Alan Cunningham Trophy Qualification Criteria

At the end of the season, once all leagues are complete and the VAR tournament finals have all been held, I will make the draw for the first round of the 2026 Alan Cunningham Trophy. I estimate that the draw will be made at some point in May 2026 and I will be aiming to have the tournament completed by July 2026.

The first round will consist of 16 players which will be made up of winners and runners-up from the 2025-26 season leagues and VAR tournaments.

This season we have a total of 16 different competitions (1 x Home League division, 5 x Singles League divisions, 10 x VAR Tournaments). So, whilst ideally the 16 winners will compete for the Alan Cunningham Trophy, in reality it is common for the same player to win multiple competitions (eg. Wayne Martin!).

Therefore, to draw up the list of the 16 qualifiers, I will work down the list below and stop as soon as I have the names of 16 different players.

1 – Singles League D1 Winner
2 – Singles League D2 Winner
3 – Singles League D3 Winner
4 – Singles League D4 Winner
5 – Singles League D5 Winner
6 – Home League Winner
7 – Notts Amateur Snooker Championship Winner
8 – The Gibson Trophy Winner
9 – Holgates Masters Winner
10 – Seniors Championship Winner
11 – Gold Handicap Winner
12 – Silver Handicap Winner
13 – Phyllis Bell Trophy Winner
14 – Spider Trophy Winner
15 – Clarry Cup Winner
16 – The Open Winner
17 – Singles League D1 Runner-up
18 – Singles League D2 Runner-up
19 – Singles League D3 Runner-up
20 – Singles League D4 Runner-up
21 – Singles League D5 Runner-up
22 – Home League Runner-up
23 – Notts Amateur Snooker Championship Runner-up
24 – The Gibson Trophy Runner-up
25 – Holgates Masters Runner-up
26 – Seniors Championship Runner-up
27 – Gold Handicap Runner-up
28 – Silver Handicap Runner-up
29 – Phyllis Bell Trophy Runner-up
30 – Spider Trophy Runner-up
31 – Clarry Cup Runner-up
32 – The Open Runner-up

The 16 qualifiers will receive free entry into the Alan Cunningham Trophy and compete for a £160 prize fund. As in previous seasons, the tournament will utilise handicaps in all matches. Last season, the tournament was won by Richard Sutton who was playing off a handicap of +21.