TWO years on the professional tour await Paul Davison after the Pickering potter shone during Q-School.

The 40-year-old beat Gareth Allen 4-2 in the quarter-final of the second event at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield to re-book his place among the game’s elite cuemen.

Davison was forced to participate at Q-School, which offers professionals and amateurs a route onto the main tour, following a difficult season which saw him struggle in the Players’ Tour Championship and ranking events.

He repeatedly drew big name opponents, such as Matthew Stevens and Shaun Murphy in early rounds, and was unable to rack up the world ranking points which had been a feature of his 2010/11 campaign.

Qualifying for the German Masters, where he met Judd Trump in the first round, failed to amass enough points, but Davison was in fine form during the two Q-School events in which he participated.

The format saw players face each other in best-of-seven frame encounters. Participants who made the semi-final, in any of the three competitions, automatically secured a tour card.

Davison, inset, was kicking himself following the first event, which saw him see off Jamie Barrett (4-2), Stuart Carrington (4-2) and Gary Wilson (4-3) before losing a final-frame thriller 4-3 to Martin O’Donnell, who subsequently got on the tour. But he more than made up for it in the second event, qualifying with wins over Rhys Clarke (4-1), Adam Wicheard (4-1), Alex Davies (4-1), Adrian Gunnell (4-1) and Allen.

Particularly impressive was his victory over Gunnell, a UK Championship qualifier at York last December whom Davison had not beaten as a professional.

“I had played him three times in ranking events and he had beaten me in all three,” he said. “When he was an amateur, I got the better of him a few times and it was nice to get one over him. I was pleased to win my quarter-final because it was so hot on the tables.

“There was no air conditioning and we had our suits on. I should have been through following the first event. To lose to O’Donnell was pretty criminal. To have my foot in the door and have to do it all again makes it harder.

“Probably the worst match I played was against Allen in the quarter-final of the second event, but Q-School was similar to the PIOS Tour that I have played in two or three times and that stood me in good stead.”

Davison, supported by Adrian Barraclough and Quikslide, now feels, with two years’ security, that he can relax when the first PTC events kick off later this summer and he is desperate to get back out under the lights and TV cameras in ranking events.

“There is a little bit less pressure,” he added. “I am delighted to be on the tour and I will be trying to get to play in front of the cameras. Some players don’t like it, but I think it is great. That’s why I put in all the hours of practice.”