Malcolm Thorne has been appointed Challenge Tour Manager by World Snooker and will take up his new post on March 1.

Malcolm, elder brother of snooker star Willie, will be responsible for the Challenge Tour plus junior and pro-am events under the World Snooker and EASB (English Association for Snooker and Billiards) banner.

As a former owner and now general manager of the Willie Thorne Snooker Centre in Leicester – his involvement goes back 21 years – Malcolm has vast experience of staging junior tournaments.

The Willie Thorne club has been one of the major centres for junior and pro-am events in the United Kingdom with the players who have graduated via Leicester including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Matthew Stevens and Paul Hunter.

Malcolm has been England team manager since 1995 and led his country to a clean sweep of the ladies, junior and senior amateur titles at the Home Internationals for three successive years from 1997.

‘The pro-am circuit has been very fragmented since the professional game went open in the early 1990s. My brief is to establish a properly structured junior circuit that will give youngsters a clear path through to the professional game if they are good enough,’ explained Malcolm. ‘I have been waiting for this opportunity for 15 years and hope I can do it justice.

For further information, please contact:

World Snooker Media Office
Tel: +44 117-317-8200
www.worldsnooker.com