Ali Carter will defend his BetVictor Championship League title against the likes of Shaun Murphy, Si Jiahui, Barry Hawkins, Chris Wakelin, Zhang Anda, Stuart Bingham and Jack Lisowski over the coming weeks in the first ranking event of the 2025/26 season.
CLICK HERE for the match schedule for the opening week
The action starts on Monday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester and fans can watch live on Matchroom’s YouTube channels or other broadcasters – for full detailsclick here.
The event starts with 128 players, drawn into 32 groups of four, with each group played on a round robin basis. These 32 groups will be played between June 30 and July 17, with two groups contested on each day of action.
The 32 group winners go into the second stage, competing in eight groups of four, running from July 18 to 22. Those eight group winners then contest the final group on July 23, with the top two meeting in the final the same evening. The champion will earn a coveted place in the 2025 Champion of Champions in November.
Carter, who beat Jackson Page in the final last year, has been drawn into a group with Liam Davies, Huang Jiahao and Jack Bradford. Johnstone’s Paint Masters champion Murphy will be up against Bulcsu Revesz, Robbie McGuigan and Alfie Burden.
Format
All matches in the group stages will be played over four frames (if a match finishes 3-0, the fourth frame will not be played). The final will be best of five.
In the group stages, players will be awarded three points for a win. One point will be awarded to each player for a drawn match. The group table standings will be determined by the following criteria (in this order):
1) Most points. 2) Net frame difference. 3) Result of match between the two players in question (should three or more players be tied then a mini table will be produced using the criteria above). 4) Highest break in the group. 5) If the highest break is also tied, the next highest break made by the players in question will be used.
The event has its merits as it allows the rookies to get familiar with pro conditions and guarantees them at least 3 matches. The top players however show little interest for it, even if it is a ranking event. In this season edition there is no Judd Trump, no Kyren Wilson, no Ding, no Mark Selby, no Neil Robertson, no Zhao Xintong, no Mark Allen, no Ronnie, no John Higgins and no Mark Williams. Luca Brecel had entered it but withdrew. The highest seed in the draw is Barry Hawkins. Zhang Anda, Shaun Murphy, Si Jiahui and Chris Wakelin are the other members of the current top 16 who entered the event.
Marco Fu came from 3-0 down to beat Stephen Maguire 4-3 in the qualifying round of the British Open, earning a place in the final stages in Cheltenham in September.
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It has been a tremendous start to the season for Hong Kong’s 47-year-old Fu as on Tuesday he beat Chris Wakelin 5-3 to qualify for the Wuhan Open. In those two matches he made five centuries and three more breaks over 50. After losing the first three frames against Maguire, Fu stormed back to take four in a row with runs of 140, 81, 104 and 54.
Jackson Page came from 2-1 down to beat Elliot Slessor 4-2 with a top break of 86, while Pakistan’s Haris Tahir edged out Ken Doherty 4-3, taking the last two frames with breaks of 65 and 81.
Amateur Ryan Davies, who earned a place in the event as a Q School top-up, edged out Jimmy Robertson 4-3 in a dramatic finish. In the deciding frame, Robertson cross-doubled the final pink but then missed a tricky black playing with the rest, and left Davies the chance to tap it in for victory.
Jimmy White could not build on yesterday’s fine win over Anthony McGill as he lost 4-2 to Liam Davies. Jack Lisowski made a 72 in the deciding frame to beat Liam Highfield 4-3.
Michal Szubarczyk narrowly missed out on his first win as a professional, losing 4-3 to German amateur Umut Dikme in the qualifying round of the British Open.
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Szubarczyk, at 14 the youngest ever pro player, made breaks of 82 and 75 in taking a 3-2 lead. But Dikme, who earned a place in the event having finished top of the Q School rankings, came from 58-22 down to steal frame six on the colours, then won the decider with a run of 55 to book a place in the final stages in September.
Ryan Day won this title in 2022 but fell at the first hurdle this time, losing 4-2 to former World Champion Stuart Bingham who compiled breaks of 102, 56 and 75. Belgium’s Ben Mertens came from 3-1 down to beat Liam Pullen 4-3 with a top run of 76.
Former Rookie of the Year He Guoqiang eased to a 4-0 win over Farakh Ajaib while Chang Bingyu compiled breaks of 118, 93, 64 and 70 in a 4-2 win over Kreishh Gurbaxani.
Bai Yulu secured a place in the final stages of the British Open with a 4-2 victory over Artemijs Zizins – who let slip a chance of a 147.
Two-time World Women’s Champion Bai can look forward to a trip to the televised stages at Cheltenham Racecourse in September. It’s her sixth win over a male player since she joined the pro tour at the start of last season.
The Chinese 21-year-old took the opening frame with a break of 67, then Latvia’s Zizins was on target for a maximum break in frame two until he missed the 14th black on 105, with the remaining balls in the open. Bai took the next two frames for 3-1, and despite losing the fifth, she wrapped up the result in the sixth with a run of 80.
Robbie McGuigan top scored with 85 in a 4-2 win over Lyu Haotian, while Stan Moody saw off Zhou Yuelong 4-2 with breaks of 55, 66, 80 and 97. Sam Craigie, recently returned from a long absence due to a neck injury, scored his first pro win in 16 months by beating Yao Pengcheng 4-1.
Leone Crowley scored his first pro win with a 4-0 defeat of Hatem Yassen, while Matthew Selt fired runs of 99, 71 and 62 in a 4-0 victory over David Gilbert.
Reanne Evans made it two wins from two so far this season as she beat Lan Yuhao 4-1 to qualify for the final stages of the British Open.
Last Sunday, the 12-time World Women’s Champion earned a place at the Wuhan Open with a fine 5-4 victory over David Lilley in the qualifying round, making a break of 61 in the deciding frame. And she followed up today with a comfortable success against 16-year-old tour rookie Lan, compiling runs of 53 and 88. She’s in the draw for the last 64 in Cheltenham in September.
Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan top scored with 102 in a 4-0 win over Mateusz Baranowski while Long Zehuang edged out Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3, coming from 51-5 down to snatch the decider with a 57 clearance. Robert Milkins, who could be in danger of tour relegation at the end of this season, enjoyed a much-needed 4-2 win over Fan Zhengyi.
Two of the four women involved have won their opening match. That’s the same ratio as their male fellow players, 50%. It has taken some time but I have the feeling that, slowly, they are getting there, they are progressing. Now the big question is: does playing on the Women’s tour as well as on the main tour help them, or does it hold them back?
It’s the start of the season and some players are not (yet) sharp. and it’s to be expected. One such player is Julien Leclercq. What worried me watching Julien yesterday is not the lack of sharpness though … he looked dispirited, unhappy. Of course, I don’t know what is going on in his private life, nor do a have a “right to know”.
I hope it’s just a phase, a temporary dip in form or motivation. He’s a huge talent and mainland Europe needs to be better represented on the main tour. The current organisation of the tour, with all qualifiers played in the UK, hugely favours British players. WST justification is that they are the majority. And , yes, that’s true, but, to a large extend, they are the majority BECAUSE of that organisation. Many of them would struggle to live as expats, far away from family. It would put them massively out of their comfort zone … if only because very few of them speak anything but English.
I KNOW that I wrote all this before and I will continue to write it until things change … or until … well, I’m 70 … I may not live to see it, if it ever happens, he? That’s about how optimistic I am about WST willingness to make the tour actually fairer and truly international.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has Laila Rouass have married, ten months after the couple had ended their on-off relationship.
The pair officially tied the knot in a low-key London ceremony after 13 years together, hitting the ‘refresh button’ with the nuptials after rekindling their relationship earlier this year.
They went their separate ways last year but got back together in January of this year, nine months after their split, and are reportedly planning to relocate to Dubai for a ‘fresh start’.
Taking to Instagram, the Footballers’ Wives star announced their union by sharing an image of herself and the snooker star, smiling outside St George’s Town Hall in Shadwell, East London, covered in confetti.
The qualifying rounds for the 2025 Wuhan open concluded yesterday and here is the short report by WST:
Veteran White Knocks Out McGill
Jimmy White, ever present on the World Snooker Tour since 1980, enjoyed a superb start to the 2025/26 season as he made four breaks over 70 in a 5-2 win over Anthony McGill in the qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.
White, age 63, fired runs of 92, 80, 90 and 71 as he booked a place in the final stages of the ranking event in China in August.
World number two Kyren Wilson comfortably saw off Connor Benzey 5-0 with top breaks of 74, 52 and 63. Marco Fu fired three centuries in an excellent 5-3 win over world number 16 Chris Wakelin. Breaks of 120, 136 and 113 helped Hong Kong’s 47-year-old Fu into the last 64.
Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan pulled away from 3-3 to beat Ng On Yee 5-3 with a top break of 90. David Gilbert scored heavily in his 5-1 win over Ka Wai Cheung, knocking in runs of 64, 105, 120, 91 and 70.
One can’t help but love Jimmy. He’s 63 years old and his passion for the game is as strong as it was 50 years ago, when he was a mere cockney kid. He still plays a crowd-pleasing attacking snooker as well. Anthony Mc Gill notoriously dislikes playing in qualifiers but even if this was a factor yesterday, Jimmy still had to pot the balls and knock in those big breaks.
I’m also very pleased for Marco Fu. He’s a beautiful player and has been battling through eye issues. I’m not sure what the situation is with Marco’s eyes but he won yesterday and it’s what matters right now.
Lei Peifan beat On Yee by 5-3, winning the last two frames. Up to that point the match had been extremely close. On Yee, in my opinion, is not far to the “main tour” level and, maybe, the only thing she needs is a couple on wins to gain some confidence and she would get there. I believe that she may also benefit from playing a bit faster, if she can. Only my opinion.
Liam Highfield beat Stuart Bingham by 5-2. It was 2-2 at the MSI and Stuart had just scored a 93, the highest break in the match. But after the MSI Stuart only scored 13 points … not sure what happened there.
And, just because I really like the young man, who I met in Yixing when he was just a kid, I’m pleased for Wang Yuchen who outplayed Robert Milkins. He beat him by 5-1.
Today, the snooker action continues with the 2025 British Open qualifiers
Former World Champions Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy both subjected rookie opponents to tough pro debuts with 5-0 victories in the qualifying round of the Wuhan Open.
Murphy was up against 14-year-old Polish wonderkid Michal Szubarczyk, the youngest ever professional, and swept to a 5-0 success in 80 minutes with top breaks of 91, 102 and 70.
Robertson took on the WSF Junior Champion Leone Crowley, age 19 from Ireland, and also won 5-0, compiling runs of 102, 92, 50 and 79.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh top scored with 95 in a 5-0 win over Fergal Quinn, while Latvia’s Artemijs Zizins enjoyed an impressive 5-1 defeat of He Guoqiang with top runs of 96, 64 and 62. China’s Chang Bingyu came from 4-1 down to beat Daniel Wells 5-4, taking the last four frames with top breaks of 84, 60 and 70.
Four-time Crucible king Mark Selby eased to a 5-1 success against Alexander Ursenbacher, knocking in 92, 56 and 120. Teenager Stan Moody made a strong start to his third season as he beat Antoni Kowalski 5-2 with a top run of 88. Jack Lisowski came from 3-1 down to beat Amir Sarkhosh 5-3, taking the last four frames with breaks of 54, 61, 87 and 53.
So Shaun Murphy, a former World, UK and Masters champion has beaten a 14 years old kid … that’s glorious isn’t it? Michal Szubarczyk is only 14. For all his talent, he’s only a child. He should NOT be subjected to the stress and expectations coming with being a professional athlete. Even with his family around him, this isn’t right. He still has to complete his education. Formal education in Poland is mandatory up to the age of 18, same as in most mainland Europe countries. Him being 14, one can expect that during the coming two years his body and mind will go through significant transformation and growth. That in itself is tiring. Adolescence is often a challenging period in life. He may love his snooker, he may want to be a pro … that doesn’t mean it’s the best for him. A lot of persons, including adults want things that are actually damaging to their health. In the past you needed to be 16 to be snooker professional. Barry Hearn scrapped that. That was wrong. It’s still wrong.
A lot of Chinese players have been underperforming in those qualifiers. I guess that many actually are only just back from China, still tired and jet lagged, and, maybe with minimal preparation as, for most, during their time in their home land their priority would be family and friends.
One Chinese player who HAS won his match is Chang Bingyu who beat Daniel Wells by 5-4 from 1-4 down. Chang was one of the players who has been suspended after the match fixing scandal. He won the Asia-Pacific Snooker Championship 2025, which earned him a return on the professional World Snooker Tour for this season and the next. He’s probably very keen to redeem himself and unlike many has actually been practicing hard.
Yesterday was the first day of the 2025/26 season. Snooker was played in the Mattioli Arena in Leicester without fans watching, and with erroneous information by WST on how to watch in Europe. To their credit they made it free to watch for those registered on WST play and showed three tables. Still … it seems nothing changes when it comes to WST “shambolism”. New season, same “carelessness”.
John Higgins made a strong start to his 34th season on the World Snooker Tour, beating Huang Jiahao 5-2 to reach the final stages of the Wuhan Open.
Veteran Higgins, who turned 50 last month, finished last season in fine style by winning the World Open and Tour Championship and hopes to continue that momentum into the new campaign. The world number four compiled breaks of 59, 62 and 71 today as he secured a place at the £700,000 ranking event in Wuhan in August.
Crucible runner-up Mark Williams also started his 34th pro season with a win, beating Chatchapong Nasa 5-0 with a top break of 67.
Reanne Evans, 12-time World Women’s Champion, came from 3-1 down to score a 5-4 victory over David Lilley. Evans took the deciding frame with an excellent break of 61.
Si Jiahui, runner-up to Xiao Guodong in this event last year, top scored with 112 in a 5-2 victory over Bulcsu Revesz. Joe O’Connor came from 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 down to beat Jiang Jun 5-4, making breaks of 116, 88, 82 and 55.
World number 70 Louis Heathcote upset a player ranked 50 places higher as he beat Wu Yize 5-2 with a top run of 117. Elliot Slessor recovered a 4-2 deficit to beat Oliver Lines 5-4, winning the deciding frame by potting the final pink and black. China’s Zhao Hanyang enjoyed a notable tour debut, beating Sanderson Lam 5-1.
Luca Brecel, 2023 World Champion, was a no-show for his match against Haris Tahir so his opponent was awarded a walkover.
This is a really good result for Reanne, especially from 0-2 down. David Lilley is a hard match player and isn’t easy to beat.
Wu Yize heavy defeat was a bit of a surprise, but then Louis is a good solid player and, maybe, Wu had just come back from China and was still a bit jet-lagged. Maybe Lewis will know.
I will refrain to write what I think about Luca Brecel’s no show. If he didn’t want to play he could at least have had the decency to withdraw, sparing his opponent the trip to the venue and the wait in front of an empty table in an “fans empty” arena. “Belgian” honour was saved by an unspectacular but strong performance from Ben Mertens. Ben’s opponent, Fan Zenghyi, had breaks of 60, 79, 104 and 59 and still lost by 5-3. Ben’s best break was only 53, but his will to win was exemplary.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s snooker plans revealed by manager after relationship bombshell
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s long-time manager, Jason Francis, has issued an update on the Rocket’s plans for the new season following a troubled 2024/25 campaign on and off the table
by Mark Whiley
Ronnie O’Sullivan is making changes on and off the table(Image: PA)
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s manager has revealed the snooker legend’s plans for the new season as the Rocket enjoys his new life in the Middle East.
The seven-time world champion endured a troubled 2024/25 campaign, which saw him not play competitively between January and April after smashing his cue in anger at the Championship League and withdrawing before his final group match. Armed with a new cue, he made his long-awaited return to action at the World Championship, making the last four, where he was outgunned by eventual champion Zhao Xintong.
Away from the table, the Rocket is sensationally said to have reconciled with actress Laila Rouass following the pair’s break-up nine months ago. The couple are reported to be planning for their new life in Dubai, a two-hour flight from Riyadh.
The Rocket’s manager, Jason Francis, says the 49-year-old has embraced the change of scenery and expects him to play at the Shanghai Masters – a high-profile invitational event, which begins at the end of July – before committing fully to a limited schedule.
“Ronnie’s moved out to the Middle East for a while. You’ll probably see him first in Shanghai. He’s had a little break from the UK,” Francis told the Express.
“You’re talking about someone who can’t go to the shop without being asked for a selfie, a photo. Where he is, he’s finding a life a little bit quieter at the moment.
O’Sullivan and Laila Rouass are reportedly back together(Image: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
“Ronnie’s Ronnie. He’ll decide when he wants to play and everyone knows he can come from nowhere to win a major tournament.
“You won’t see Ronnie play a full schedule [this season] but I think you’ll see him try and properly prepare for the tournaments he plays in.
“Ronnie will be 50 in December, people have to remember that. They still expect him to turn up and win everything.”
O’Sullivan made the semis at the Crucible despite continuing cue issues, which prompted him to make emergency changes between sessions against Zhao. And his performance on the whole certainly impressed his manager.
O’Sullivan during a visit to his Saudi snooker academy(Image: Getty)
“Absolutely incredible,” said Francis of O’Sullivan’s showing in Sheffield. “He didn’t even have a cue a few weeks before! But that’s Ronnie for you. He had one bad session [losing all eight frames in the second session].
“I’m not saying he could have beaten Xintong – there was a feeling his name was on the trophy – but apart from one bad session, he was still toe to toe with him.
“I think if he had beaten Xintong, him and Mark Williams would have been an incredible final. But it’s great for snooker to have a Chinese world champion and it’s for World Snooker to exploit that.”
Jason knows Ronnie pretty well, maybe even better than Ronnie knows himself. I trust his opinion. I also agree with him that reaching the semi-finals in Sheffield, losing to the eventual Champion was a remarkable achievement after months away from competition and probably away from practice as well … after all you need a cue to practice 😉 , don’t you? It’s pretty rare to go deep at the Crucible without having the odd bad session. For Ronnie it came in the semi-finals against a really strong player who didn’t give him any opportunity to “recover”.
Also what Jason says about Ronnie being constantly “hassled” by fans is true. I have seen it close up on multiple occasions. One of the strangest and funniest of such occasions was in Sheffield. I was with Ronnie in his car, after an exhibition. The police signalled him to stop and to pull on the side. Ronnie was a bit nonplussed and worried. He had done nothing that could explain why the police would want to stop him. Eventually, after some awkward prevarication and lame excuses it transpired that this patrol just wanted autographs and selfies with him…. and he obliged.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 