World Snooker have announced the dates and structure for the 2004-5 Challenge Tour.  As expected there will be four events, plus the World Championship, in the last Challenge Tour season in its current format.

What has come as a huge shock to the players is that their entry fees have been doubled. From £100 per event in 2003-4 to £200 per event for the coming season.

Players' letters state that the Prize Fund structure will be 'subject to entries', and sent out with playing details. So on the face of it players are being asked to pay a double entry fee on blind faith. Maybe the Prize Fund will be increased from last season's level of £20,000 per event with a £5,000 winner's cheque, maybe not.

With just six Main Tour promotion places on offer, some players may perceive that it is not worth their while entering, and at the very last minute, several concessions may still be up for grabs.

The points structure remains the same as last season, with 2500 points for a win, down to 400 for first round losers. The round structure is also unchanged, with seeds 1-64 playing 65-128 in the first round.

Last season's point structure proved that even if a player won an event, that was no guarantee of a promotion place. With only six places on offer, that will be even more true this season.

Two of last season's event winners wouldn't gain promotion in this season's structure. The cut off point in 2003-4 was 6225 points for number six, and that will be the minimum target that players will need to set their sights on this season.

Additionally, the World Championship, with double points on offer, will have a unbalancing effect on the final ranking positions. A good run in 'The World' can guarantee a player promotion, almost regardless of their season long efforts on the Challenge Tour.

The structure of the 128 strong Tour is provisionally structured from 48 players relegated from the 2003-4 Main Tour; 44 Challenge Tour players ranked 17-60; The IBSF World Champion and World Under 21 Champion and 32 players from National Governing Bodies. Nominally there are two WSA concessions places, but in reality that figure will be a lot higher as places are made available by eligible players not entering.

For the National Governing Bodies England were awarded 8 places, again a disproportionately high figure given demographic figures of the player base in England, particularly when compared against just 4 places offered to the whole of Europe, or Asia.

Scotland and Wales received three places, which put them on a par with The whole Middle East region. Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland received two places each, as did the Oceania Region. Africa is ignored altogether, but some African countries are part of the Middle East Region. The Americas, which includes the old snooker bastion of Canada, and emerging snooker nations, such as Brazil and Peru, received one place.

Among players making their debut will be Yannick Poulain, the first Frenchman to gain professional status. Poulain was one of four European qualifiers, the others being Iceland's Brynjar Valdimarsson, Holland's Gerrit bij de Leij, and Kevin van Hove from Belgium.

European Under 19 Champion, Jamie Jones (right) from Wales, gains a place, and Asian Champion Alok Kumar, from India, is also offered a place. Emerging Chinese star Liang Wenbo gains one of the Asian concessions.

Brazil get the Americas slot through Itaros Santos, who has been honing his skills at 'The Snooker Academy'.

IBSF World Champion Pankaj Advani (above left) returns for a second season on tour and he'll be joined by his countryman Aditya Mehta, and Ireland's John Connors, who received invitations following their quarter final placings in the IBSF World Under 21 Championship.

The final player list won't be known until after the closing date on 31 August 2004.

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