Leo Scullion, one of snooker’s most experienced officials, will hang up the gloves at the conclusion of this evening’s BetVictor Scottish Open final.
The Glaswegian is a former policeman, who first qualified as a snooker referee in 1984. He made his professional debut in 1999 and his first televised game was Stephen Lee’s 5-0 win over Patrick Wallace at the 2001 Scottish Masters.
Scullion’s first major Triple Crown final came in 2012 when Mark Selby defeated Shaun Murphy to win the UK Championship. Just two years later Scullion was forced to take a break from the circuit when he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
That was a battle which he won and two years later he returned to take charge of his home final in Glasgow, as Marco Fu defeated John Higgins to win the 2016 Scottish Open. Today will be Scullion’s fourth Scottish Open final, having been in the middle for the title matches in 2017 and 2020.
The crowning moment of 67-year-old Scullion’s career came in 2019 when he refereed snooker’s biggest match, the World Championship final. Scullion had the best seat in the house as Judd Trump produced one of the all-time great world final performances, demolishing Higgins 18-9.
After a distinguished career in the middle, Scullion will remain a part of the tour as an assesor. However, he felt now was the right time to step away from the match arena.
Scullion said: “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, I just wasn’t sure when would be the right time. I decided with this being a home event in Scotland, this was the moment. 26 years is a long time and I’m starting to feel that maintaining the high standards I like to set is taking more and more concentration. I’m not getting any younger.
“I didn’t think about coming back to snooker in 2014, lets be honest. It was a terrible situation. I got back and I managed to do the first Scottish Open final in 2016 and then the world final in 2019. I’m quite pleased I managed to do that.
“We as the referees always get a great reception at the Crucible, but at the final you need to be there to feel the atmosphere. It is electric. I will miss that kind of thing, but at the end of the day I think this is the right time to finish.“
Thank you for everything Leo!
It was a privilege to meet you in person and to get to know you a bit. Enjoy your retirement, you deserve it.
And … maybe … only maybe, only if you miss your white gloves, I would love to see you at the Crucible again, refereeing the Seniors. 💖💕
Yesterday was the last day of professional snooker in the year 2025 and it saw the triumph of Chris Wakelin at the 2025 Scottish Open. He beat Chang Bingyu by 9-2.
Congratulations Chris Wakelin
The first “mini session” ended on a 2-2 score. After that it was one way traffic.
It was Chang’s first final and he probably struggled with the pressure generated by the circumstances. It isn’t the first time a player struggles badly when playing in their first final. Before yesterday Chang’s best result was a QF at the 2019 Haining Open, an APTC.
One sided defeats happened before and happened even to vastly experienced players. Only this season, we had Neil Robertson’s 10-0 whitewash of Stuart Bingham at the 2025 World Grand Prix and Mark Williams’ 10-3 win over Shaun Murphy at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix.
Hopefully Chang will learn from the experience and will not beat himself up. Despite this heavy defeat he should be proud of what he achieved this week.
As for Chris Wakelin, he’s always been a very capable player but, like so many in this sport, he went through difficult periods, struggling with mental health issues. I’m very happy for him and his family.
Chris Wakelin stormed to an emotional tournament win at the BetVictor Scottish Open, taking eight frames in a row to crush talented Chinese 23-year-old Chang Bingyu 9-2.
Victory sees Wakelin capture ranking title glory for the second time in his career, having triumphed in the 2023 Shoot Out. He powered over the line in equally dominant fashion on that occasion with a stunning 119 break in the final of the single frame event.
However, today’s win is by far and away the biggest moment of Wakelin’s 12-year professional career. At the third time of asking he has prevailed in a full format final.
Wakelin was thrashed 9-3 by Judd Trump in the 2023 Northern Ireland Open final and beaten 10-7 by Ding Junhui in the 2024 International Championship title match. Those experiences stood him in good stead against Chang, who was competing in his maiden final.
The win is testament to world number 17 Wakelin’s steely resilience after a frustrating couple of months. The Englishman missed out on qualification to the recent Victorian Plumbing UK Championship and the upcoming Johnstone’s Paint Masters by just one place in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings.
Today’s £100,000 top prize will move Wakelin up to 14th in the rankings, while Chang moves from 70th in the world to 62nd.
Heavy defeat ends a stunning week for Chang in disappointing fashion. However, he defeated a star studded cast to reach the final. Chang’s impressive hitlist this week includes: Stephen Maguire, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby and Mark Allen.
Chang led 2-1 during the afternoon session, before the match was completely turned on its head. Wakelin embarked on a five frame blitz to end 6-2 ahead and he carried that momentum into this evening.
Breaks of 50, 67 and 104 saw him blitz past the finishing post and get his hands on the Stephen Hendry Trophy. It was an emotional family triumph, with fiancée Lucy and daughter Mia, who celebrated her first birthday yesterday, in attendance.
“It was an incredible game. I felt like I got on top of him early in the match. That first session was a bit of a killer. I came out tonight and I was determined to get the job done quickly and as pain free as possible. I’m absolutely delighted with how I played today,” said Wakelin.
“I believed in myself ahead of the match. Just believing in myself over the last couple of years has been the catalyst. Going to bed last night I was nervous and I didn’t sleep very well. It was such a big match and so much on the line. I had Ronnie O’Sullivan say a few months ago I would win a big tournament. For other people to say it is lovely, but you have to back it up.
“I couldn’t have wished for a better time to do it with my daughter turning one yesterday. My coach Linda’s family live 20 minutes from here and my partner Lucy has been an absolute godsend. To be standing here with the trophy is for all of those guys.
“For the first two months when I turned professional I thought this day would happen, then I found out everyone is amazing and I wasn’t very good back then. Back in those days I had my old coach, God rest his soul Gary Morris, he always told me I was good enough. A few months before he passed away I managed to win the Shoot Out and bring that trophy to him. I’d like to think he’s looking down on me.”
Chang said: “I didn’t think I could make it this far or be in this final. I’m happy because I’ve made huge progress. I must thank my parents. They have put in a lot of effort to make me a professional. Tonight wasn’t my night and Chris played very well. I couldn’t leave him any chances.”
Kyren Wilson will defend the Machineseeker German Masters title in the New Year in a strong field at the iconic Tempodrom venue in Berlin.
The draw for the world ranking event has been made and the final stages will run from January 26th to February 1st in the heart of the German capital.…
The qualifying rounds run from January 5th to 8th in Sheffield. Players starting in round one could need to win three matches to make it to the Tempodrom. However, third round matches involving the top 16 seeds have been held over to the final stages. Those 16 players are Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, Wu Yize, Chris Wakelin, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Si Jiahui, Xiao Guodong, John Higgins, Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Gary Wilson and Zhao Xintong.
The match schedule for the Tempodrom will be announced after the qualifying rounds. Wilson lifted the Brandon Parker Trophy for the second time last season, beating Barry Hawkins 10-9 in a dramatic final. This time his opening match will be against Dylan Emery, Florian Nuessle or Robert Milkins.
So… Ronnie has entered the event and is in the draw. Will he actually play? I’m far from certain that we will see him in Berlin TBH. Last season he withdrew. It wasn’t the first time either that he withdrew and the last time he actually played in qualifiers he lost by 5-0 in round one. He hasn’t won a match in the event since 2017. This time though he will start in round 3, at the venue. That may well make a difference. We shall see.
He won this event once, of course. That was in 2012. That time, he actually needed to win it to avoid having to qualify for the Crucible. He duly did and he then went on to win the World Championship itself as well. Anything can happen or not happen when it’s about Ronnie.
Alfie Burden, the reigning Seniors Snooker champion had never won a ranking event on the main tour before yesterday. He wasn’t even supposed to be at the 2025 Shoot-out, he was invited at the last minute, as an amateur. The least that can be said is that he made the most of the opportunity. He just went and won the event!
Next year Alfie will be invited to the “Champion of Champions” no matter what happens at the 2026 World Seniors …
Jubilant Burden Wins First Ranking Title At Shoot Out
Alfie Burden didn’t even know he had a place in the 9Club Shoot Out on the day the tournament started, but he ended up with the trophy, beating Stuart Bingham in the final to land his first ranking title, 30 years after first turning pro.
Burden was relegated from the pro tour at the end of last season and, having finished 20th on the Q School ‘top-up’ list did not expect to be offered a place in the unique one-frame knockout tournament. He was about to jump into a swimming pool on Wednesday morning at 9.30am when he had a call from WST’s Bristol office to tell him that Alex Clenshaw had pulled out, and there was a spot in the draw for him if he could drive from London to Blackpool in time for the afternoon session.
He was at the venue within five hours and went on to win seven matches to capture the biggest title of a career which started in 1994. Burden, who turns 49 on Sunday, also won the World Seniors title earlier this year, but tonight’s triumph is by far the biggest moment of his life in snooker.
The former world number 38 had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event but now becomes the only amateur to win a ranking title other than Zhao Xintong who was crowned World Champion this year. The £50,000 top prize is by far the biggest of his career and could be enough to regain his place on tour next season via the one-year ranking list. The tenth different winner in ten ranking events so far this season, he is also in line for a place in next year’s Champion of Champions.
Former World Champion Bingham, seeking his first title since lifting the Masters trophy in 2020, had first chance in the final but made just 6 before missing a mid range red. Burden opened up the pack immediately and went on to make an excellent break of 56. Bingham had one more opportunity to counter but potted just one red before missing a long blue and the handshake soon followed, before Burden jumped on to the table to celebrate.
“I can’t believe I have won it,” said Burden, who was a promising footballer for Arsenal in his junior days before switching to snooker after a serious knee injury. “On Wednesday morning I went for a swim and I only had my phone with me because I have lost my locker key at the gym. I was walking out to the swimming pool and I looked at my phone and saw I had a missed call. I rang back and found out I had a place in the Shoot Out. I got changed, dashed to the snooker club to get my cue, dashed home to get my trousers and shoes, then I was on the M1.
“From the start I have played well. Everything fell into place for me. I am a ranking event winner now and that is something I am very proud of. After dropping off the tour last season I found myself in the wilderness. I have had no motivation to play on the Q Tour, I turned up for a few events in terrible shape having not practised. Then a couple of weeks ago I went to the one in Bulgaria with a new cue and got to the semi-finals. Now I am hoping this win will get me back on the tour.
“I was a pro for a long time, I first joined the tour when I was 17. I still have a lot to offer snooker, I am hungry, I love the game and I have people who believe in me. I have a great family and friends, a great mentor in Patsy Fagan. It has been a difficult career, I am not going to lie. Snooker is a very tough sport mentally. There have been a lot more downs than ups, but this is a moment I will cherish. I can’t wait to see my children tomorrow, they have always supported me – this is for them.“
Earlier in the semi-finals, Bingham edged out Iulian Boiko in an exciting finish. Ukraine’s Boiko, enjoying his best run in a ranking event, trailed 44-35 with 40 seconds to go when he missed the pink to a centre pocket, needing just three pots for victory. Burden beat Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham with a break of 73.
The loud crowd was a pain in the ears at (many) times and luck is far too much of a factor for this to deserve to be ranking.
On the other hand, it’s an opportunity to discover players that we very rarely get to see in action, notably some top amateurs.
The Tower Circus is the perfect venue for it … it’s a circus! But it’s an interesting venue from an architectural point of view and the round floor allows everyone to follow the action in the best possible way.
Jimmy and Rachel are doing a great job with the “on stage” interviews. Players feel valued. A lot of them are never really “seen” in normal events. They come, they play … they go.
All in all, there are more “positives” than “negatives” to the event. It shouldn’t be ranking given the “random” factor attached to it, but if it wasn’t ranking a lot of the players, notably the top players, wouldn’t play in it.
The way the season has gone so far, this is a legitimate question but Stephen Hendry believes he will and he explains why as reported here by Phil Haigh
Will Ronnie O’Sullivan play at the Masters? Stephen Hendry reveals all
by Phil Haigh
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been handed a very tough draw at the Masters (Picture: Getty Images)
Stephen Hendry says Ronnie O’Sullivan will be playing at the Masters next month, after the Rocket had cast doubt on his participation.
The 50-year-old has been drawn to play Neil Robertson in a blockbuster opening round at Alexandra Palace in January.
The draw came after there were mixed messages from O’Sullivan on the tournament, initially saying he was unlikely to play.
Speaking to talkSPORT in September, he said: ‘I probably won’t play the Masters this year.
‘I moved to Dubai, a lot of my work is in China and the Middle East so it made sense to be near. The jet lag was crucifying. It’s not that easy to just get on a plane and come back to the UK.
‘I think I’m just going to play the UK Championship, hopefully the Tour Championship if I’ve done enough, which I think I have because I did well in Saudi. Then the World Championship, it would be nice to win that one more time before I snap another cue.’
The Rocket played at the UK Championship last week but suffered a first round exit at the hands of Zhou Yuelong.
Asked after the defeat if he would play at Alexandra Palace, he told the BBC: ‘I’ll have a nice Christmas, enjoy that and see how I feel come January.’
Asked the same question in a press conference, he said: ‘Hopefully. I’d like to. We’ll see.’
It now seems that the Rocket will land in north London, with Hendry firm that we will see the O’Sullivan vs Robertson clash on January 14.
Asked on his Cue TipsYouTube channel if O’Sullivan will be playing at the Masters, Hendry said: ‘Well he is playing. He requested to play late, I think, so he’s playing Neil on Wednesday night.
‘So yeah, Ronnie is playing in the Masters. If he doesn’t play the tournament is lacking, isn’t it?’
In what has been a difficult campaign so far for O’Sullivan, he will face a huge test in Robertson in the opening round at Ally Pally.
The Thunder from Down Under beat the Rocket in the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters in August, which was the only event in which O’Sullivan has been beyond the quarter-finals this campaign.
O’Sullivan withdrew from the 2025 Masters after snapping his cue shortly before the event out of frustration with his game.
If he does play next month then it will be the first time playing in the tournament since he won it for an eighth time in 2024, beating Ali Carter in the final.
Stephen Hendry is closest to O’Sullivan’s record Masters tally, with six wins, while no other player has won the event more than three times.
Hopefully, Stephen will be proved right, and, hopefully, Ronnie will be able to play well.
Shaun Murphy will face Wu Yize when he begins the defence of his Johnstone’s Paint Masters title at Alexandra Palace in London in January.
…
The draw has been made, pitching the top eight seeds at random against those seeded nine to 16:
Shaun Murphy (1) v Wu Yize Mark Selby v Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan Kyren Wilson (4) v Si Jiahui
Judd Trump (3) v Ding Junhui Mark Williams (6) v Mark Allen
John Higgins (7) v Barry Hawkins Zhao Xintong (2) v Gary Wilson
The round one schedule is as follows:
Sunday January 11th
1pm – Shaun Murphy vs Wu Yize
7pm – Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
Monday January 12th
1pm – Mark Williams vs Mark Allen
7pm – Zhao Xintong vs Gary Wilson
Tuesday January 13th
1pm – Kyren Wilson vs Si Jiahui
7pm – John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 14th
1pm – Judd Trump vs Ding Junhui
7pm – Neil Robertson vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
That is, of course, provided Ronnie doesn’t withdraw. It’s a big event, it’s just one table … but he’s not a big fan of Alexandra Palace as attested by his hash criticism last year:
“Everywhere is dirty. It’s cold. It’s freezing, I have to wear my coat everywhere. You go through car parks. There are bins. Honestly, it just makes me feel ill.
“I‘m a bit of a clean freak and when I come in here it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I just can’t wait to get out of here.”
I have been there for several years in a row. I wouldn’t say it’s dirty, but it is indeed very hard to heat the place properly. The glass dome roof is beautiful but it doesn’t help the situation when it’s freezing cold outside. When it’s raining or snowing outside, the fans come in with wet coats, that they usually keep on, and the humidity level rises which only makes things worse. Cold and dampness is not a great combination.
Note that I have “corrected” the text shared by WST. In the draw as they published it, there was no Mark Selby and Ronnie was playing twice. 🙄.
And, of course, wether Ronnie will show up remains to be seen… he has a very difficult first match against Neil Robertson. Should he withdraw, he would likely be replaced by Chris Wakelin, currently ranked 17th, with a decent “cushion” of points ahead of Jak Jones, 18th.
Mark Selby held off a fightback from defending champion Judd Trump to triumph in a nerve-shredding final 10-8 and win the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship for a third time.
Victory sees Selby reach the quarter-century mark in ranking silverware, with this being his 25th title.
The Jester from Leicester also captured UK crowns in 2012 and 2016, when he won respective finals against Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Selby has ended a nine year wait to conquer York again and the signs were there in the lead up to the event. He won last month’s invitational Champion of Champions, where he defeated Trump 10-5 in the title match.
42-year-old Selby moves to ten Triple Crown titles in all, edging ahead of John Higgins (9) in the all-time list. Only Steve Davis (15), Stephen Hendry (18) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (23) have won more than Selby.
Defeat for world number one Trump means he ends 2025 without having added to his trophy collection. It is the first time the Bristolian has failed to win an event in a calendar year since 2013.
Selby claims the £250,000 winner’s cheque and as a result rises from 11th position to sixth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. Trump remains unmoved at the summit.
They came into tonight with Selby holding a commanding 6-2 lead. The opening frame went the way of the four-time World Champion, who crafted a run of 59 to extend his advantage to 7-2.
Trump seized the initiative in the next with a break of 63, but spurned a black off the spot. Selby couldn’t punish him and a safety battle ensued. Trump eventually trapped his opponent and won the exchange to make it 7-3.
A fragmented 11th saw both players miss balls unexpectedly, but after 38 minutes of play, it was 2019 Crucible king Trump who prevailed to go three behind at 7-4. The Juddernaut rode the wave of momentum into the interval, hammering in a century run of 105 to trail 7-5.
When play resumed, Selby produced a 91 break to move two away from the finishing line. However, the Ace in the Pack refused to fold and made a sublime 125 to pull within two at 8-6.
A nervy 15th saw Selby miss two routine blacks off the spot, allowing Trump to reduce his arrears further and crank up the heat, making it 8-7.
Despite the huge tension, Selby summoned the steel to make 77 and move to the verge of victory and lead 9-7.
The balls appeared to be at Selby’s mercy in the 17th, but a missed red to the top left allowed Trump back to the table and he clawed back to 9-8. In typical Selby fashion, he recomposed himself and made 69 to cap off a landmark win.
“I missed a dolly red when I was in win 10-7 and I was sitting in my chair thinking that if I lose 10-9 that will haunt me forever. It would have been worse than the Willie Thorne blue! To make the break in the last, it is probably one of the best breaks of my career. Under those circumstances, to hold myself together,” said an elated and relieved Selby.
“To win any tournament nowadays is so difficult. I put so much emphasis on these Triple Crown events. I always try that little bit harder and the pressure is greater. These are the events I judge my CV on. It is nice to get to double figures.
“It is incredible to go above John Higgins in Triple Crown wins. I’ve looked up to him for years. When I was a young lad, he was at the top of his game and he is still top of his game now. To know I’m in front of him by one is incredible. He is still capable of winning Triple Crown events himself and it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it this season. I get on with him really well, so I can have a bit of banter about that.”
Trump said: “I had a lot of chances this evening. It is my own fault and I missed too many easy balls. It isn’t easy to get over the line in these big events and I was in a similar situation last year. I hoped that I would find my best but it didn’t happen.
“Mark was much the better player and I was just trying to hang in. There was the odd frame when I was coming back and I was starting to pot a few. I will be trying to find that at the start of the game in the Masters. I will work hard between now and the Masters.”
Congratulations Mark Selby!
Finals can sometimes being a bit disappointing as tension mounts and both players feel the pressure, but this was a quality match where both players scored heavily: between them them compiled 17 breaks over 50.
Only two frames failed to “provide” a 50+ break. Considering the pressure they were under because this was the final of a “Triple Crown” event, the feat is truly remarkable.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 