Ronnie O’Sullivan rallied from behind to beat relegation threatened Allan Taylor 6-5 at the International Championship in Nanjing.
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The Rocket maintains a 100% win rate over Taylor, who he made a 147 against at the 2018 English Open. He now leads the head-to-head 3-0.
However, this record appeared to be under threat when 40-year-old Taylor played some excellent snooker to lead 3-1 at the interval. He looked set to be moving further in front when he passed the snookers required mark in frame five, but after going in off he handed O’Sullivan a chance to counter. He cleared with 48 to steal on the black and make it 3-2.
Taylor refused to wilt though and moved 4-2 ahead, before a sensational blitz from seven-time Crucible king O’Sullivan. Breaks of 100, 119 and 129 moved him to the verge of victory at 5-4. Taylor showed his steel to force a decider, but yet another century break of 128 from O’Sullivan earned him a second round clash with Sanderson Lam.
The 41-time ranking event winner is still hunting a first ever International Championship crown. A fine showing for Taylor, but he needs to start accumulating wins with a projected season ending ranking of 76.
“I’m enjoying playing. It never feels like a grind when you are cueing well. I always think that if I am cueing good, then results don’t really matter. I’m enjoying playing more than I have done for maybe over a decade now,” said 49-year-old O’Sullivan.
“I would have been disappointed if I lost today. Not because Allan didn’t deserve to win, just more that I’m enjoying playing. I think when I play alright the crowd appreciate the shots and the break building. When I click into gear that raises the temperature in there a little bit.”
Bai Yulu made the highest ever break composed by a female player in professional snooker, but still bowed out 6-5 against 14-year-old amateur Wang Xinzhong. Bai made a stunning 145 in frame seven, but it was Chinese compatriot Wang who progressed.
World Champion Zhao Xintong top scored with 135 in a 6-1 demolition of Oliver Brown, while Thepchaiya Un-Nooh averaged just 15.9 seconds a shot in his 6-0 whitewash win over Xu Jiarui.
TNT shared some videos on YouTube:
I’m very happy that Ronnie won, although I quite like Allan Taylor as well. He’s a very funny guy, in the good meaning of the word funny, he has a great sense of humour and his impersonations of fellow players are highly amusing, very well observed and never nasty. He’s a born entertainer and I can’t imagine anyone not liking him.
Should Ronnie win tomorrow, his next opponent could be Jack Lisowski. If it happens we should see some fireworks … but it’s a shame that they are on course to meet at such an early stage of the competition.
Bai Yulu made a 145, the highest break ever by a woman in any competition, but she still lost the match.
Wang Xinzhong, Bai’s conqueror in round 1, is only 14 years old and he went on to beat Robbie Williams by 6-1 in round 2. He will now face Shaun Murphy…
Incredible venue for the Zhao Xintong and Ronnie O’Sullivan exhibition at the Wynn Hotel, Macau today.
Xintong won 4-2 which included two magnificent centuries.
The hospitality and welcome from the hotel was amazing
Congratulations Zhao!
I’m certain that it was played in good spirit. Ronnie always liked Zhao a lot from the very moment Zhao became a professional. He is of the opinion that Zhao plays the game the way it should be played, fearless, attacking and entertaining.
This being an exhibition, I won’t read too much into the result. The important thing is that Ronnie is in China and ready to play…
Big thanks also to Ben, who shared information about that exhibition as well in the comments section. Much appreciated.
Both players arrived in Nanjing today, with Victoria and went straight to the practice table
Field Confirmed For Sportsbet.io Champion Of Champions
The field is now set for the 2025 Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions, with sixteen of the world’s top players confirmed to compete for one of snooker’s most prestigious prizes. The tournament will light up the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from November 10–16, featuring an all-star line-up of champions from the past year.
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A firm favourite on the snooker calendar, the Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions brings together winners from the past year’s major events, showcasing a blend of global superstars, established champions, and breakthrough talents.
Confirmed Players
• Mark Williams – Defending Champion, Xi’an Grand Prix • Zhao Xintong – World Championship • Judd Trump – UK Championship • Shaun Murphy – The Masters, British Open • Neil Robertson – Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, World Grand Prix • Mark Allen – Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, English Open • Kyren Wilson – Players Championship, German Masters, Shanghai Masters • John Higgins – Tour Championship, World Open • Xiao Guodong – Wuhan Open • Mark Selby – Welsh Open, Championship League Snooker Invitational • Lei Peifan – Scottish Open • Stephen Maguire – Championship League Snooker Ranking • Bai Yulu – Women’s World Championship • Tom Ford – Shoot Out • Jack Lisowski – Northern Ireland Open • Alfie Burden – World Seniors Championship
The final two spots were filled by Jack Lisowski, who captured his first-ever ranking title at the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, and Alfie Burden, who earned his invitation as the 2025 World Seniors Champion. Their inclusion completes a world-class field representing the very best of both established and emerging snooker excellence.
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The 2025 Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions will be broadcast live on ITV in the UK, Rigour in China, and Viaplay across Scandinavia, Iceland, and the Netherlands, with additional international broadcast partners to be announced soon.
No Ronnie and it’s only right. He hasn’t won an event since the last edition. There have been speculations by some about a possible invitation but that would have been unfair to Alfie Burden. The World Seniors Snooker Champion has regularly been invited in the past1, and there is no good reason for not inviting him this year only to give a spot to someone who isn’t a champion and who has declined to play in the event on several occasions when he actually was a champion and was living in England2 .
Especially when that Seniors Champion was Jimmy White of course… bums on seats and all … ↩︎
i.e definitely closer to the venue than Dubai where he currently lives ↩︎
There have been quite a few withdrawals from the 2025 International Championship, as reported by WST:
Withdrawals From International Championship
Mark Williams, Ali Carter, Sam Craigie, Ken Doherty and David Gilbert have pulled out of next week’s International Championship in China.
Williams has withdrawn due to illness and his opponent Anthony McGill receives a bye to the last 32.
Doherty has withdrawn due to illness and his opponent Neil Robertson receives a bye to the last 32.
Craigie has withdrawn for medical reasons and his opponent Jimmy Robertson receives a bye to the last 32.
Carter has withdrawn for personal reasons and his opponent Aaron Hill receives a bye to the last 32.
Gilbert has withdrawn for personal reasons and his opponent, either Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or Xu Jiarui, will receive a bye to the last 32.
That’s a lot of withdrawals… but of course, this time of the year, colds and flu are not uncommon and traveling when already unwell usually only makes it worse.
At last !!! This was long overdue and I doubt that there is anybody, and I mean anybody1, who isn’t genuinely happy for him! I’m absolutely delighted for Jack who is a lovely person and has gone through so much. We shouldn’t forget that at the age of 17 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma a form of blood cancer. He beat that beast, and even when he was ill he continued to play snooker. Earlier this year, in March, he lost his father. They were very close. Obviously, snooker didn’t feel all that important after that loss. But Jack is a fighter and here we are …
Jack Lisowski beat Judd Trump 9-8 in a dramatic finish at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open to win his first ranking title, 15 years after turning professional.
There were touching scenes at the end of an enthralling contest in Belfast as Lisowski and Trump, close friends since their junior days, embraced after the final balls had been potted. Lisowski dedicated this career-defining triumph to his father, who passed away in March this year.
“I have thought about this moment since I was six or seven years old, it’s surreal,” said Lisowski. “Judd has been my best friend since I was 14 and he was there with me in a restaurant in Hong Kong eight months ago when I got the message about my dad. He has been the best friend I could ask for, the closest thing I could have to a brother. When my dad died I said to my friend that he would never see me win a title. But my friend said I could still do it for my mum. This is for him and for my mum.“
In a thrilling contest there was never more than one frame between the two players and fittingly it went to a decider, which included an edge-of-the-seat sequence of four shots when both players missed reds twice. After Trump’s second error, 34-year-old Lisowski took his opportunity and having lost his first six ranking event finals, three of those against Trump, it was pure relief for the Gloucestershire cueman as he lifted the Alex Higgins Trophy in front of a crowd of 1,500 at the Waterfront Hall.
For many years considered the best player not to land a ranking title, Lisowski has finally lifted that burden and with his vast natural talent could go on to win many more. The £100,000 top prize lifts him from 29th to 24th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, to ninth in the Sportsbet.io One-Year list and up to second behind Mark Allen in the BetVictor Home Nations Series.
Coming into this week there were few signs that Lisowski was on the brink of something special as he had not previously reached a quarter-final this season. But playing with a new cue and a new tip, working with coach Chris Henry for only six weeks and with his Brazilian girlfriend Bela watching him live for the first time, all elements came together in a perfect storm for the popular left-hander. He knocked out the likes of Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson to reach the final then finally got the better of world number one Trump having lost their eight previous meetings.
Tied 4-4 after the first session, Trump dominated the first frame tonight to edge ahead, then in the next he was among the balls first but ran out of position on 37. He later missed a chance at the last red to a top corner, and Lisowski punished him by clearing for 5-5. Trump’s run of 85 restored his lead before Lisowski’s 84 made it 6-6 at the interval.
In frame 13, Lisowski had the balls at his mercy on a break of 29 but missed the black to a top corner, and Trump capitalised with a run of 41 to regain the lead. In the 14th, Lisowski was up 36-0 when he converted an excellent pot on a red to centre and added 51 to square the tie again. Trump led 30-0 in the 15th when he made a safety error and Lisowski made 60 before over-cutting frame-ball black, but he got another chance and potted the last red to go ahead for the first time since 1-0.
Trump controlled frame 16 with two runs of 38 to set up the decider. Lisowski had the first clear chance and made 27 before a missed red, but Trump could not capitalise as his brace of misses sandwiched another from his opponent. Keeping nerves at bay, Lisowski managed a break of 46 which he will remember for the rest of his life.
Lisowski added: “I want to thank the fans for supporting me, they carried me through the final. Hopefully this is a new start for me.“
Trump said: “There was a lot of tension, it was a different scenario to our previous finals with a lot on the line. I am so pleased for Jack, I am probably a lot happier than I would have been if I had won. I gave it my absolute all, I missed a few shots but Jack fully deserved to win. It’s nice for him to shut everyone up because he is always being called out, but no one can say that again. The first title is so special, given what he has been through in his whole life. He has an amazing family around him and I am glad to be a friend.”
Big shout to Judd Trump as well! He played to win, he always does, champions like him hate to lose, but yesterday there was no bitterness at all in defeat, just genuine happiness for his close friend.
Actually that may not be true … there is always some guy who lost a bet somewhere who will curse him and Judd and, maybe, even suggest that it was fixed 😡 ↩︎
Ronnie O’Sullivan handed nightmare draw in quest to hit £1m golden jackpot in Riyadh with Zhao Xintong and Judd Trump chasing snooker’s richest prize
By Desmond Kane
Published 25/10/2025
The winner of the third Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia could earn a whopping £1m for three days work if they claim the title and produce the sport’s first 167 break. The richest prize in the sport is available with the champion earning £250,000 and a further $1m (£751,000) on the line for the first player to sink a Golden Ball after making a 147 maximum break.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will have to do it the hard way if he is to claim a second title in three seasons at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia next month.
The seven-time world champion won the inaugural staging of the event last year, but has been handed a potential minefield when the invitational event is staged between November 19-21 at Boulevard City, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
O’Sullivan will open his campaign on the first day of the competition against Masters champion Shaun Murphy or local player Ziyad Al–Qabbani, with the winner of that contest facing world champion Zhao Xintong the following night in the quarter-finals.
It does not get easier for the snooker GOAT, with world No. 1 Judd Trump or new Xi’an Grand Prix winner Mark Williams next up in the semi-finals on the final day.
The event, made up of the top nine players in the world and the Crucible winner Zhao, has become famous for offering a $1m prize (£751,000) if any player can produce the first 167 in snooker history – a traditional 147 followed by potting a ‘golden ball’ worth 20 points after sinking the final black.
The golden ball has been perched in the middle of the baulk cushion for the first two editions of the event, but there has been speculation it might be moved to a more favourable location this year.
The golden ball is traditionally removed from the table by the referee when a 147 is no longer possible in a frame.
“The first one is going to be special,” said O’Sullivan, who is based in Dubai and has a snooker academy in Riyadh.
“You can’t take anything away from someone who does it down the line, but that first one is always going to be remembered.
“It will be some history and create some serious headlines.
“Big prize. $1m. No one’s ever won a prize like that in snooker ever before.“
Four-time world champion John Higgins was on course for the 167 in the maiden staging of the event, but ran out of position on 120 in trying to land on the yellow off a tricky black before missing the yellow.
“Our dream is to see the gold ball potted at the end of a maximum break to complete the world’s first ever 167!” said Naif Al-Jaweini, the general manager of Riyadh Season Snooker.
“I am sure every player in the field shares this dream as this achievement would help bring our sport to a new level on a global scale.”
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On paper at least, the top half of the draw looks slightly more favourable in the chase for the lucrative £250,000 first prize.
Defending champion Mark Allen is in line to take on Higgins or Ding Junhui – who opens against home hope Ayman Alamri on Wednesday, November 19 – in the last eight as world No. 2 Kyren Wilson meets Neil Robertson, who returns to the country after his £500,000 victory at the Saudi Arabia Masters in August.
All matches are the best of seven frames with the best-of-nine frame final due to take place on Friday, November 21 at 19:00 UK time.
O’Sullivan defeated Luca Brecel 5-2 in the first final in March 2024, with Allen running out a 5-1 winner over Brecel before Christmas last year.
The 2025 Northern Ireland Open final will be contested today between two close friends. Indeed Judd Trump will face Jack Lisowski in Belfast today. Here is how we got there as reported by WST:
Jack Lisowski kept his tremendous run going at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open as he made three centuries in a 6-1 thrashing of Zhou Yuelong to reach his seventh ranking event final and raise his hopes of a first title.
One of the best natural talents in the sport, Lisowski produced a wonderful display of long potting and break-building as he dismissed Zhou in less than two hours at the Waterfront Hall. In his six previous ranking finals, which all came between 2018 and 2021, 34-year-old Lisowski was up against Judd Trump three times, Neil Robertson twice and Mark Selby once. And the left-hander is sure to face another huge test on Sunday as he will meet either world number one and close friend Trump, or home favourite Mark Allen.
First to nine frames will earn £100,000 and lift the Alex Higgins Trophy, and victory would be a career-best moment for Lisowski, particularly given the challenges he has faced away from the table in recent months as his father sadly passed away in March.
Coming into this week there were few signs that Lisowski was a title contender as he had not previously reached a quarter-final this season and had slipped to 29th in the world, but he is playing with a new cue tip and working with coach Chris Henry for the first time which – so far – has created a perfect storm. In five matches this week he has fired six centuries and 12 more breaks over 50.
The opening frame today came down to the colours and Lisowski, leading by 15 points, laid a clever snooker on the brown, which Zhou missed twice and he was soon 1-0 down. China’s Zhou, who was runner-up to Allen at last month’s BetVictor English Open, registered just five points in the next three frames as Lisowski piled in breaks of 125, 124 and 66 for 4-0.
In frame five, Lisowski led 54-37 when he missed the final green to a centre pocket and Zhou later got the better of a safety battle on the blue then cleared to pull a frame back. Lisowski regained momentum with a run of 125 in frame six and looked set to finish the tie in the seventh until he missed a red to centre on 40. Zhou made 59 then played safe, and Lisowski enjoyed a slice of good fortune as his attempted long pot on the last red rattled it in the jaws and dropped into the opposite baulk corner. From there he added the points he needed to delight the fans in Belfast who are backing him this week.
“It was really good today, it has been a great week so far and now obviously it’s all about tomorrow,” said Gloucestershire’s Lisowski. “I feel like I can pot any ball at the moment, I’m more surprised when I miss. I have been putting the work in and when it comes off out there it’s a great feeling. I have changed my cue, changed my tip, and got a coach with new ideas so maybe it’s a new version of myself. My game is heading in the right direction which is a relief because I have had a quiet couple of seasons where I have played some really good games but not put a run together.
“I think I’m way better than I was when I was last in a final. My good game is much stronger and my bad game is a bit better too. I haven’t got a clue who will win tonight, it doesn’t make a difference to me. It would be so special to beat either of them. If I apply myself well I’ve got a chance.”
Judd Trump came from 3-2 down to beat local favourite Mark Allen 6-3 at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, setting up his 50th ranking final and a clash with friend Jack Lisowski.
Trump and Lisowski have been close since their junior days and Sunday’s final could be an emotional occasion, particularly given that Lisowski’s father passed away earlier this year. Both will be determined to get to nine frames and finish the night with the Alex Higgins Trophy in his hands, and Trump has the added motivation of ending a streak of ten months without a title.
The pair have met in three ranking finals, Trump winning 10-7 at the 2020 World Grand Prix, 9-2 at the 2021 German Masters and 4-0 at the 2021 Gibraltar Open. All three of those were played behind closed doors in Milton Keynes during the Covid era, so this will be their first final in front of a crowd – and what better setting than the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
Bristol’s 36-year-old Trump will be aiming for a 31st ranking title and first since the 2024 UK Championship last December. Number one in the official Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, he was down in 34th place on this season’s rankings prior to this week, but will now shoot up that list especially if he banks the £100,000 top prize.
The 2019 World Champion has shown only flashes of his best this week, making just two centuries compared to Lisowski’s six, but his exceptional safety game has helped him into the final.
Both players struggled to settle into tonight’s contest and after 79 minutes of play the score was 1-1. Trump was first to find some rhythm with a break of 73 to take the advantage, before Antrim’s Allen hit back with 68 and 135 to lead 3-2. The crucial sixth frame came down to a safety battle on the green and Trump trailed 52-46 when he laid a tough snooker, and he took the chance that followed to square the tie.
A break of 82 gave Trump the lead and in frame eight he was 62-0 ahead when he missed the black to a top corner. Allen had a chance to counter but ran out of position with two reds left, and Trump later converted a clever cross double on the last red to go 5-3 ahead. Early in frame nine, Allen missed a tough mid-range red to a top corner and handed Trump the chance to make 66 which proved enough for victory.
“It was a tough game, Mark never makes it easy for you,” said Trump, who won this title three times in a row from 2018 to 2020 and again in 2023. “That’s his game plan, he is very patient and his safety is good. It’s hard to get any rhythm against him at the start, plus I missed a few easy balls. The sixth frame was massive, that was the turning point. I got some momentum after that and my game was a bit more attacking.
“I will be giving it my all tomorrow, it will be an incredible final. It’s brilliant to see Jack playing this well, he has had a tough time. Everyone is glad to see him back. We grew up together and played in pretty much every junior final, so it’s amazing to be playing him in this final 20 years later. An arena like this deserves a great final.”
Once again with only two matches played yesterday, the above reports are comprehensive enough.
According to Cuetracker Judd and Jack have played each other 24 times in professional tournaments before their encounter today, Judd winning 16 times and Jack winning 8 times. Before today, they have met in a final three times and Judd has won each of those three finals, two of them quite comprehensively. All three finals came during the 2020/21 season. Looking at those stats, you have to make Judd a clear favourite today … but I’d love to see Jack “upset” the odds and lift the trophy tonight!
