The 2025 UK Championship (officially the 2025 Victorian Plumbing UK Championship) is an upcoming professional snooker tournament that will take place from 29 November to 7 December 2025 at the York Barbican in York, England. The 49th consecutive edition of the UK Championship since it was first staged in 1977, it will be the ninth ranking event of the 2025‍–‍26 snooker season, following the 2025 International Championship and preceding the 2025 Snooker Shoot Out. It will be the first of the season's three Triple Crown events, preceding the 2026 Masters and the 2026 World Snooker Championship. The tournament will be broadcast by the BBC and TNT Sports domestically, by Eurosport in mainland Europe, by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, and by WST Play in all other territories. The winner will receive £250,000 from a total prize fund of £1,205,000. The top 16 players in the snooker world rankings were seeded through to the main stage. An additional 128 players competed in a four‑round qualifying tournament from 22 to 27 November at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England, with higher ranked players given byes to the later rounds. The 16 successful qualifiers advanced to the main stage in York, where they were drawn at random against the 16 seeds. The last 32 features 12 players from China, five seeds and seven qualifiers, a record at any Triple Crown tournament. Judd Trump is the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 10‍–‍8 in the 2024 final. Liam Pullen and Chang Bingyu both made the maiden maximum breaks of their professional careers, in the first and third rounds of qualifying respectively. These were the 232nd and 233rd official maximums in professional snooker history and the 15th and 16th of the season, breaking the record of 15 maximums set in the 2024–25 season. == Overview == The UK Championship was first held in 1977 as the United Kingdom Professional Snooker Championship, staged at the Blackpool Tower Circus in Blackpool, England. The inaugural event was won by Patsy Fagan, who defeated Doug Mountjoy 12–9 in the final. Joe Davis, who had won the World Snooker Championship 15 times between 1927 and 1946, presented Fagan with the trophy. For the tournament's first seven years, only United Kingdom residents or passport holders were eligible to compete. At the 1984 event, the UK Championship became a ranking tournament open to players of any nationality. Ronnie O'Sullivan is the most successful player in the tournament's history, having won the title eight times. The 2025 edition of the tournament—its 49th consecutive staging since the inaugural edition in 1977—will take place from 29 November to 7 December at the York Barbican in York, England. It will be the ninth ranking event of the 2025‍–‍26 snooker season, following the 2025 International Championship and preceding the 2025 Snooker Shoot Out. It will be the first of the season's three Triple Crown events, preceding the 2026 Masters and the 2026 World Snooker Championship. The top 16 in the world rankings following the event will qualify for the 2026 Masters. Judd Trump is the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 10‍–‍8 in the 2024 final to win his second UK Championship title. === Format === The event uses a format adopted since the 2022 edition, which is similar to the format of the World Championship. The top 16 players in the snooker world rankings, as they stood after the 2025 International Championship, are seeded through to the round of 32. An additional 128 players—comprising professionals ranked outside the top 16 and leading amateur players from the Q Tour and other amateur events—competed in a four‑round qualifying tournament from 22 to 27 November at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England, with higher ranked players given byes to the later rounds. The 16 successful qualifiers advanced to the round of 32, where they were drawn at random against the top 16 seeds. All matches are played as the best of 11 frames up to the final, which will be the best of 19 frames played over two sessions. === Broadcasters === The qualifying rounds were broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. They were broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live, and Migu. In all other territories, including Ireland, they were streamed by WST Play. On 24 and 25 November, matches on table one were streamed for free on WST Play and YouTube. On 26 and 27 November, coverage of the final qualifying round (billed as "Judgement Day") was streamed for free on WST Play and YouTube. The main stage will be broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC and in the UK and Ireland by TNT Sports and Discovery+. It will be broadcast in mainland Europe by Eurosport, with streaming coverage on Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and on HBO Max in other European territories. It will be broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying rounds, with the addition of coverage by CCTV-5. It will be broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Thailand by TrueSports, in Taiwan by Sportcast, in Mongolia by N Sports, in the Philippines by TAP Sports, and in Malaysia and Brunei by Astro SuperSport. In territories where no other coverage is available, the tournament will be streamed by WST Play. === Prize fund === The breakdown of prize money for the event is as shown: Total: £1,205,000 == Summary == === Qualifying === ==== First qualification round ==== The first qualification round was played on 22 and 23 November. Liam Pullen made his maiden maximum break in his 6‍–‍1 victory over amateur player Kaylan Patel. The 232nd maximum in professional snooker history, it was the 15th maximum of the 2025‍–‍26 season, equalling the record for the most 147s in a single season (set the previous season). The youngest professional on the tour, 14-year-old Michał Szubarczyk, defeated the oldest professional, 63-year-old Jimmy White, by a 6–2 scoreline. Bai Yulu, the reigning World Women's Champion, made four half-century breaks as she defeated Mostafa Dorgham 6–1. Mateusz Baranowski defeated Sahil Nayyar despite having required three snookers in the deciding frame. Jiang Jun made three century breaks of 116, 114, and 117 as he whitewashed Mink Nutcharut. Marco Fu returned to competitive play after fracturing his elbow earlier in the season; he defeated Ng On-yee 6–2 to advance. ==== Second qualification round ==== The second qualification round was played on 23 and 24 November. Michael Holt, a quarter-finalist at the previous year's event, trailed 12-time World Women's Champion Reanne Evans 1–3 at the mid-session interval. He made a 131 break in frame five and tied the scores at 3–3, but Evans restored her two-frame advantage at 5–3. Holt then won three consecutive frames for a 6–5 victory. The 2003 winner Matthew Stevens defeated Hatem Yassen 6–3, while Fu, runner-up in 2008, beat Wang Yuchen by the same score. In a match that ended at 1:30 a.m. local time, Jamie Clarke won a deciding frame against Mark Davis by clearing from the brown to the black; Ian Burns also defeated Fan Zhengyi on the colours in a deciding frame. Pullen advanced with a 6–1 win over Farakh Ajaib, and Stan Moody beat Zhou Jinhao by the same score. Liam Highfield made two centuries as he defeated Gong Chenzhi 6–3, and Szubarczyk beat Jordan Brown 6–4. ==== Third qualification round ==== The third qualification round was played on 24 and 25 November. Chang Bingyu made the first maximum break of his professional career in frame seven of his match against Stephen Maguire, completing the break by playing a thin cut on the last black while using the rest. It was the 233rd official maximum in snooker history and the 16th of the season, breaking the previous season record of 15. Despite making three centuries of 137, 101, and 147 to lead 4–3, Chang lost the match 5–6 after Maguire won three of the last four frames. The 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel, who had not won a tournament since claiming his world title, lost 3–6 to the world number 106 Burns. From 2–3 behind, Holt won four consecutive frames to beat Jackson Page 6–3, while Mitchell Mann defeated Chris Wakelin by the same scoreline. Daniel Wells won a deciding frame on the colours to beat Robert Milkins. From 1–5 behind, Lyu Haotian won five consecutive frames to defeat Stevens 6–5. Artemijs Žižins, aged 19, trailed Ali Carter 3–4 but won the last three frames of the match for a 6–4 victory, afterwards calling it the "biggest win" of his career. David Lilley beat Ricky Walden 6–3, and Noppon Saengkham defeated Szubarczyk by the same score, although Szubarczyk compiled his first professional century break during the match. Jack Lisowski, who had won his maiden ranking title a month earlier at the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, lost 2–6 to Louis Heathcote. Stuart Bingham trailed Pullen 4–5 but won the match with an 85 break in the deciding frame. Bulcsú Révész made back-to-back centuries of 144 and 101 as he took a 4–2 lead over Elliot Slessor, but Slessor recovered to win the match on the last black ball of a deciding frame. Zak Surety trailed Martin O'Donnell 0–4 and 2–5 but then took four consecutive frames, winning the decider with a century of 108. After losing the first four frames against Zhou Yuelong, Fu withdrew for health reasons, meaning that Zhou won 6–0 by default. Clarke beat Matthew Selt 6–2, and Tom Ford made a highest break of 127 as he defeated Sam Craigie by the same score. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made a 129 break in his 6–1 win over Robbie Williams. Long Zehaung beat Aaron Hill by the same scoreline, winning frame four on the last black after Hill had recovered from 57 points behind but missed frame ball, the last pink. Former World Championship runner-up Jak Jones lost 2–6 to Julien Leclercq despite making centuries of 131 and 100 in the two frames he won. The losses by Wakelin, Jak Jones, and Carter meant that the three highest ranked players in the qualifiers failed to reach the fourth qualifying round. ==== Fourth qualifying round ==== In the fourth and final qualifying round, played on 26 and 27 November and billed as "Judgement Day", the 2004 champion and world number 25 Maguire defeated Burns 6–1. "I am not happy floating about where I am, coming to these qualifiers," stated Maguire afterwards, saying that he wanted to regain his top-16 ranking, which he had last held in 2022. "I can see the rewards the top 16 or top eight have now, and I want a piece of that." Holt trailed Yuan Sijun 1–3 at the mid-session interval but then took five consecutive frames for a 6–3 win. "If I don't bottle it, I'm a decent player," said Holt afterwards, commenting that nerves had frequently affected his performances. Gilbert led Wells 3–1, but Wells recovered to tie the scores at 3–3 and 4–4, making two century breaks. However, Gilbert won the last two frames to secure a 6–4 victory. Facing Mann, Lyu took a 3–1 lead, but Mann tied the scores at 3–3. Lyu again moved two frames clear at 5–3, but Mann levelled at 5–5. Lyu won the decider, saying afterwards: "I was calm and I was able to take my chance." Scott Donaldson lost the first five frames against Bingham but then made breaks of 56, 64, 110, 51, 91, and 64 as he won six consecutive frames for a 6–5 victory. "I don't think that was me, I think it was my dad," said Donaldson afterwards, referencing the recent death of his father Hector on 2 October. "I just got so much good luck at the end, which was very unusual, and I think dad was doing something." Zhou defeated amateur player Clarke 6–2, making centuries of 103 and 109. Slessor punched the table in frustration after falling 1–3 behind against Surety, but he won five of the last six frames for a 6–4 victory. "The big difference this season is that I am sticking in there and trying my best, even when I am playing garbage," said Slessor afterwards. Ben Woollaston made a century of 135 as he recovered from 1–4 behind against Joe O'Connor to tie the scores at 5–5; he went on to win the 67-minute deciding frame. "That was probably the craziest match I have ever been involved in," said Woollaston afterwards, adding: "I have lost a lot of deciders this season so it's nice to win one like that." Facing Žižins, David Lilley won three consecutive frames, making a highest break of 138, to lead 4–2. Žižins tied the scores at 5–5, but 50-year-old Lilley, a former World Seniors Champion, won the decider to reach the last 32 of the tournament for the first time, having lost at the final qualifying round in the previous two years. "I am a snooker fan like everyone," said Lilley afterwards. "I sit and watch this event at home, so to now experience walking down the stairs at the [York Barbican], I am delighted." Pang Junxu defeated Saengkham 6–2. Long trailed Heathcote 3–5 but made breaks of 72 and 85 to tie the scores at 5–5. Long then trailed by 43 points in the deciding frame but won it on the colours. "I wasn't feeling good about my game today, particularly my positional play, but I managed to get through," he said afterwards. Ryan Day, a semi-finalist at the 2017 event, made a century of 131 as he came from 3–4 behind to beat Hossein Vafaei in a deciding frame. "At 4–3 down I gave myself a ticking off and played a lot better after that," said Day after the match. Leclercq won the first four frames against He Guoqiang, but He recovered to tie the scores at 4–4. Leclercq won the next two frames for a 6–4 victory, reaching the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time. "Last year I lost on Judgement Day so I am very happy to win this time," Leclercq said afterwards. "I had trouble with my focus tonight because I have been sick all week and not sleeping well. But in the last two frames I made good breaks." Zhang Anda won five of the first six frames against Un-Nooh and went on to secure a 6–4 victory. Lei defeated Jimmy Robertson in a deciding frame, saying afterwards: "I didn't play that well in the first half. After the interval I knew I needed to be more focused, and I got myself back into the game." Xu Si defeated Ford 6–3. Overall, 12 players from China, five seeds and seven qualifiers, reached the last 32, a record in a Triple Crown tournament. The previous highest number of players from China in the last 32 of the UK Championship had been nine at the 2020 edition. == Main draw == The results of the main draw will be shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding and players in bold denote match winners. == Qualifying draw == The results of the qualifying draw are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners. Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover == Century breaks == === Qualifying stage centuries === A total of 83 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Wigan. == Notes == == References == == External links == World Snooker Tour – Home