The English Open is just a few hours old, but it’s straight onto the next ranking event with the 2025 British Open beginning on Monday in Cheltenham.
Mark Allen emerged with the title in Brentwood late on Sunday night after a dramatic final to the season’s fourth ranking tournament.
Like the English Open, the next competition on the schedule carries a top prize worth £100,000 but will be played under a different format.
British Open prize money
Champion: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-final: £20,000
Quarter-final: £12,000
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £6,000
Last 64: £3,000
Highest Break: £5,000
Total: £502,000
How does the British Open work?
The British Open, which runs from September 22nd to the 28th, is billed as an FA Cup-style event, one of only two on the annual schedule that currently utilises a random draw for each round.
It often throws up fascinating heavyweight showdowns in the early rounds, while it simultaneously gives an opportunity to some less formidable players to advance further than they would normally if they receive a kind draw.
Like last week’s tournament at the Brentwood Centre, the short best-of-seven frames guise is used until the last 16.
The challenge gets a bit sterner from then on with the quarter-finals contested over nine frames, 11-frame semi-finals, before the final is conducted across a possible 19 frames.
Who are the former champions?
The original British Open dates back to the 1980s and 1990s when the likes of Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Jimmy White all got their hands on the trophy.
Towards the end of its first stint on the World Snooker Tour calendar, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, and John Higgins also tasted success in the event.
The tournament disappeared after its 2004 edition but returned to the schedule in 2021 and has been a popular presence since.
Williams won that event four years ago and the Welshman triumphed again two years later, with Ryan Day and Mark Selby prevailing in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
Is Ronnie O’Sullivan playing in the 2025 British Open?
The quick answer to that frequently-asked question is no. Ronnie O’Sullivan won’t be taking up his place in the 2025 British Open draw.
The Rocket had initially been paired with Sanderson Lam but announced his withdrawal earlier in September, with Daniel Womersley replacing him in the lineup.
Apart from Ding Junhui, most of the other marquee names are in the field – including world number one Judd Trump and world champion Zhao Xintong.
The top 16 seeds have all had their initial round-of-128 fixtures held over to the venue stages at the Centaur, but all of the other matches in this first round have already taken place.
Among those safely through to the last 64 are Cheltenham homeboy Jack Lisowski, women’s world champion Bai Yulu, and in-form three-time ranking event winner Marco Fu.
Former champion Ryan Day and Sunday’s English Open finalist Zhou Yuelong are two high-profile names who bit the dust in the ‘qualifiers’, losing to Stuart Bingham and Stan Moody respectively.
Of the held over matches, reigning champion Selby’s opening game is against David Grace while Williams encounters fellow top 16 member Si Jiahui.
Kyren Wilson plays Chris Wakelin in another clash featuring two higher-ranked names, while Allen will look to continue his run of form against Jiang Jun.
2025 British Open Draw
Round of 128 (bo7)
Held over matches only. Click here to view the qualifying results.
Barry Hawkins vs Daniel Wells
Ashley Hugill vs Zhao Xintong
Judd Trump vs Aaron Hill
Sanderson Lam vs Daniel Womersley
Pang Junxu vs Wu Yize
Alfie Davies vs Neil Robertson
Jiang Jun vs Mark Allen
Kyren Wilson vs Chris Wakelin
David Grace vs Mark Selby
Ross Muir vs Shaun Murphy
Xiao Guodong vs Haydon Pinhey
Mark Williams vs Si Jiahui
Zhang Anda vs Duane Jones
Patrick Whelan vs Ali Carter
John Higgins vs Mark Davis
Gary Wilson vs Hossein Vafaei
Round of 64 (bo7)
Chang Binggyu vs Long Zehuang
He Guoqiang vs Robbie McGuigan
Ben Woollaston vs Noppon Saengkham
Haris Tahir vs Louis Heathcote
Amir Sarkhosh vs Jak Jones
Iulian Boiko vs Sam Craigie
Ian Burns vs Marco Fu
Zak Surety vs Ashley Carty
Ryan Davies vs Liam Davies
Robert Milkins vs Antoni Kowalski
Xu Yichen vs David Lilley
Mitchell Mann vs Gao Yang
Cheung Ka Wai vs Matthew Stevens
Lei Peifan vs Matthew Selt
Martin O’Donnell vs Sunny Akani
Joe O’Connor vs Allan Taylor
Yuan Sijun vs Hawkins/Wells
Stan Moody vs K. Wilson/Wakelin
Bai Yulu vs Zhang/D. Jones
Xu Si vs N. Robertson/A. Davies
M. Williams/Si vs Lam/Womersley
Jack Lisowski vs Higgins/Davis
Umut Dikme vs Xiao/Pinhey
Jackson Page vs Oliver Lines
Anthony McGill vs G.Wilson/Vafaei
Stuart Bingham vs Zhao/Hugill
Leone Crowley vs Trump/Hill
Ben Mertens vs Reanne Evans
Pang/Wu vs Whelan/Carter
Liu Hongyu vs Grace/Selby
Bulcsu Revesz vs Jiang/Allen
Scott Donaldson vs Muir/Murphy
Click here for the update results and draw (snooker.org)
How can I watch this week’s snooker?
Live coverage of the 2025 British Open will be available on various platforms depending on your location in the world.
Many of the popular betting sites provide live streaming of snooker events through signing up on their websites or apps.
As per the World Snooker Tour website, these are the official available options:
UK & Ireland
ITV
Table two will be streamed live with commentary on ITVX
China
Huya.com
Migu
CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel
CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
Hong Kong China
Now TV
Malaysia & Brunei
Astro Supersport
Taiwan
Sportcast
Thailand
True Sport
Philippines
TAP Sports
All other territories
WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
Tom Ford a late withdrawal due to medical reasons.