Hong Kong will hold its first ranking event in 35 years, when it welcomes the top players on the planet for the World Grand Prix from March 4th to 9th in 2025.
The event is set to take place at the brand-new Kai Tak Sports Park, which is a state-of-the-art facility set to open next year. When completed, the park will be the largest integrated sports and entertainment landmark in Hong Kong.
The Grand Hall, Kai Tak Arena for the World Grand Prix will have a capacity of over 4,000, with the ambition to play host to snooker’s biggest ever live audience for a ranking tournament. The World Grand Prix is the opening event in the prestigious Players Series, where only the most successful 32 performers of the season will earn a place.
Prize money for the tournament will be boosted by a massive 84% compared to last year’s total fund, rising from £380,000 to £700,000. The top prize jumps from £100,000 to £180,000.
In 2022, the Hong Kong Masters saw the world’s best players congregate for a prestigious invitational event. Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Marco Fu 6-4 in the final, which was played in front of a world record crowd of over 9,000 in the Hong Kong Coliseum. The only previous ranking event in the city was way back in 1989, when Mike Hallett defeated Dene O’Kane 9-8 in the final of the Hong Kong Open.
WST CEO Simon Brownell said: “We are hugely excited to be taking such a massive event to Hong Kong. This is a move which is in line with our strategy to have a greater distribution of snooker’s biggest tournaments around the world and further globalise the sport. Hong Kong is a territory and market of particular significance for us, and we are delighted to be utilising this new world class venue.
“Having a long-term ranking event in such a prominent global city is fantastic news for the tour. We were impressed by the levels of support at the Hong Kong Masters in 2022. The 9,000 fans in attendance for the final created a magical atmosphere. We would like to thank F Sports Promotions for bringing us back to Hong Kong and we look forward to working again with the Billiard Sports Council of Hong Kong China in this prestigious event.“
Further details including ticket information will be announced soon.
The World Open in Yushan will move one week earlier in the calendar, with dates to be confirmed shortly.
This is good news of course. Ronnie is on the poster, as defending champion but that doesn’t guarantee that he will be in the draw. However, given the very top heavy structure of the prize money distribution, the two semi-finals early in this season should be enough for him to qualify and this is typically the type of event that might motivate him.
Here are some images of the venue, shared by WST. I looks huge.
3 thoughts on “2025 World Grand Prix to be played in Hong Kong”
£180,000 for winning the World Grand Prix? They’re going to have to increase the prize fund for winning the Players (£125,000) and Tour (£150,000) events, or the “series” prize structure won’t make much sense.
Indeed. But even so, it means that it will be difficult for anybody not getting in the first event to get into the two others and it will further distort the rankings.
Unless they add events, with the current season schedule, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for anybody not in the WGP to get into the Players or Tour events.
There will be some players, (if they lose their German Masters and World Open qualifiers in December and Welsh Open qualifier in January), whose season will be over in January, until the World Championship qualifiers in April.
Three months or so with no pro match, despite having a pro “tour card”.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
£180,000 for winning the World Grand Prix? They’re going to have to increase the prize fund for winning the Players (£125,000) and Tour (£150,000) events, or the “series” prize structure won’t make much sense.
Indeed. But even so, it means that it will be difficult for anybody not getting in the first event to get into the two others and it will further distort the rankings.
Unless they add events, with the current season schedule, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for anybody not in the WGP to get into the Players or Tour events.
There will be some players, (if they lose their German Masters and World Open qualifiers in December and Welsh Open qualifier in January), whose season will be over in January, until the World Championship qualifiers in April.
Three months or so with no pro match, despite having a pro “tour card”.