Sanderson Lam defeated Farakh Ajaib 4-1 to win the first WPBSA Q Tour Europe event of the 2026/27 season at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England.
The 32-year-old Englishman was appearing in a Q Tour event for the first time since 2022, having dropped off the World Snooker Tour (WST) at the end of last season.
Nicknamed ‘The Panda’, Lam won a total of seven matches to battle through the 143-player field and make the perfect start to the new Q Tour Europe campaign.
Lam made the perfect start to the four-day event in West Yorkshire as he earned consecutive whitewash wins over Kevin Willsher, Billy Castle and Jack Borwick with a combined six half-centuries along the way.
Compatriot Ryan Davies was the first player to take a frame off Lam but a top break of 73 was enough for the former Scottish Open quarter-finalist to advance to the same stage of the event in Leeds.
The 2023 English Amateur champion Paul Deaville was his last eight opponent and took Lam all the way despite trailing 2-0 and 3-2 in the best-of-seven frame contest.
‘The Panda’ was ultimately able to secure the victory and then made short work of fellow former professional Mark Joyce, beating him 4-0 to reach the title match.
A break of 83 in the second frame of the final gave Lam a 2-0 lead over Farakh Ajaib, who had overturned the same deficit in his semi-final contest against Pakistan’s Haris Tahir.
Ajaib briefly threatened to once again launch a comeback when he halved Lam’s lead with a break of 60, but contributions of 52 and 66 in the fourth quickly regained the two-frame advantage.
Lam was then able to hold his nerve in the next frame as a break of 64 helped him over the winning line to secure the first Q Tour title of his career.
Post-match, Lam said: “I am really happy to get off to a good start. I’ve been working hard on and off the table and I feel like something clicked in the last couple of days – I felt comfortable in the balls and I was confident.”
“The competition is so tough nowadays on and off the Tour. There are so many good players coming from Europe, China and the Middle East. You’ve got to just concentrate on yourself and I’m happy that the work is paying off” he added.
WPBSA Q Tour Europe continues with event two in Sofia, Bulgaria on 21-24 September. Entries close Friday at 12:00 BST via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The post Lam Lifts Q Tour Title in Leeds appeared first on WPBSA.
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The 32-year-old Englishman was appearing in a Q Tour event for the first time since 2022, having dropped off the World Snooker Tour (WST) at the end of last season.
Nicknamed ‘The Panda’, Lam won a total of seven matches to battle through the 143-player field and make the perfect start to the new Q Tour Europe campaign.
Lam made the perfect start to the four-day event in West Yorkshire as he earned consecutive whitewash wins over Kevin Willsher, Billy Castle and Jack Borwick with a combined six half-centuries along the way.
Compatriot Ryan Davies was the first player to take a frame off Lam but a top break of 73 was enough for the former Scottish Open quarter-finalist to advance to the same stage of the event in Leeds.
The 2023 English Amateur champion Paul Deaville was his last eight opponent and took Lam all the way despite trailing 2-0 and 3-2 in the best-of-seven frame contest.
‘The Panda’ was ultimately able to secure the victory and then made short work of fellow former professional Mark Joyce, beating him 4-0 to reach the title match.
A break of 83 in the second frame of the final gave Lam a 2-0 lead over Farakh Ajaib, who had overturned the same deficit in his semi-final contest against Pakistan’s Haris Tahir.
Ajaib briefly threatened to once again launch a comeback when he halved Lam’s lead with a break of 60, but contributions of 52 and 66 in the fourth quickly regained the two-frame advantage.
Lam was then able to hold his nerve in the next frame as a break of 64 helped him over the winning line to secure the first Q Tour title of his career.
Post-match, Lam said: “I am really happy to get off to a good start. I’ve been working hard on and off the table and I feel like something clicked in the last couple of days – I felt comfortable in the balls and I was confident.”
“The competition is so tough nowadays on and off the Tour. There are so many good players coming from Europe, China and the Middle East. You’ve got to just concentrate on yourself and I’m happy that the work is paying off” he added.
WPBSA Q Tour Europe continues with event two in Sofia, Bulgaria on 21-24 September. Entries close Friday at 12:00 BST via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The post Lam Lifts Q Tour Title in Leeds appeared first on WPBSA.
Continue reading...
