UK Snooker Championship 2025 – Who will be this year’s champion?

In this article we will give you our 2025 UK Snooker Championship Prediction. It is going to be an action-packed few days at the York Barbican when the main event begins on the 29th of November. This is the first treble crown event of the season and is well respected by all players. The qualifying begins on the 22nd November with 112 players battling it out for the right to play one of the top 16-ranked players in the last 32 when the final stages begin.

The UK Championship is one of snooker’s treble crown events alongside the World Championship and the Masters. This makes it a standout event for all players and often carries some of the best prize money on the tour.

The draw format now matches the Worlds so only the top 16 are guaranteed to be competing in the final stages. This means a tough qualifying campaign for everyone else with some top names needing to win at least two matches just to get to the main televised stages.

In the past Ronnie O’Sullivan has dominated the event, winning 8 of 9 finals he has been in. His first came back when he was just 17 in 1993 and his last in 2023. There have been a few other multiple winners in recent years including Judd Trump (2), Neil Robertson (3) and Ding Junhui (3). John Higgins will compete again having won his 3rd title back in 2010.

Who are the UK Championship 2025 players to watch out for?

Here we will profile the five big contenders for this year’s UK Snooker Championship. These players, we believe, will offer you the best chance of picking the winner with an out right tournament winner bet We will also use this information to form our final  UK Snooker Championship Prediction.

Mark Williams (Wales)

• Seeding: 5th
• How Qualified: Top 16 Ranking
• UK Champ Best Finish: 4-time finalist, 2-time winner

Known as one of the class of ‘92, he is constantly defying expectations about his age and performing well in tournaments. He lost in his 5th world final earlier in 2025 and was the Champion in China at the Xi’an Grand Prix earlier this season. He will start with a good seeding at the UK Snooker Championship being ranked 5th and he has all the experience and class needed to win this event, which he has twice before.

Ronnie O’Sullivan (England)

• Seeding: 6th
• How Qualified: Top 16 Ranking
• UK Champ Best Finish: 9-time finalist, 8-time winner

Everyone knows that Ronnie O’Sullivan is by far the best snooker player to ever play the game. He has 8 UK Snooker Championship titles alongside his 41 ranking events, 7 world titles and 17 maximum breaks. He has shown some signs of slowing down and has mentioned retirement a few times in recent seasons. However, he is still the biggest crowd draw and will be cheered on with the usual “Come on Ronnie” shouts as he attempts to claim an unprecedented 9th victory at the Barbican.

Zhao Xintong (China)

• Seeding: 2nd
• How Qualified: Top 16 Ranking
• UK Champ Best Finish: 1-time finalist, 1-time winner

Zhao Xintong won this event back in 2021, but then suffered some time out of the game due to involvement in the Chinese match fixing saga. Now he enters the 2025 UK Snooker Championship  with the title of World Champion. That barely believable win in April came while having been forced back into amateur status. True he has not been in amazing form since the start of this season. His best performance came when he made the last 16 in the Saudi Arabian Masters in August. However he often saves his best for the big tournaments so let’s see if he can regain his heights of last April.

Judd Trump (England)

• Seeding: 1st
• How Qualified: Top 16 Ranking
• UK Champ Best Finish: 4-time finalist, 2-time winner

Judd Trump is top seed for the UK Snooker Championship this year although is not in the best form coming into the tournament. He has only a runners up medal in the Northern Ireland Open to show for his performances. That said form is temporary and class is permanent and he will hope to defend his hard-won title from last year. He beat Barry Hawkins 10-8 in that final and he has the ability to go all the way again. With 30 ranking events already to his name, you cannot overlook him at any major event.

Wu Yize (China)

• Seeding: 13th
• How Qualified: Top 16 Ranking
• UK Champ Best Finish: Last 16- 2024

If you want to look a little outside the main favourites for a winner for this season’s UK Snooker Championship then Wu Yize may well fit the bill. Not having to go through qualifying this year he has already matched his best finish from last year in this tournament. I was very impressed with how he managed to handle the pressure of a home tournament in China earlier this month by claiming the International Championship beating tour legend John Higgins a comfortable 10-6 in the final.

Where to watch the 2025 UK Snooker Championship

The 2025 UK Snooker Championship will be televised to hundreds of millions of fans across the globe via network providers. These include the BBC, TNT Sports, WST Play and many other broadcasters nationally. Check your local listings or you can follow the action online via Matchroom snooker, and some betting sites will allow live streaming of the event. Check terms and conditions as prices and qualifying terms will vary.

Prediction for the 2025 UK Snooker Championship

So let’s make our UK Snooker Championship Prediction now that we have a better idea of how the tournament works and who is playing. It’s certainly tempting to look at the top 16 for a winner, although a qualifier can often come in match sharp and cause some issues. There are a few dark horses in there like Jackson Page and Luca Brecel.

You can also use some of the other UK Snooker Championship Betting Tips we have included with the top 5 players we have picked who all have potential to go deep in the tournament.

My own opinion is that this is going to be tough to call with the winners of most events well spread around this season the tour is looking as strong as ever. I’m going to pick Shaun Murphy to take the crown. He has a final and win already under his belt this season and the longer style of matches will suit him.

Prediction – Shaun Murphy to claim his first UK Championship since 2008 – Odds of anything between 9/1 or 11/1 will be good value.