The next Cuestars professional?

Ben Harrison leads the race to become the next snooker professional to have graduated through Cuestars.

The 21-year-old, from Hawkeridge near Westbury, finished high enough on the European Billiards & Snooker Association Qualifying Tour – which comprises four European Players Tour Championship legs – to make the 12-man play-off next month.

Two wins and Harrison earns a two-year tour card. It’s as simple as that!

He will also enter World Snooker’s Q School where, for the cool sum of £1,000, aspiring professionals from across the globe compete in three tournaments. The 12 semi-finalists join the pro-circuit.

Harrison hopes to avoid the pressure-cooker atmosphere at Q School, which starts on May 11 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.

“The amateur play-off is a great chance to get on,” he told cuestars.uk.com.

“I’d prefer to get on through the play-off rather than the Q School as the pressure is so intense.

“I’m really looking forward to the next few months. I’m working harder than ever, playing well and I feel ready to get on the tour and work my way up the rankings.”

Harrison would be following in the footsteps of Andrew Norman (Bristol) and Adam Wicheard (Trowbridge), who both dropped off the Main Tour at the end of last season.

However, at least three other past and present Cuestars members are knocking on the door.

Billy Castle (Marchwood) made the quarter-finals of the IBSF World Championship in Bulgaria last year. The 20-year-old will reveal a sponsorship deal next week that will enable him to target tournaments that provide a route to the Main Tour.

Shane Castle (Marchwood) travels to Serbia later this month for the European Under-21 Championship. Aged 14, he lost in the final in Bulgaria last year. If he’d won, he would have been the youngest ever professional.

And Nick Jennings (Chandler’s Ford) was just one win away from qualifying through Q School last year.

With the pro-circuit extended to 128 players, sponsors will get a good return.

In a statement, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said: “There has never been a better time to be a professional snooker player.

“The sport is growing rapidly all over the world and we have increasing numbers of tournaments across the globe.

“Prize money has more than doubled over the past three years and is set to grow further. For the successful players, the rewards will be massive.