Ben Woollaston lost in the second round of qualifying. (Image: Getty)
One star will still be this week despite being knocked out in qualifying. World No.47 Ben Woollaston saw his campaign ended on Thursday, beaten 6-2 by Chinese player Lei Peifan.
It means the Englishman will miss out on the Triple Crown event for just the third time in 13 years, having reached the fourth round stage back in 2021.
But Woollaston, who had beaten Joe Perry 6-5 in his first preliminary match, will now have to travel to the tournament for different reasons.
The 37-year-old is married to professional snooker referee Tatiana Woollaston. After starting out at amateur level, the Belarusian qualified to officiate on the circuit in 2011, and later that year made her television debut live on Eurosport at the Paul Hunter Classic.
In May, she reached a career highpoint by taking charge of one of the semi-finals. And has also been assigned matches at the UK Championship, which gets underway on Saturday.
Soon after her husband’s defeat, she took to social media to remind him of his responsibilities. Woollaston also underlined her own excitement at being involved in one of the game’s most prestigious events.
Tatiana Woollaston is a highly respected snooker referee. (Image: Getty)
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She wrote: “Oh well it means @Ben_Woollaston is on taxi duty tomorrow to take me to York for the UK Championships. Can’t wait for some great snooker and Christmas atmosphere of beautiful York #iloveanooker.”
The pair have been married since 2011, and have two sons together. And the 38-year-old was also happy to explain whether or not her husband qualifying would have affected her own involvement in the competition.
“You obviously can’t referee his match,” asked @Ian0Callaghan7. “But if Ben had qualified for the UK Championship would you be allowed to referee in the tournament?” “Of course, replied Woollaston. “As you said I just can’t referee his matches.”
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Qualifying concluded yesterday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. And this edition will be the 48th time the tournament has been held, and the first Triple Crown event of the 2024/25 campaign.
Peifan will now play one of his compatriots in the opening round. The world No.86 will take on 11th seed Zhang Anda, with the winner setting up a clash with either or Stuart Bingham.