There may have been a short lull on the World Snooker Tour calendar, but the Women’s and Q Tours provided plenty of action across the weekend.
A couple of dramatic climaxes in both tournaments resulted in both finals concluding with final-frame thrillers.
2025 Belgian Women’s Open
Reanne Evans reminded her younger rivals that she’s still around and more than capable of adding to her huge collection of silverware.
Evans came into the latest event on the women’s circuit with some extra confidence having won a couple of games on the main tour in recent weeks.
The 39 year-old was seeded through to the last 16 in Bruges, where she comfortably beat local player Diana Khodjaeva 3-0.
A 3-1 victory over another Belgian – old rival Wendy Jans – brought her through to the semi-finals where she narrowly defeated Ng On Yee.
Evans edged the Hong Kong competitor 4-3 with breaks of 80, 60, and 55 to set up a blockbuster clash against world number one Mink Nutcharut.
The latter had compiled back-to-back century breaks to complete a dominant 4-0 triumph over her semi-final opponent, Anupama Ramachandran.
Big breaks were harder to come by in a tense final, but Evans managed to claw her way back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to win 4-3.
It’s the second time this season that Evans has got one over on the young Thai in a deciding frame of a final, doing the same at the Women’s Masters in November.
2025 Belgian Women’s Open
Selected Results
Last 16
Mink Nutcharut 3-0 Ip Wan In Jaique
Kamila Khodjaeva 3-1 Narucha Phoemphul
Anupama Ramachandran 3-1 Chan Wai Lam
Rebecca Kenna 3-2 Ellise Scott
Reanne Evans 3-0 Diana Khodjaeva
Wendy Jans 3-2 Amee Kamani
Tessa Davidson 3-1 Sophie Nix
Ng On Yee 3-1 So Man Yan
Quarter-Finals
Mink Nutcharut 3-0 Kamila Khodjaeva
Anupama Ramachandran 3-2 Rebecca Kenna
Reanne Evans 3-1 Wendy Jans
Ng On Yee 3-2 Tessa Davidson
Semi-Finals
Mink Nutcharut 4-0 Anupama Ramachandran
Reanne Evans 4-3 Ng On Yee
Final
Reanne Evans 4-3 Mink Nutcharut
Q Tour Event 7
Liam Highfield, meanwhile, emerged triumphantly at the seventh and final event of the regular Q Tour season.
Like Evans, Highfield was pushed all the way to a deciding frame before ultimately outlasting Dylan Emery in a high-quality showdown.
The duo traded contributions of 93, 87, 83, 69, 59, and 55 to leave the scores tied up heading into the seventh frame, before Highfield duly knocked in a terrific 91 break to clinch it.
The Englishman, who is hoping to regain a place on the professional circuit after his 14-year stint on the World Snooker Tour ended last year, collects a top prize worth £3,000.
That sees Highfield rise to third on the Q Tour rankings for the 2024/25 campaign, and with it qualification for the Global Play-offs next month in Turkey.
Zhao Xintong, who didn’t enter Event 7 in Walsall, has already assured himself of a tour card for finishing first on the Q Tour rankings.
However, the players ranked from second to 17th will feature in a play-off event in March with three additional pro tickets up for grabs.
Eight other players from the Q Tour events staged outside of the UK and Europe are also in line to be invited to participate in the Global Play-offs.
Q Tour Event 7
Selected Results
Last 16
Iulian Boiko 4-2 Fergal Quinn
Sean O’Sullivan 4-1 Alfie Davies
Shaun Liu 4-2 Harvey Chandler
Dylan Emery 4-2 Ashley Hugill
Alex Crenshaw 4-0 Lewis Ullah
Florian Nuessle 4-2 Riley Powell
Liam Highfield 4-0 Joshua Thomand
Kuldesh Johal 4-2 Connor Benzey
Quarter-Finals
Iulian Boiko 4-0 Sean O’Sullivan
Dylan Emery 4-3 Shaun Liu
Alex Crenshaw 4-1 Florian Nuessle
Liam Highfield 4-2 Kuldest Johal
Semi-Finals
Dylan Emery 4-3 Iulian Boiko
Liam Highfield 4-2 Alex Crenshaw
Final
Liam Highfield 4-3 Dylan Emery
Q Tour Rankings
1. Zhao Xintong – £12,000
—
2. Dylan Emery – £5,600
3. Liam Highfield – £5,000
4. Ryan Thomerson – £3,900
5. Andres Petrov – £3,600
6. Craig Steadman – £3,300
7. Ryan Davies – £3,200
8. Steven Hallworth – £3,100
9. Iulian Boiko – £2,900
10. Sean O’Sullivan – £2,900
11. Florian Nuessle – £2,700
12. Harvey Chandler – £2,600
13. Mark Joyce – £2,500
14. Alex Crenshaw – £2,200
15. Joshua Thomond – £2,100
16. Ehsan Heydari Nezhad – £1,700
17. Oliver Sykes – £1,700
Featured photo credit: WWS
