FOR many snooker fans the highlight of the season, the World Championship, begins when the green baize beamed from the Crucible Theatre fills our TV screens as it sets up camp on BBC2.

But for many of the players, the tournament starts weeks earlier in the qualifying stage. 

This is usually a low-key affair at a lower-profile venue away from the Crucible and provides players outside the seeded top 16 a shot at the World Championship (though only three qualifiers have ever gone on to win it).