The Scottish Open – Who will win the Home Nation Series event?

The Scottish Open is just around the corner and excitement is building for December’s World Ranking event. Part of the Home Nations Series, this year’s event features most of the top 10 in the current snooker rankings, including Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Mark Allen.

Current Champion Lei Peifan will start the defence of his title with a tie against former Asian snooker Champion Amir Sarkosh. Other first round ties of note include Tom Ford v Anthony McGill, who was a finalist in the 2012 edition; two-times winner Gary Wilson against Lan Yuhao and Matthew Selt versus Ryan Day.

The Scottish Open is part of the relatively new Home Nation Series, which also incorporates the English Open, Welsh Open and Northern Ireland Open. This tournament has been taken on and off the World Ranking Event roster in its history, but has remained an official ranking event since 2016.

Some of snooker’s biggest names have won the Scottish Open. Ronnie O’Sullivan has won the event on two occasions, although he’s missing this year’s tournament. John Higgins has also won the Scottish Open twice, as has Gary Wilson in back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023.

Stephen Hendry has won it on three occasions, and now has the Scottish Open trophy named after him. However, the player with the most titles in this tournament is Steve Davis, who picked up an incredible six Scottish Open titles in his trophy laden career.

The Scottish Open draw has been split into a Top Half and a Bottom Half. Both sections have thrown up some rather tasty looking ties and while it’s probable that most of the Top 32 will progress into the next round, there are players like Matthew Stevens, Mark Davis and Anthony MacGill who will fancy their chances in their First Round matchups.

We’ve analysed both halves of the draw to examine which players are most likely to progress and reach the latter stages of the tournament to help us develop our Scottish Open prediction.

Who are the Scottish Open players to watch out for?

Below are our top five players we believe stand the best chance of lifting the Stephen Hendry trophy on the 21st December.

1. Lei Peifan

• World Ranking: 31
• Best Performance: Winner (2024)

The reigning Scottish Open Champion, Lei Peifan is one of the favourites to win this year’s event. However, his 2025 performances stuttered somewhat, with his best performance coming in this year’s British Open which saw Lei knocked out in the Quarter Finals by Mark Williams. Still, the exciting talent is one to watch and we’ve considered his form for our Scottish Open prediction.

2. Kyren Wilson

• World Ranking: 2
• Best Performance: Quarter Final (2023)

Kyren Wilson has picked up two titles this year, winning the Players Championship and the German Masters. While Wilson hasn’t enjoyed success in previous Scottish Open events, his best performance coming in 2023 with a Quarter Final appearance, it’s difficult to rule out The Warrior from improving his record. For our Scottish Open prediction, he’s certainly come into our thinking.

3. Mark Selby

• World Ranking: 7
• Best Performance: Winner (2019, 2020)

One of snooker’s greatest icons, Mark Selby has certainly enjoyed a trophy laded career. Selby has won back to back Scottish Open titles, with victories in 2019 and 2022, and has enjoyed a return to form in 2025. He heads into this year’s event on the back of winning the Champion of Champions title in November, and we’ve considered his chances to win another trophy for our Scottish Open prediction.

4. Mark Allen

• World Ranking: 10
• Record: Winner (2018)

2018 Scottish Open winner Mark Allen has enjoyed some good performances this year. Allen won the English Open, beating Zhou Yuelong 9-8 in the Final. The Pistol also reached the Semi Finals of the Riyadh Season Championship and the Northern Ireland Open and we’ve examined his chances of performing well, building our Scottish Open prediction.

5. Zhao Xintong

• World Ranking: 11
• Record: Last 32 (2018)

The controversial Zhao Xintong has divided opinion with his ban for his role in match fixing in 2023. Since his return, though, Zhao has certainly picked up where he left off, winning the 2025 World Championship, in the process becoming the first player from Asia to win snooker’s biggest event. This certainly brings him to our attention for our Scottish Open prediction. While Zhao hasn’t enjoyed much success in this tournament in previous editions, he’s certainly one to watch at the Meadowbank Sports Centre.

Where to watch the Scottish Open

There are a variety of broadcasters who will show every game taking place in the Scottish Open live. In addition to official broadcasters, there are a number of betting sites who will also provide live streams of selected games. To access these streams, users may need to place a bet on the event, or have a funded betting account.

The World Snooker Tour website will provide text commentary as well as the Scottish Open live score as each match takes place.

Below, we’ve listed which broadcasters, both on television and online, across the globe who will show live Scottish Open matches. Note that some television channels are free to air, with others requiring a paid subscription.

• UK: Discovery+
• Europe: Discovery+, HBO Max
• China: Migu, Huya
• Ireland: WST Play

Prediction for the the Scottish Open

With an abundance of talent, it’s difficult to call an Outright Winner. However, for our Scottish Open prediction, we believe Mark Selby stands the best chance of success and will add a third Scottish Open title to his collection. 2025 has certainly seen a return to form for the four-time World Champion, including a win in the Champions of Champions event in November. He heads into this tournament in fine form, which could very well see The Jester from Leicester end the year lifting the Stephen Hendry trophy.

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