The UK Championship format is now similar to the World Championship format in its structure and that means that a number of amateurs are invited to compete n the first round.
The WPBSA and World Snooker Tour (WST) have today announced the official qualifying criteria for the 2025 UK Championship which will once again see 16 elite amateur players earn their places through recognised WPBSA pathways.
One of snooker’s longest running events, the UK Championship is part of the Triple Crown Series alongside the World Championship and Masters tournaments. The event will see the world’s top 16 seeded through to the final stages, to be held at the York Barbican from 29 November – 7 December 2025.
The remaining players will compete in the qualifying rounds in Wigan from 22-27 November, with 16 players to emerge and complete the last 32 line-up.
WPBSA Qualifiers
The field for this year’s event will again include up to 16 players to have earned their places through new pathway opportunities for elite performers through activities staged and coordinated by the WPBSA Group.
The qualifying criteria is set out below:
WPBSA Q Tour Europe
The winner from each of this season’s first four WPBSA Q Tour Europe events will automatically qualify, with Hammad Miah having already secured the first place following his recent victory at the season-opening event in Sweden:
Hammad Miah – WPBSA Q Tour Europe 2025/26 – Event 1 winner
TBC – WPBSA Q Tour Europe 2025/26 – Event 2 winner
TBC – WPBSA Q Tour Europe 2025/26 – Event 3 winner
TBC – WPBSA Q Tour Europe 2025/26 – Event 4 winner
WSF Championships
Eligible players from the world’s largest international amateur tournaments:
Krzysztof Czapnik – EBSA Under-16 Championship 2025 – Finalist
Oliver Sykes – EBSA Under-21 Championship 2025 – Finalist
Any players who do not accept their place will be replaced by reserve players from the WPBSA Q Tour Europe Ranking List after Event 4.
I know that this “new” format is not to everyone’s liking, but I do like it. Also the BBC “support” is very important for snooker as a sport, and “elevating” the status of the UK championship is certainly a good strategic move for the sport and for the players if they want the BBC to continue supporting it, which I’m sure they do. The BBC coverage is excellent … but unfortunately not available to me here in Greece, other than by using a vpn. That said, in recent years, some of the older commentators showed a coupable ignorance about the younger players, especially those from outside the UK. That has to be addressed.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been voted as the WPBSA Players’ Player of the Month for August after his performance in the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
Considered the ‘greatest of all time’ by most of his peers, O’Sullivan created history in Jeddah by making two maximum breaks in his semi-final match before losing out in a decider against Neil Robertson in the final.
The historic double-maximum came in his 6-3 victory over Chris Wakelin in the last four, where he also made total clearances of 142 and 134.
It was a close call with O’Sullivan securing 40% of the vote compared to 36% for Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters champion Robertson.
‘The Rocket’ succeeds the previous award winners Marco Fu and Stephen Maguire, who claimed the award in June and July respectively.
O’Sullivan said, “Thank you to all who voted for me because, as players, we all know how much we give to the game.”
Ken Doherty, WPBSA Players Chairman said: “Congratulations to Ronnie, who never ceases to amaze with his performances. What he did in Jeddah was simply incredible and he continues to raise the bar for the rest of us. It was a particularly difficult month to win the award with Neil, Kyren and Guodong all winning ranking events, so it shows how highly the players think of Ronnie’s performance in the semi-final against Chris.”
About the Award
Launched by WPBSA Players, the Players’ Player of the Month award recognises outstanding performance, as voted by fellow players. Its key aim is to honour excellence, consistency, and impact on the table, as recognised by those who understand the demands of the game best.
Each month throughout the 2025/26 season a shortlist will be compiled by an independent panel. The panel includes renowned snooker broadcasters David Hendon and Abigail Davies, sports journalist Phil Haigh and WPBSA Players Director Tian Pengfei. The shortlist will consider performances in all completed events for the corresponding month…
WPBSA Players’ Player of the Month Winners 2025/26
June – Marco Fu
July – Stephen Maguire
August – Ronnie O’Sullivan
It’s a good thing that WPBSA, through this award, recognises that it’s not “all about winning” in sport. Of course, as a sports person your goal is to win, that’s what you are out there to strive for. But the fans, the people who bought a ticket, who made the effort to actually come to the venue, to support their sport and its exponents in person rather than from the comfort of their living room, those people deserve to be entertained, they deserve to be offered something exciting, something exceptional that will stay in their memories forever. That’s why “entertainers” are important in sports and I’m glad that WPBSA recognises that importance.
Luca Brecel registered his first win of the season by beating Liam Davies 4-0 to qualify for the final stages of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
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After skipping the first few ranking events of the campaign, Brecel made his return at the Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers but conceded his tie with Sunny Akani when 2-0 behind. This time the 2023 World Champion stuck to the task and completed a whitewash over Davies with top breaks of 79 and 52. Brecel, who lies 41st in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, will head to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast next month for the televised stages.
Steven Hallworth, who enjoyed a career-high payday at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters by reaching the last 32, scored another impressive win with a 4-3 defeat of Matthew Stevens. From 3-2 down, Hallworth fired breaks of 136 and 64 in the last two frames.
Two-time ranking event winner Anthony McGill could be in danger of relegation later in the season so a 4-1 win over Alexander Ursenbacher, with a top run of 88, was a much-needed boost. Robert Milkins also needs positive results to keep his tour card and he saw off Patrick Whelan 4-2. Ben Woollaston closed with a 109 in a 4-0 win over Mateusz Baranowski.
Liam Pullen made a career-high break of 143 but still lost 4-2 to Long Zehuang.
It seems that yesterday the WST “redactor” stayed put until most of the games finished.
Among the results not mentioned here above is the 4-3 win by Ashley Hugill, who played in this as an amateur, over Ricky Walden. Ricky once was a top 16 player but recurring back injuries/pain destroyed his career. This saddens me. When on form Ricky is a beautiful player to watch and someone who loves his sport deeply. Also, he absolutely hates losing … you better leave him alone for a couple of hours after a defeat 🙄 😉.
The Hallworth v Stevens match was a good one to watch, and I’m pleased with the result too. Steven Hallworth does a great job for Eurosport/TNT and I believe that it helps him. He’s not relying solely on his results at the table to make a living, and, after a defeat, working in the studio probably helps him moving on and not dwelling on the lost match.
Coalisland’s Fergal Quinn edged out Antrim’s Robbie McGuigan 4-3 in the first qualifying round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, needing one more win to earn a place in the final stages in Belfast.
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Quinn, playing his debut season on the pro tour, will meet Zak Surety on Sunday with the winner to go through to the Waterfront Hall next month. McGuigan came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, but Quinn took frame six with runs of 47 and 53 then got the better of a low-scoring decider.
Jimmy White reached the last 32 of this event last year but he misses out this time, losing 4-2 to China’s Huang Jiahao whose top break was 97.
Fight-back of the day came from Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski who recovered a 3-0 deficit to beat Wang Yuchen 4-3, making a 62 in the decider. Liam Pullen, who beat John Higgins in the Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers earlier in the week, built on his momentum with a 4-0 defeat of Ben Mertens, firing breaks of 89, 96 and 100.
As usual as well – alas – the report is far from exhaustive and focuses mainly on the UK and Irish players results. Also, not a single match of the evening session is reported on. And, alas again, I can’t add too much to it.
I watched two matches, the Baranowski v Wang one and the Pullen v Mertens one. Both ended with defeat for player I supported1. Liam Pullen played extremely well, no complaints. The Baranowski v Wang match was a typical “qualifiers match”. It was hard fought, not very fluent at all, with only one breaks over 50, one each, a 63 by Wang.
Although I have absolutely nothing against their opponents ↩︎
The report shared by WST on what happened on day one at the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers is rather short and far from exhaustive. Indeed, 21 matches were played on the day, but only five get as much as a mention …
Selby Secures Xi’an Spot
Mark Selby booked a place in the final stages of the Xi’an Grand Prix with an emphatic 5-0 win over Gong Chenzhi in the qualifying round on Monday.
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The qualifiers for this £850,000 ranking event run until Wednesday in Leicester, with winners going through to the televised phase in China next month.
Four-time Crucible king Selby rattled in breaks of 103, 63, 111 and 52 in a comfortable victory.
Louis Heathcote scored an impressive 5-3 win over BetVictor Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan, closing out the match with a 135. Wu Yize also made a 135 but was pushed all the way by Florian Nuessle, eventually winning 5-4.
Tour rookie Yao Pengcheng top scored with 137 in a 5-1 defeat of Zak Surety, while Jak Jones enjoyed a 5-0 win over Haydon Pinhey with runs of 91, 74, 98, 68 and 53.
Why those matches in particular? Don’t ask me. It seems that no match finishing past 6pm local time was reported on… maybe the man in charge of reporting had called it a day.
The top 16 players involved all won their match although not always with ease. Mark Allen was pushed all the way by Mitchell Mann, who, to be fair, is never an easy opponent.
Young Michal Szubarczyk, still only 14, won the last match of the day, past midnight, beating Martin O’Donnell in a deciding frame. Michal lead 4-1, only to be pegged back to 4-4. He didn’t crumbled. He won the decider with a break of 52. This kid is special.
Stan Moody recovered 4-2 deficit to beat Amir Sarkhosh 5-4 in the qualifying round for the Xi’an Grand Prix in Leicester.
Moody enjoyed his best ranking event run at last week’s Wuhan Open, reaching the quarter-finals, then almost lost momentum today but narrowly avoided a surprise defeat against world number 76 Sarkhosh. Teenager Moody took the last three frames with a top break of 70 and he will be on the plane to Xi’an for the final stages of this £850,000 ranking event next month.
Luca Brecel’s return to competitive action didn’t go to plan as he conceded his match against Sunny Akani midway through the third frame. Brecel had not previously played since the Halo World Championship in April, and released a statement last month to explain that he had been suffering from health problems .
The 2023 World Champion was playing with a new cue tonight and appeared to struggle to get used to it, and having lost the first two frames he offered the handshake to Akani when 40-1 down in the third.
Farakh Ajaib continued his fine start to the season as he beat Zhang Anda 5-4, coming from 54-0 down in the decider to take it on the final black. China’s tour rookie Xu Yichen came from 4-1 down to beat Jack Lisowski 5-4, winning the last four frames with runs of 78, 66, 53 and 66.
Shaun Murphy strolled to a 5-0 success against Liam Highfield with a top break of 117 while Zhou Yuelong made the third 147 of his career during a 5-2 defeat of Julien Leclercq.
Matthew Selt came from 4-2 down to beat Antoni Kowalski 5-4 while Saudi Masters semi-finalist Elliot Slessor enjoyed a 5-1 success against Liam Graham.
I watched the Brecel match … supporting Sunny Akani. What happened in that match didn’t surprise me and is an example of why, despite being Belgian, I’m not a fan of Luca. Yes, Luca is autistic … to an extend. He has autistic traits, certainly but he is still functional enough to live in society, to be in a relationship, to travel on his own, etc…
I honestly believe that the problem is elsewhere, that the problem is that he was raised as an only child, that he was overprotected and outrageously spoiled. That’s what I have seen anyway when I was at events, and Luca, still a young teenager, was there too with his family. I’m sure that his parents meant well, that they wanted, surely still want, the best for him. They want him to be happy. But even if your child has autistic traits, as Luca has, if they are functional enough to live in society, you have to educate them to behave correctly towards others and respect social rules, because, ultimately, that child will become an adult, will grow older and outlive you and they will have to live in that society when yourself will no more be around to guide and protect them. It’s not easy but it’s necessary.
Jack Lisowski managed to lose by 5-4 to Xu Yichen a 38 years old rookie whose only victory before this one came against Oliver Brown1 last June. I didn’t see the match but that result is baffling although … we all know how inconsistent Jack can be, and reckless at times as well.
Oliver has only won two matches so far this season, both times against an amateur. ↩︎
China’s Xiao Guodong held his nerve in a deciding frame beating Englishman Gary Wilson 10-9 and defending his Wuhan Open crown to the delight of his home fans.
Xiao ended a 17 year wait for his first ranking crown 12 months ago here in Wuhan, when he lifted silverware for the first time. He becomes the fourth player to successfully defend his maiden ranking title, following John Parrott, Mark Allen and Wilson.
Today’s triumph for now two-time ranking event winner Xiao draws parallels with Wilson himself. The Tyneside cueman ended his 18-year quest for a title at the 2023 Scottish Open and defended the title a year later. He then went on to win the 2024 Welsh Open soon after.
Xiao pockets £140,000 for his victory, while Wilson is left to settle for the £63,000 runner-up prize. That means World number 14 Xiao will catapult himself to eighth in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, while Wilson moves up to 16th from 18th. That ousts Shaun Murphy from the elite top 16 echelon.
Xiao’s week started off with a magic moment, as he crafted a 147 in his opening round win over Mink Nutcharut. He then went on to beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha, David Grace, Matthew Selt, Stan Moody and Mark Williams to make the title match.
The victory thrilled fans in a packed arena this evening. Xiao received strong support throughout the week, due to coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
They came into the evening session with Xiao holding a slender 5-4 cushion. When play recommenced, parity was immediately restored, with three-time ranking event-winner Wilson making a sublime contribution of 118 to take the opener.
Xiao regained the lead, before further breaks of 73 and 102 from Wilson saw him go 7-6 up at the last mid-session interval.
Wilson forged further ahead at 8-6 upon the resumption, but the momentum continued to go back and forth. Xiao claimed three on the bounce, including runs of 103 and 90, to move a frame from the win at 9-8.
A steely contribution of 52 from Wilson in the 18th saw him take the tie all the way to a final frame.
Xiao had the first opportunity to get over the line, but could only amass 48 points. Wilson then had his chance, but an unexpected missed red to the top right proved to be fatal. Xiao got himself over the line and secured the glory.
“Winning a first ranking title is hard, winning a second is even harder. To be able to come back to this city and successfully defend the title really means a lot. I’ve been a professional for 17, now 18 years, so I’m not a young player anymore. As an experienced player, winning two ranking titles at this stage feels a bit late, but in another way the timing is just right. Over the years I’ve built up experience, and I think this breakthrough is the result of all the work and the lessons I’ve learned,” said 36-year-old Xiao
“I can remember all those years ago when I first moved to the UK to play, there was a lot of pressure for me. I moved away from my family and had no friends. I couldn’t speak English. Now I can just enjoy snooker. I can travel, eat different food and see different cities. I have to be happy to play snooker and I am glad to be doing my best.
“My biggest gain over the past year has been growth in my mentality. I’m calmer and more composed now. I feel much more settled and determined about the path I’m on. I just want to focus on every shot and enjoy what I do out there.
“I think it’s very important for Chinese players to achieve good results in home tournaments, because that helps the development of snooker in China and inspires more young people to take up the sport. Whenever I play in China, I’m extra motivated to do well because of the home crowd, the fans, and my family being there to support me. That really drives me forward. I also hope that more young Chinese players can go on to win ranking titles and show what they can do in front of the fans.”
Wilson said: “It’s not a great feeling. It is obviously a positive to get to a final again. It was a good week. But obviously when you get to a final you want to win and I’m very disappointed not to do it. I’ve got more ranking points and gone towards the top 16 again. It is about winning tournaments as well.
“Him having the majority of the support doesn’t bring pressure. If anything it should, if you have a competitive nature like I have, spur you on to try and upset that. It didn’t happen today. Now that it is finished and there is nothing more I can do about it, I just want to say well done to Xiao. I know how it feels to defend a title and he has done that in his home tournament.”
Both players deserve huge praise. They served us a thrilling final, they gave it everything. Thank you Xiao and Gary, you were fantastic.
I’m absolutely delighted for Xiao, who I first met 17 years ago. He didn’t speak a word of English, everything around him was new and alien, except the snooker table. As I wrote previously, he was the first in his group of young Chinese players arriving at the South West Snooker Academy to try to engage with people outside the Chinese “circle”, he was the first to try and learn the “local” language. He deserves everything that comes his way now.
Today’s final in Wuhan will be competed between Xia Guodong, the defending champion and Gary Wilson. Whatever happens today, both players will be in the top 16 at the end of the event, with Shaun Murphy dropping out to rank 17th. Here are the reports shared by WST about what happened on semi-finals day.
Not many will have predicted this Final line-up at the start of the event.
It’s quite a remarkable achievement from Xiao Guodong to reach this final. It’s never easy to defend a ranking title, never mind a first ranking title but he has the opportunity to do just that today, and to do it in front of his “home” fans. The pressure on him will be immense but he’s a quite down-to-earth character and I certainly don’t put him past him.
Home hero and defending champion Xiao Guodong defeated three-time World Champion Mark Williams 6-3 to make his second consecutive Wuhan Open final.
Xiao has enjoyed a strong home support this week, as well as in his title triumph last year, coming from the city of Chongqing, which neighbours Wuhan’s Hubei Province.
Rewind 12 months and Xiao was battling in the 2024 title match with Chinese compatriot Si Jiahui. He scored a 10-7 victory to capture his maiden ranking title in front of his friends and family, 17 years on from turning professional.
Since then, he’s broken into the world’s top 16 and made further ranking semi-finals at the 2024 International Championship, 2024 Scottish Open and the 2025 German Masters. Xiao was also runner-up to Williams at last season’s Champion of Champions.
Welsh 50-year-old Williams bows out having reached an incredible 68th ranking semi-final this week. The 26-time ranking event winner will have to wait in his quest to become the first player to win tour events in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
The first four frames were shared this afternoon, before a break of 75 in the fifth moved Xiao 3-2 ahead.
Williams claimed a 27-minute sixth to restore parity, but 36-year-old Xiao responded immediately with 80 in the seventh to make it 4-3. He then moved 5-3 ahead, before coming from 58-0 down with a brilliant break of 68 to push himself over the line.
He now faces either Mark Allen or Gary Wilson in tomorrow’s final, over the best of 19 frames with a top prize of £140,000 on the line.
“Maybe there’s some kind of magic power in Wuhan that keeps pushing me forward. I also think it’s thanks to the good luck and support I get from everyone here,” said world number 13 Xiao.
“For me, it is an honour to play legends like Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Of course, after losing to Mark in the Champion of Champions final last year, beating him this time is a big boost to my confidence. I want to learn from these great players every time I face them.
“My focus really improved after 3-3. I told myself that even though my scoring wasn’t great today, I needed to concentrate fully on the cue ball control on every single shot. Even in the final clearance I wasn’t nervous, I just tried to treat it as a normal situation and stay relaxed.”
Gary Wilson claimed five frames on the spin to beat former Masters and UK Champion Mark Allen 6-2 and reach the final of the Wuhan Open, ensuring a return to the world’s top 16 in the process.
World number 18 Wilson will now move up to at least 16th with the guaranteed £63,000 for making the final, pushing Masters champion Shaun Murphy into 17th spot.
Wilson’s run to the title match has seen him dispatch an all-star cast of opponents. The Tyneside Terror had already defeated Murphy, world number one Judd Trump and four-time World Champion John Higgins to make the semis.
Tomorrow will see Wilson take on China’s defending champion Xiao Guodong for the title and the £140,000 top prize.
The two finalists share parallels to their career stories. Wilson ended an 18 year professional quest for his first ranking title at the 2023 Scottish Open and went on to defend his title the following year. Xiao waited 17 years after first coming on tour before winning maiden silverware at last year’s Wuhan Open, he can emulate Wilson’s feat by winning tomorrow’s final.
The opening frame this evening went the way of three-time ranking event winner Wilson, who made a break of 77 to move 1-0 ahead. However, Allen emphatically restored parity with 135 in the second, before making 66 in the third to move 2-1 up. Wilson then took the fourth to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed it was Wilson who made his move. Runs of 113, 78 and 70 moved him one from victory at 5-2.
With Allen leading the eighth Wilson made an intricate break of 25, which involved a sensational shot to develop the green, to leave his opponent needing snookers on the pink. Allen couldn’t amass the required penalty points and Wilson claimed victory.
40-year-old Wilson said: “All the events I’ve won have been similar and in the UK. I want to win different sorts of tournaments and it is a good chance to try and do that now.
“Our stories are very similar. I remember what it is to try and defend and go on and do it and I will be trying to stop him doing the same as me. It is going to be a fantastic final against a Chinese player and one from the region. I know it will be a good atmosphere. I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve beat some fantastic players this week, but you aren’t looking at who it is really. You are just trying to play your own game. If you can do that as a professional, then you have a chance of beating anyone. It is then about holding yourself together.
“We all have at some point played the opponent rather than the table. You know you won’t get away with things against top players. In my early days I knew it would be a big scalp if I won against certain players. You kind of just have to get bored of that and just play the game.”
