Yesterday, again, I had little time for the snooker … life is definitely coming in the way of it right now. I didn’t watch any of the matches, so can’t comment on them, but here is what happened on the baize as reported by WST and snooker.org:
2025 Players Championship – 20 March 2025- reports by WST
Robertson scored a sensational victory in the opening event of the Players Series 11 days ago. The Australian whitewashed Stuart Bingham 10-0 in the World Grand Prix final in Hong Kong to capture the 25th ranking title of his career and second of the season, following the BetVictor English Open.
Prior to these wins, the Melbourne cueman’s ranking was plummeting and he was facing another trip to Crucible qualifying, having dropped to 26th in the world ahead of the English Open. Robertson now finds himself 11th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and is assured of a place in the final stages of the upcoming World Championship.
Robertson met Bingham once again in the opening round this week, but it was a far closer encounter this time around. He needed to rally from 3-1 down to score a 6-4 victory.
Today’s contest saw Robertson extend his impressive head-to-head lead over Selby to 19-9. Leicester’s four-time World Champion Selby will now turn his attention to the series finale in Manchester at the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship.
Despite Selby crafting a stunning 139, it was Robertson who took three of the first four frames to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
When play got back underway, Robertson enhanced his lead with a break of 72 to make it 4-1.
Selby replied with 88 in the sixth, with Robertson then making 99 in the seventh to move one away at 5-2. He was pegged back in the next frame, but Robertson got over the line in the ninth to emerge a comfortable 6-3 victor.
“There wasn’t a big flurry of breaks in the match, but Mark is someone who is hard to get chances out of. He isn’t going to play loose shots and leave you in the balls, you really need to earn it,” said 43-year-old Robertson. “Mark and I have played each other an awful lot over the years. I think I’ve faced him more than any other player. We’ve had a lot of big matches against each other in our careers.
“You need to stand up and be counted (against Kyren Wilson). It is as simple as that. He plays very aggressively. I don’t think either one of us will step down at any point in the match, we are both going to really go for it.
“I love the way he plays the game. I’ve always admired him. When he used to come and practise with Joe Perry I thought he could have a wonderful career. He works so hard and has been a brilliant World Champion. He has shown how you should conduct yourself in the following season after winning the World Championship.”
World number one Judd Trump blitzed to 6-0 demolition of Johnstone’s Paint Masters champion Shaun Murphy at the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford.
It was an evening of total dominance for Trump, who scored 524 points to Murphy’s 40. The Ace in the Pack took just one hour and 26 minutes to complete the win, averaging 18 seconds per shot.
The devastating victory sees him extend his winning streak over Murphy to their last seven matches. The Ace in the Pack now leads the head-to-head standings 18-9. Next up Trump will face either John Higgins or Xiao Guodong in last four.
Trump has landed silverware at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters this season, as well the UK Championship. Ahead of this event, he had already amassed £1,375,600 in prize money for the season.
Murphy can take solace from securing a vital opening round win over Barry Hawkins. That has secured him his qualification for the final stages of the World Championship, which was under threat for much of the season.
Trump produced a break building masterclass, crafting runs of 77, 101, 65, 66 and 55 on his way to the quickfire win. The century run moves Trump to 89 centuries for the season and takes him closer to hunting down the target of 100, which would come with a £100,000 bonus.
“Shaun has been a different animal this season, so when you beat him you take more credit than maybe you used to. He is an amazing player and to beat anyone 6-0 at this level is incredibly hard,” said 30-time ranking event winner Trump.
“He didn’t do a lot wrong. The first frame was incredibly important. He missed a couple of balls in that and got punished. I was full of confidence, he was struggling a little bit and everything was going in for me.
“You just want to carry on when you are playing like that. You are in the zone. I felt like I was playing slow and taking my time but when I came off the table my shot time was quite quick.
“I’ve been consistent all season. I’ve put myself in position in most tournaments I’ve played in. It is nice to know that form is still there coming into the final straight. I know my game is good enough to win any tournament but it is good to back that up for a whole season. Whoever comes through it will be a tough semi-final though.”
WPBSA Q Tour Global Play-Offs 2025 | Draw & Preview
The draw has been made for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Q Tour Global Play-Offs, where players will compete for a trio of two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) cards.
The prestigious event will be held alongside the EBSA European Championships in Antalya, Turkey from 11-13 March 2025.
A total of 24 players have qualified from the WPBSA Q Tour series’ in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region as well as one nomination by the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA).
The cueists have been split into three sections of eight and the player coming through each will earn their professional status for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons.
Play-Off 1
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 Frames)
Dylan Emery (Wales) vs. Ali Gharagozlou (Iran)
Connor Benzey (England) vs. Mark Joyce (England)
Steven Hallworth (England) vs. Luo Honghao (China)
Kuldesh Johal (England) vs. Ryan Davies (England)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 Frames)
Emery/Gharagozlou vs. Benzey/Joyce
Hallworth/Luo vs. Johal/Davies
Final (Best of 19 Frames)
Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2
Wales’ Dylan Emery is the top seed after finishing second in the Q Tour Europe ranking list, behind only four-time event winner Zhao Xintong, as a result of winning the second title of the season in Bulgaria and finishing runner-up to Liam Highfield in event seven.
He faces a tough opening round tie against Iran’s Ali Gharagozlou, who finished at the summit of the Q Tour Middle East ranking list by winning back-to-back titles in the United Arab Emirates.
Former professionals Mark Joyce, Steven Hallworth and Kuldesh Johal are joined by Connor Benzey and Ryan Davies as qualifiers from Q Tour Europe in the top section while Luo Honghao, a former World Snooker Federation (WSF) champion who reached the televised stages of the World Championship in 2019, completes the line-up as the CBSA nomination.
Play-Off 2
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 Frames)
Liam Highfield (England) vs. Habib Humood (Bahrain)
Dhimones Moraes (Brazil) vs. Harvey Chandler (England)
Iulian Boiko (Ukraine) vs. Alex Clenshaw (England)
Vinnie Calabrese (Australia) vs. Craig Steadman (England)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 Frames)
Highfield/Humood vs. Moraes/Chandler
Boiko/Clenshaw vs. Calabrese/Steadman
Final (Best of 19 Frames)
Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2
A trio of Q Tour event winners from across the globe feature in a strong second section where five nations and four continents are represented.
Liam Highfield, who won the seventh and final Q Tour Europe event of the season earlier this month, is aiming for a quick return to the World Snooker Tour after an unbroken 14-year spell came to an end last year.
He is joined in the second section by Australia’s Vinnie Calabrese and Bahrain’s Habib Humood, who finished top of the Q Tour Asia-Pacific and Middle East ranking lists as a result of winning all but one of the events in their individual regions.
Humood will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Amir Sarkhosh and Mohammed Shehab, who each earned professional status as qualifiers from the Middle East series 12 months ago.
Former professionals Harvey Chandler, Iulian Boiko and Craig Steadman have qualified from the Europe series, as well as England’s Alex Clenshaw, while Brazil’s Dhimones Moraes will compete as the Q Tour Americas series’ South American nomination.
Play-Off 3
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 Frames)
Ryan Thomerson (Australia) vs. Ehsan Heydari Nezhad (Iran)
Josh Thomond (England) vs. Florian Nuessle (Austria)
Sean O’Sullivan (England) vs. Oliver Sykes (England)
Vito Puopolo (Canada) vs. Andres Petrov (Estonia)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 Frames)
Thomerson/Nezhad vs. Thomond/Nuessle
O’Sullivan/Sykes vs. Puopolo/Petrov
Final (Best of 19 Frames)
Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2
Estonia’s Andres Petrov, the first Q Tour Europe event winner of the season, headlines the third and final section of the play-offs which features competitors from six nations.
Petrov will face Canada’s Vito Puopolo, who won an event on the Q Tour Americas series in Toronto, while the other six contenders have qualified via the Europe series.
Former professional Ryan Thomerson finished fourth in the Europe ranking list and will face Iran’s Ehsan Heydari Nezhad, who reached the final in Stockholm, while the line-up is completed by Josh Thomond, Sean O’Sullivan and Oliver Sykes from England as well as Austrian national champion Florian Nuessle.
This is a proper competition, and the ones who will emerge from it will really deserve their tour card.
It’s interesting that the Q-Tour actually travels more than the main tour, the latter being mainly confined to the UK and China. It is also interesting that it’s “combined” with the EBSA championships that also offer tour cards, possibly making it easier and cheaper for players who want to play in both.
Regarding the main tour, they should scrap the invitational championship league and use the calendar slots for events in mainland Europe. They could also make the ranking championship league shorter by using four tables instead of two. This year the Players Championship is played in Hong Kong. What about having one of the events of that series in mainland Europe? Sponsoring has been an issue in mainland Europe events, I know that. BUT, a big part of the problem is the strong ties between the sport and gambling, something that is much more “regulated” in mainland Europe than it is in the UK, and doesn’t have a very favorable image with the general public. Surely they can find sponsors in other areas? Maybe, at the start, those sponsors won’t offer as big price money as WST would like to get but they surely can and should “complement” it. It’s called “investing” in the future. After all they call themselves “World” snooker, not “UK, China and friends” snooker.
Also I mention mainland Europe, but if successful, in the future WST will have to consider the Americas and Africa and then they will need to consider simultaneous events in various locations like other big sports do because the calendar has only 52 weeks and then, to be fair to all players they will be forced to “depart’ from the money list and adopt a different “rating” system. I’m 70, I may never see it but there will come a time when they will have to evolve to that model … or never grow into a global sport.
Ronnie is due to play in the 2025 World Grand Prix
Two days ago, WST organised a big press conference in Hong Kong to promote the 2025 World Grand Prix. The event was attended by Judd Trump, the current World Number One, who, like Ronnie, has taken residency in Hong Kong.
Schedule For World Grand Prix Announced At Press Conference
Organised by World Snooker Tour (WST) and F-Sports Promotions Limited, and supported by the Billiard Sports Council of Hong Kong China Limited, the 2025 World Snooker Grand Prix will be held in Hong Kong for the first time, taking place from March 4th to 9th at Kai Tak Arena, Kai Tak Sports Park. The top 32 snooker players of the season will compete for the championship.
Tournament organisers held a pre-event press conference today, attended by world number one Judd Trump and the match schedule was announced. A star studded day one lineup sees the likes of Trump, World Champion Kyren Wilson, Masters champion Shaun Murphy and four-time Crucible king John Higgins in action.
The World Grand Prix is proud of being designated as an “M” Mark event, that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as an international sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, for signature events in the territory sports calendar.
An excited Trump remarked: “I really do enjoy every occasion I get to compete in Hong Kong. I love everything about Hong Kong and being able to play here for the first time as a Hong Kong resident is definitely a particularly meaningful event in my career. I can’t wait to experience the vibrant atmosphere, with 5,000 fans cheering at the amazing new Kai Tak Arena.”
Ms. Feng Huanhuan, CEO, F-Sports Promotions Limited said, ” We wish to thank the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Major Sports Events Committee, and all the supporting organisations for their strong support. The new world-class Kai Tak Arena offers an outstanding venue for hosting this event and will undoubtedly provide audiences with an exceptional viewing experience. With Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan both gracing the stage in their ‘new home,’ we are proud to promote Hong Kong on the world stage. Our goal is to bring top-tier snooker events that reflect the community’s passion for the sport, while leveraging Hong Kong’s position as the premier hub for Mega Events. We are committed to advancing the development of sports within the community, supporting elite sports, enhancing sports professionalism and developing sport as a thriving industry while promoting the city as a world-renowned centre for major international sports events.“
The World Grand Prix has been held since 2015 and is one of the premier events on the World Snooker Tour. This year marks the first time the tournament will be hosted outside of the UK, with a record breaking venue size and prize money on offer.
The huge arena capacity means 5,000 spectators will be able to experience this premier snooker event live at the brand-new Kai Tak Arena, making it the most attended ranking event on the World Snooker Tour to date. The total prize money has increased from £380,000 last year to £700,000 this year, with the champion’s prize rising from £100,000 to £180,000.
This will be the first ranking tournament held in Hong Kong since 1989. Notably, Trump and defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will be competing at home after becoming residents of Hong Kong.
On March 8th and 9th, exhibition matches will take place at 11 am. On Saturday, the men’s exhibition match will feature Hong Kong’s top player Marco Fu going up against Jimmy White. On Sunday, the women’s exhibition match will showcase Hong Kong number one and world number two Ng On Yee competing against world number one Mink Nutcharut. Tickets for the exhibition matches will be distributed for free, with further details to be announced later.
The Hong Kong Billiards Sports Academy, a collaboration between F-Sports Promotions Limited and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, located at Kai Tak Mall, will officially open during the tournament.
Public tickets are available through HK Ticketing and Damai, ranging from HK$80 to HK$2,580. There is a special ‘roll-on roll-off’ format for this event, with two consecutive matches in both the afternoon and evening sessions, which means that fans buying a ticket for just one session can watch two matches.
Now, if you follow the link at the end of the article, you will open a page that features a video featuring Ronnie explaining that he took a break bit now feels ready to play in this event and I think he will. Why? Because it’s in Hong Kong, where he’s now a resident and it’s a place he loves. It’s a huge arena and you can be certain that the players will be treated extremely well. How well will Ronnie perform? I don’t really know as he’s facing a daunting task. His first opponent will be Si Jiahui who has beaten him earlier this season. Indeed, Si beat Ronnie by 6-4 in the QFs in Saudi Arabia, in an event where Ronnie certainly wanted to do well. I strongly believe that Ronnie will give it his best in this event, but will it be enough after sitting out so many events? I’m really, really not sure…
The first Disability Snooker World Championship will be held in Thailand next week and it has attracted huge interest
I have been told by one of the participants that some matches will be streamed, likely on Facebook.
Incredible Entry for Inaugural World Disability Snooker Championship!
It has today1 been announced that the first-ever staging of the World Disability Snooker Championship will see an impressive 69 players from 17 countries contest six main titles in Thailand.
Organised by World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) and the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King (SPADT), the landmark event will run from 23 February – 2 March 2025 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
The opening two days (23-24 February) will incorporate classification sessions for players who have not played at a WDBS event before and optional practice for players ahead of the start of the competition.
The first competitive matches are set to be played on 25 February with the start of the group stages, during which there will also be a spectacular opening ceremony staged to open the Championship.
The Groups
The event will see six tournaments staged, with separate competitions held for players from Groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Due to entry numbers received, Groups 6A, 6B, 7 and 8 will be merged to play a single tournament with 12 players. This is subject to change should entry numbers change prior to the start of the event.
Appropriate points starts will be applied within this group in the interest of fair competition and will be confirmed prior to the start of the event.
Following the conclusion of the group stages, there will also be a Challenge Cup tournament held for players who do not qualify for the knockout stages.
Please note that the draws for the tournament will not be released until 24 February following the completion of new player classifications.
“A fantastic response”
Nigel Mawer QPM, WDBS Chairman said: “We are today delighted to announce such a strong line-up for the first-ever staging of the World Disability Snooker Championship in Thailand.
“To have players from 17 individual countries is a fantastic response and marks a truly international event for disability snooker. It is especially exciting to welcome players from Iceland, Indonesia, Libya, Pakistan and the United States to the Tour for the very first time.
“I look forward to meeting all of the players and officials in Thailand for what promises to be a week to remember.”
The World Disability Snooker Championship runs from 23 February – 2 March 2025 with tournament information to be available via WPBSA SnookerScores.
To be held in Srisaman, Nonthaburi, the landmark event will be organised in conjunction with the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King (SPADT) and snooker’s world governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
The first staging of a World Championship comes 10 years on from the foundation of WDBS and represents the latest major milestone in the continued growth of disability snooker worldwide, following snooker’s inclusion at last year’s World Abilitysport Games and the first-ever European Disability Snooker Championship in October.
Format
The event will run across nine days in total from 23 February – 3 March 2025, with the opening two days to include classification and practice days ahead of the start of the first matches on 25 February.
All players must attend from 25 February to be eligible to compete in the tournament.
……
“An Historic Event”
WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer QPM said: “We are today hugely excited to be able to announce the first staging of the World Disability Snooker Championship in Thailand next year.
“The event will be the biggest ever disability snooker event held and represents a proud moment for all of us who have been associated with WDBS over the past decade.
“Our inclusion at last year’s World Abilitysport Games in Thailand was a week that I will never forget, and it is only fitting that the first ever World Championship will see us return to this amazing country once again.
“I would like to thank the SPADT and the WPBSA for their support of the event, and mostly importantly our players from around the world, without the support of whom the staging of this event would not be possible.
“Our long-term goal remains to secure the return of snooker to the Paralympic Games and this prestigious new event represents another huge step towards achieving that ambition.”
A spokesperson from SPADT said: “We are honoured to host this Championship. We sincerely thank WDBS for trusting Thailand as the host nation.
“We would also like to express our gratitude to the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand for their invaluable support and collaboration, which has been key to ensuring the success of this event.
“Drawing from our experience in organising international sports events for disabled athletes, SPADT is committed to delivering a smooth and memorable tournament. We warmly invite players from across the globe to join us in Thailand for this incredible Championship.
“We hope this competition will be a truly enjoyable and unforgettable experience for everyone involved. May all participants leave with great memories and the famous ‘Thai smile’ that will stay with you forever.”.
The 2025 Welsh Open has started this morning but, before we turn our attention to the last of the “Home Nations” events, let’s take stock of what happened last week-end on the amateur scene, as reported by WPBSA.
Liam Highfield defeated Dylan Emery 4-3 to win the seventh and final WPBSA Q Tour Europe event of the season at the Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall, England.
The victory marks Highfield’s first title on the Q Tour and guarantees his place at the Q Tour Global Play-Offs in Turkey next month where three World Snooker Tour (WST) two-year tour cards will be on offer.
The 34-year-old Englishman, who is aiming for a quick return to the professional circuit after his 14-year unbroken spell came to an end last year, joined the three-day event on the Saturday as one of the 48 seeded cueists at the Landywood Snooker Club.
His campaign began with a tough test against fellow former professional Craig Steadman, who had already reached a Q Tour Europe event final in Sweden earlier in the season. The two players went blow for blow in a high-quality contest but a quartet of half-centuries, including a top break of 92, was enough for Highfield to secure the victory in a decider.
A 4-1 win over fellow countryman Ryan Davies earned Highfield his place in the final day for the fourth time this season and he began the Sunday in style with a whitewash of Josh Thomond to reach the quarter-finals.
Back-to-back 4-2 victories over Kuldesh Johal and Alex Clenshaw, the latter from 2-1 behind, saw Highfield book his place in a Q Tour Europe final for the first time.
Welshman Dylan Emery was his opponent in the title match after he proved to be one of the standout performers across the weekend.
Emery, who won the second Q Tour Europe event of the campaign, compiled the tournament high break of 140 against Anton Kazakov on Saturday evening and followed this up by overcoming former World Snooker Federation champion Ashley Hugill to earn a place in the last eight.
There he faced 14-year-old Shaun Liu, who had provided one of the stories of the event by picking up consecutive victories over former professionals Steven Hallworth and Harvey Chandler.
The Hong Kong China cueist came close to adding another scalp against Emery as he led 3-2 in the best-of-seven frame contest. Emery was able to hold his nerve, however, and take the last two frames before once again showing his battling qualities in the semi-finals to defeat Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko in a decider having trailed 3-1.
It had been a day full of drama and a high standard of snooker at the Landywood Snooker Club and the title match proved to be no different.
In a match that featured a half-century break in every frame, Highfield stormed into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 93 and 69 and then moved one away from victory at 3-1 with a further contribution of 59.
Emery wasn’t going down without a fight, however, and visits of 83 and 87 forced a final frame to decide the victor.
All you want in a decider is a chance and when Highfield’s arrived he took full advantage by hitting a 91 clearance to secure the first Q Tour title of his career.
The 2024/25 WPBSA Q Tour season comes a close next month as the Global Play-Offs are staged in Antalya, Turkey on 11-13 March. Full details will be announced in due course.
Reanne Evans has defeated Mink Nutcharut 4-3 following a dramatic final to regain the Belgian Women’s Open title for the first time since 2019 at the Trickshot in Bruges, Belgium.
Success for Evans represents her second ranking event title of the season following her win at the Women’s Masters last November and is her first outside of the UK in almost six years since the 2019 World Women’s Snooker Championship in Thailand.
Victory in Bruges will also see the 12-time world champion regain third place in the updated world rankings, having been overtaken by Bai Yulu following the recent WSF Women’s Championship in Morocco.
Beaten finalist Mink Nutcharut will remain in top spot following her fourth consecutive final appearance on the WWS Tour – all having come down to a deciding frame – which sees her further extend her lead to second placed Ng On Yee with two events remaining this season.
For Evans the run to the final would not be straightforward as having seen off debutant Diana Khodjaeva in the last 16, she would then defeat home favourite Wendy Jans 3-1 in the quarter-finals, before surviving her first decider against 2020 Belgian Open champion Ng On Yee in the semi-finals.
Mink Nutcharut meanwhile enjoyed relatively smooth passage to the title match as she whitewashed Jaique Ip Wan In, Kamila Khodjaeva and most impressively Anupama Ramachandran, during which she hit back-to-back century breaks of 115 and 107 during the final two frames, becoming the first player to do so in seven years.
It was Nutcharut who would get off to the stronger start during what would prove to be a tension-filled final as she stole the opener with a break of 40, before adding a close-fought second to double her advantage.
The frames would continue to be hard-fought and it was Evans who hit back to level at 2-2, before the next two were shared meaning that for the fourth straight final on the WWS Tour, a final frame decider would be required to settle the title.
Evans would gain the early advantage in the crucial seventh frame, before Nutcharut found herself with a chance to potentially steal and take her third consecutive crown in Bruges. A miss on the final red into the green pocket would ultimately prove costly, however, as Evans made a telling contribution to ultimately clinch the title.
The engrossing final would pull down the curtain on what was a memorable event which saw a number of stories throughout the three days. Notably, talented Belgian duo Diana and Kamila Khodjaeva both impressed in reaching the knockout rounds at their debut event, while 13-year-old Ellise Scott took world number five Rebecca Kenna to a deciding-frame at the last 16 stage. For Kenna, she would find herself on the wrong end of a decider in the next round as she dramatically lost to Anupama Ramachandran on a respotted black.
There was also history made as an incredible break of 138 – the fifth-highest ever on the WWS Tour – by Ng On Yee saw her become only the fourth player ever to reach ten career century breaks, before Mink Nutcharut equalled the feat the following day, with her brace of century breaks during the semi-finals.
Side-Tournaments
There was a second-career Under-21 title for Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul in the junior competition as the 19-year-old defeated Laura Killington, Sophie Nix and first-time finalist Chan Wai Lam of Hong Kong China to add to her previous crown at the Women’s Masters last November.
It would prove to be a fruitful weekend for the youngster who also claimed victory in the Challenge Cup event for players who did not reach the quarter-finals following her 2-0 success against England’s Ellise Scott in the final.
The Seniors competition held on Friday meanwhile saw current number one Tessa Davidson maintain her stranglehold at the top of the rankings with a 2-0 win against first-time finalist Anja Vandenbussche.
As always, World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to what is always a popular event in Bruges, in particular Olivier Vandenbohede and his team at the Trickshot.
The 2024/25 season continues with the Landywood British Women’s Open from 28-30 March 2025 in Bruges. Enter now via WPBSA SnookerScores.
Note that I cited the last sentence as it was written at the time I copied the text, but the Landiwood British Open is due to be played in Walsall, England, according to WPBSA Snooker scores … not in Bruges as written in the piece above.
The reigning World champion, Kyren Wilson, will face the vastly experienced Barry Hawkins today in the final in Berlin. Both beat a young Chinese opponent yesterday in a packed Tempodrom.
World Champion Kyren Wilson is through to the Machineseeker German Masters final, after defeating Xiao Guodong 6-2 at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
The Englishman last made it to a title match in Germany’s premier snooker event back in 2019, when he defeated David Gilbert 9-7 in a thrilling final. Wilson will now face either Barry Hawkins or Yuan Sijun in tomorrow’s final with the Brandon Parker Trophy on the line. The trophy is named in memory of Wilson’s late former manager, who was instrumental in bringing this event to Germany and instigating several tournaments throughout Europe.
It’s been an impressive first season as Crucible king for the Warrior, who has already picked up silverware. Wins over Judd Trump in the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and BetVictor Northern Ireland Open have already taken his title tally to two. He was runner-up to Shaun Murphy at the recent Johnstone’s Paint Masters.
Xiao’s week ends in defeat, but it marks the continuation of a tremendous season. He picked up a maiden ranking title at last year’s Wuhan Open and has now appeared in five semi-finals during the campaign.
Breaks of 88 and 100 helped Wilson charge into an early 3-0 lead this afternoon, before Xiao showed his class with 72 in the fourth to give himself hope at 3-1 heading into the mid-session.
When play resumed there were no signs of a momentum shift, with Wilson taking two on the bounce to move to the verge of victory at 5-1. Xiao kept himself in the hunt by pulling one back, but a 32-minute seventh went the way of Wilson to send him into the final of a ranking event for the 17th time. He received a rapturous ovation in front of a sell out Tempodrom crowd as he exited the arena.
Wilson said: “It feels amazing. The crowd were spectacular. The roar is so different to any other venue. I was desperate to make the one table set up this week and it is even better now I’m in the final.
“Xiao has had a fantastic season, winning his first ranking title and making the Champion of Champions final. He is having a fantastic season and beat me on the way to his first title in Wuhan. It was nice to get the win back there.
“I made it clear at the start of the week I was thinking of Brandon. You come here and people tell stories about Brandon. I put a post out at the start of the week saying that we are so grateful to him to have this event. It is great his name lives on with the trophy and I’ll be trying my absolute hardest to lift that tomorrow.“
Barry Hawkins summoned a six frame blitz to beat Yuan Sijun 6-2 and reach the final of the Machineseeker German Masters at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
The Hawk is hunting the fifth ranking title of his career so far and will go toe to toe with World Champion Kyren Wilson in tomorrow’s showpiece showdown. The pair will do battle over the best of 19 frames, with a top prize of £100,000 and the Brandon Parker Trophy on the line.
Hawkins and Wilson have a history of contesting finals on German soil. The 2019 Paul Hunter Classic title match in Furth saw Hawkins prevail, while Wilson came out on top at the same venue in 2022 to win the European Masters. A year later, Hawkins would return to Germany and pick up the European Masters crown with a win over Judd Trump in the final.
China’s Yuan bows out after the most significant tournament run of his career so far, having also made the semis of the Gibraltar Open back in 2019. Deciding frame wins over Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson this week helped him to make the final four and earn today’s appearance in front of a crowd of over 2,300 expectant German fans.
Yuan got off to a flyer when play commenced this evening, breaks of 82 and 70 saw him move 2-0 ahead. From that moment Hawkins took charge. Breaks of 89 and 54 helped him to take frames three and four to draw level at 2-2.
Tightly fought fifth and sixth frames both went to Hawkins, before back-to-back contributions of 83 allowed him to make it six on the bounce to secure a comprehensive victory.
Hawkins said: “I think he faltered towards the end a little bit. He started strongly and then when I came back at him it put him on the back foot. I tried to stay positive and tried to stay calm. I didn’t want to make silly mistakes. To get over the line quite easily, I was delighted.
“It will be an amazing occasion for me against Kyren. Those occasions have been few and far between for me lately. I won the European Masters last season and I’ve had a couple of good results since then. Hopefully I can keep doing what I’ve been doing and enjoy it.
“Winning tomorrow would be up there with the best moments of my career. I’ve got such a tough game against Kyren though. He is playing some great stuff and even when he isn’t he is so hard to beat these days. I won’t be thinking any further ahead. I’ve still got a mountain to climb.“
Meanwhile, in Morroco, Gao Yang won the 2025 WSF championship and regained a tour card
Gao Yangbeat Brian Cini 5-3 in the final of the 2025 WSF Championship to claim the biggest title of his career in Morocco and secure his return to the professional World Snooker Tour for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons.
Having previously reached the final of the Championship 12 months ago, Gao was able to go one step further in 2025 following a high-quality final to add victory in the Open Championship event to his prior success at the WSF Junior Championship in Malta five years earlier. He becomes the first player to have claimed both titles during their career and underlines his record as the most successful player ever at the World Snooker Federation Championships.
Gao’s reward will see him now rejoin the professional circuit for the first time since the end of his initial two-year spell in 2022, and further extends a run which has seen the tournament dominated by players from Asia, with five of its six stagings now won by players from the region. He follows in the footsteps of Luo Honghao (2018), Si Jiahui (2022), Ma Hailong (2023) and last year’s winner Ka Wai Cheung (2024) to lift the trophy.
The outstanding performer during the week, Gao hit a tournament-best five century breaks on his way to the title match for a second successive year, including the overall high break of 140 during his quarter-final victory against Stuart Watson.
The match would prove to be a more cagey affair on the resumption of play, with Cini notably claiming the sixth frame from behind on the colours to once again draw level at 3-3.
Ultimately, it would be Gao’s day, however, as he responded by winning the following two frames to seal victory and secure his return to the World Snooker Tour following a three-year-absence.
Gao said: “This tournament has many former professional players and so it is very hard to win. Now I have a chance to start again. I have moved to Victoria’s Snooker Academy in Sheffield and play more often against professional players like Si Jiahui, Zhang Anda and Zhao Xintong in practice which is very important. My target for the next two years is to get into the top 64.”
Held at the Radisson Blu Resort Saïdia Beach in Morocco, the sixth staging of snooker’s most prestigious amateur championships attracted approximately 250 entries from around the globe across three competitions, with around 600 matches completed across 15 days.
Victory for Gao completes a memorable fortnight in Morocco which had previously seen Ireland’s Leone Crowley and Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut claim the titles in the Junior and Women’s Championships respectively.
The World Snooker Federation would like to thank all of its partners who have supported the event, in particular Morocco Snooker and its president Mr Mourad Mahi, without whom the staging of the Championships would not have been possible.
Unfortunately, I can’t comment. I saw next to nothing of the action and it may well be the same today.
As some of you probably know already, I live in Santorini. The island itself is a “living” volcano, with the craters in the middle in the caldera. We have another volcano nearby, under water, north-east of the island, Koloumbo. Both volcanos are currently showing signs of “activity”. We had dozens of mild earthquakes over the last 48 hours. The last “seismic tremor”, about half an hour ago was on 4.8 Richter. Schools are temporary closed, gatherings in closed spaces are forbidden, access to the harbours and beaches is forbidden as well.
Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut hit back from 1-3 down to defeat world champion Bai Yulu 4-3 in a thrilling finale at the WSF Women’s Championship in Saïdia, Morocco.
Victory for the 25-year-old represents her second world ranking title win following her win at the Australian Women’s Open last October and continues a remarkable streak that has now see Mink lift the first title of the calendar year during each of the previous four years (2022-2025).
The title is her ninth world ranking event win overall, which sees her join an illustrious list of the top 10 most successful players of all-time on the World Women’s Snooker Tour, alongside Reanne Evans, Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Karen Corr, Stacey Hillyard, Ng On Yee and Maria Catalano, equalling the tally of both Lynette Horburgh and Mandy Fisher.
For beaten finalist Bai, the 21-year-old can take the consolation of a new career-high world ranking position of number three, as she moves above England’s Reanne Evans for the first time. The Chinese star has now reached six finals from her eight tournaents contested to date, winning three.
Following a week of snooker in Saïdia the final came down to a repeat of last season’s World Championship final, which had seen Bai claim a memorable triumph 6-5 on the final pink.
The reigning world champion player made the stronger start in their latest encounter as she hit breaks of 49, 41 and 32 on her way to a 2-0 lead, before the next two frames were shared as Bai moved to within one of claiming her second trophy of the season following victory at the UK Championship.
World number one Mink had other ideas, however, as she produced her highest break of the match with a run of 65 to reduce her arrears to one frame, before she added the next to force a seventh and deciding-frame.
Both players had opportunities but it was Mink who took an early lead with a run of 36, before a nerveless long pot on the brown, followed by blue and pink ultimately proved to be enough to avenge her defeat in Dongguan Changping last March.
Mink also hit the highest break of the event with her run of 80 during the round robin group stages, eclipsing the maximum attempt of Bai which ended on 73 during her quarter-final win against Narucha Phoemphul.
CHALLENGE CUP
The Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals was won by Hind Bennani of Morocco, who defeated Yasmine Eythrib 2-0 to lift her first WWS Tour title.
Bennai, who has previously competed at the UK Championship and Belgian Open tournanents, did not drop a frame as she saw off Soukaina Alouane, former African Games winner Yousra Matine and finally Eythrib on Wednesday to lift the trophy.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to a historic first-ever world ranking tournament in Africa, including the World Snooker Federation, Morocco Snooker and the spectacular Radisson Blu venue
Leone Crowley defeated Kaylan Patel 5-0 in the final of the 2025 WSF Junior Championship to earn the title and a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
Crowley, from Cork, came through an international field of 57 cueists from 22 countries to win the biggest title of his career to date.
The 18-year-old makes history as the first ever player from the Republic of Ireland to win the prestigious title and earns professional status for the first time in his career.
He made an impressive start to the tournament by topping his group with a clean sweep of victories and just two frames dropped en route to the knockout stages.
This fine form continued as Crowley, who regularly practises at Mark Allen’s snooker camp in Belfast, whitewashed Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal before showing his battling qualities to overcome Poland’s Michal Szubarczyk in a deciding frame having trailed 3-2.
His place in the title match was secured by overcoming Amaan Iqbal 4-1 in a hard fought contest that last for almost four hours on Wednesday evening.
There he faced England’s Patel, who was aiming to become only the second Englishman after Stan Moody to lift the WSF Junior Championship crown.
Following a trio of group stage victories, Patel had defeated fellow countryman Adam Abbas (4-1) and O’Shay Scott (4-1) to reach the last eight.
He looked certain of a semi-final place when he stormed into a 3-0 lead over Riley Powell, but the Welshman rallied to win three frames in a row and force a decider. Patel, however, held his nerve in the final frame to compile a break of 50 before earning his final place with an impressive 4-0 defeat of the highly-rated Zhou Jinhao from China.
Unfortunately for Patel, he was unable to repeat this form in the title match and Crowley raced into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval in relatively comfortable fashion despite not compiling a half-century break.
Crowley kept his cool after the break and took the fifth and decisive frame by a scoreline of 73-24 to complete the biggest victory of his life.
“I feel very good. I have been playing the game for the last ten years and I’ve put a lot of hard work into this so I am just happy to have made my Dad proud and myself too. My family back home were all watching it so I want to thank them for all the support” said Crowley.
“I 100% believed that this was possible – if you don’t believe then you’re not going to achieve your goals. I was feeling good coming into the game. It was scrappy but there was some good safety play and I felt confident when I was in front that I would get over the line eventually.”
Looking ahead to the next two years, Crowley said: “I want to gain experience and hopefully I can stay on the tour. I don’t want to say too much but hopefully, after those two years, I will stay on – that’s the goal. My hero is Judd Trump, so I would like to play him.”
The WSF Open Championship takes place on 24 January – 1 February and can be watched live on the WPBSA YouTube channel and WSF Facebook page.
Congratulations to the Winners!
I’m happy that Crowley won rather than Patel simply because I believe that 16 is far too young to be on Tour. It’s such a competitive and brutal environment and I don’t think that many 16 years old are psychologically and emotionally equipped to deal with the pressure it generates and the demands of professional sports.
World number one Judd Trump made a trio of centuries as he beat Joe O’Connor 3-0 in the final of Group Six of BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational to secure a place in next month’s Winners’ Group.
Trump will join Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Matthew Selt and one more player in the Winner’s Group in February when the title and a place in the 2025 Champion of Champions will be at stake.
O’Connor finished top of the group phase with six wins out of six, then edged out Noppon Saengkham 3-2 in the semi-finals. Trump won four of his six group games before beating David Gilbert 3-1 in the semis. Breaks of 113, 103 and 101 saw Trump dominate the final.
Having made 16 centuries in two groups this week, Trump has moved his tally for 2024/25 to 65, raising his hopes of making 100 tons in the season. The first player to achieve that will earn a £100,000 bonus. Jak Jones, meanwhile, has made an incredible 32 centuries in this event, extending his record for the most tons made in a single tournament. And he’ll look to add to that tally in Group Seven.
Jack Lisowski became the second player in as many days to miss the final black when he had the chance to make a 147. His break came in the opening frame of his group match against Jones, and Lisowski ran out of position from pink to black then failed to pot a near-impossible thin cut to a top corner. O’Connor had also missed the black on 140 on Wednesday.
Jones, O’Connor, Gilbert and Saengkham advance to Group Seven on Friday and Saturday, where they will join Xiao Guodong, Zhou Yuelong and Ricky Walden.
2025 German Masters – Withdrawals galore
O’SULLIVAN, DING, HE AND DALE WITHDRAW FROM MACHINESEEKER GERMAN MASTERS
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from next week’s Machineseeker German Masters due to medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to play Dylan Emery in his opening match. Emery will now receive a bye to the last 32.
Ding Junhui has also pulled out of the event. He was due to face Ross Muir, who receives a bye to the last 32.
He Guoqiang has withdrawn for medical reasons. He was due to face Ali Carter, who receives a bye to the last 32.
Dominic Dale has pulled out. He was due to face Tom Ford, who receives a bye to the last 32.
The event runs from January 27th to February 2nd at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
It’s a real shame for the event, the only one remaining played in mainland Europe. I’ surprised by Dale withdrawal as WST had recently posted a piece where Dominic explained how he was looking forward to the event. No reason has been given for his withdrawal, nor for Ding’s withdrawal.
As always when Ronnie withdraws, some fans doubts his motives. But Ronnie has now withdrawn from the exhibition he was due to play in Finland with John Higgins…. and that’s a serious concern. Clearly something is not right and all I can wish is for him to get better soon and sort out whatever needs to be sorted in his life, if that is the underlying problem.
Having served his ban, Zhao Xintong is back playing – as an amateur – and clearly determined to regain his tour card. Having won the previous Q-Tour event and made a 147 in the process, he repeated the feat(s) yesterday.
Following his recent triumph at the previous event in Sweden – during which he also made the first-ever 147 break at a Q Tour event – China’s Zhao repeated the feat by again making a sensational maximum break on his way to lifting his second consecutive Trophy on snooker’s premier amateur circuit.
The 27-year-old leaps to the top of the latest Q Tour Europe ranking list and moves into pole position to regain a place on the World Snooker Tour with three events still to be completed this season.
His path to victory was not straightforward as he survived deciding-frames in his opening two qualifying matches against William Lemons and Ant Parsons, before further wins against Arsenii Korolev, Lewis Ullah, Mark Joyce, Hamim Hussain, Oliver Sykes and Craig Steadman sealed his place in the title match.
He would await England’s Ryan Davies, who improved upon his previous best Q Tour result of two semi-finals to reach the final for the first time in his career.
The former English Under-21 champion saw off Daan Leyssen, Florian Nuessle, James Cahill, Sean O’Sullivan and Event 2 winner Dylan Emery to set up a meeting with Zhao.
Having starred throughout the final day with four century breaks including a magical 147 in the last frame of his quarter-final win against Oliver Sykes, Zhao won two of the opening three in the final to move halfway to the title.
A top score of 65 in frame four would take the former UK Championship winner to the brink of victory, before Davies responded with a match-high 66 to keep his hopes alive at 2-3.
Davies threatened to force a deciding-frame as he began the frame with a run of 35, but it was Zhao who made 56 of his own, before Davies failed to escape from a snooker on the final red and left a free ball from which Zhao would make no mistake, appropriately sealing the title after one hour and 47 minutes.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 