There is plenty of snooker to look forward to during the month of December on several tours with lots of silverware up for grabs.
November saw titles being won by Ding Junhui at the International Championship, Mark Williams at the Champion of Champions, and Reanne Evans at the Women’s Masters.
Let’s see what’s in store for next month.
World Snooker Tour
UK Championship final
The last couple of weeks in November have been dominated by the action at the 2024 UK Championship.
The qualifiers in Leicester were followed by a week of drama at the Barbican Centre in York.
The new month will begin with the first Triple Crown champion of the 2024/25 snooker season being crowned on December 1st.
Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins are still vying for the prestigious title and the £250,000 champion’s cheque.
Snooker Shoot Out
There will be a couple of days of brief respite before the Snooker Shoot Out frenzy takes place from December 4th to 7th at the Mattioli Arena.
Mark Allen is the reigning champion, the Pistol becoming the first current member of the top 16 to land the unpredictable title a year ago.
A lot of the top players choose to skip this event, but Allen will return alongside the likes of Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, and Neil Robertson.
The Snooker Shoot Out, with its single-frame format, is a popular event for the betting market with bet365 Ontario one of the best options available to back one of your favourite players.
Scottish Open
Immediately following the Shoot Out will be the Scottish Open, representing the third of four tournaments on the Home Nations series.
Gary Wilson will attempt to etch his name onto the Stephen Hendry Trophy for a third consecutive campaign when he returns to the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Open, running from December 9th to 15th, is the last opportunity of the calendar year for the main tour players to win a ranking event.
Riyadh Season Snooker Championship
There has been plenty said about the rising involvement of Saudi Arabia in snooker, and the sport returns to Riyadh during the month of December.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship invitational is scheduled for December 18th to 20th, with the controversial 20-point golden ball upon compiling a 147 break back in the fray.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the defending champion having won the tournament under its previous World Masters of Snooker guise in March.
Qualifiers
While the high-ranked players will be living the high life out in Saudi Arabia, most of the remaining cueists will be enduring a pre-Christmas dose of qualifying in the cubicles.
The preliminary rounds for both the German Masters (December 16th to 19th) and the World Open (December 20th to 22nd) will be staged at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield.
Q Tour
The amateur Q Tour, meanwhile, will also see snooker shots struck in anger during the month of December.
Q Tour 5 on the primary European arm of the circuit will be held from December 13th to 15th at the National Training Academy in Vienna.
Zhao Xintong has emerged with the trophy at the last two events and is well positioned to avail of the automatic ticket to the World Snooker Tour by topping the Q Tour rankings.
The second Americas event on the Global Q Tour runs additionally from December 13th to 15th in Chandler, USA.
World Seniors Tour
On the World Seniors Tour, the popular 900 series will be at Epsom Downs Racecourse on December 30th.
Former world seniors champions Jimmy White and Nigel Bond will be joined in the lineup by Ken Doherty, Tony Drago, Alfie Burden, and Rory McLeod.
Is there more snooker in December?
If you are aware of any more interesting snooker tournaments being staged around the world in December, let us know in the comments section below.
Featured photo credit: WST
