, Mark Allen hit out at snooker bosses after 'ridiculous' rule change for Players Championship

Updated 01/12/2022 at 18:36 GMT

World Snooker Tour has courted controversy after moving the goalposts around qualification for the 2023 Players Championship, which runs from February 20-26 at Aldersley Village, Wolverhampton. Mark Allen, who has won back-to-back ranking titles, leads the one-year ranking list on £380,000 – over three times clear of his closest rival Ryan Day.

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Mark Williams, Mark Allen and Judd Trump are among top players to hit out at World Snooker Tour (WST) after the seeding cut-off for the 2023 Players Championship was moved mid-season.

The top 16 players on the one-year ranking list will qualify for the event in Aldersley Village, Wolverhampton from February 20-26.

However, the qualification period will now close after the German Masters (Feb 1-5), meaning points accrued at the Welsh Open (Feb 13-19) will not count.

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A host of big names will be missing from the field at the German Masters in Berlin after a spree of shocks of qualifying, including Trump, Williams, Mark Allen and John Higgins. Ronnie O’Sullivan will also be absent after withdrawing from qualifying last month.

It leaves some of the game’s biggest players with one fewer tournament to scrap around for points to earn entry for the Players Championship.

“How can you change the cut off point for the [Players] Championships half way through the season,” wrote three-time world champion Williams on social media.

Current one-year ranking list leader Allen replied saying WST have "had a shocker".

"It shouldn’t be allowed," said Allen.

"Players entered certain events knowing when the cut off was. Ridiculous they’ve now changed it even if it is to give players more notice of when they play in the Players."

Trump branded the decision "incredible", while four-time world champion Mark Selby asked, "Who makes these decisions???"

A statement from WST read: “Our calendar previously stated that the cut-off point would fall at the end of the BetVictor Welsh Open, which finishes on February 19.

“However we have now moved the cut-off point back to end of the BetVictor German Masters which finishes on February 5. This means that the draw and format for the Players Championship can be announced well in advance.”

The furore comes after the draw for the Masters was made after the UK Championship, despite two ranking events – the Scottish Open and English Open – falling between the draw and the tournament.