The final round of qualifiers for the 2025 UK Championship, known as Judgement Day, will take place on Wednesday and Thursday in Wigan.
A field of 128 players has been whittled down to the final 32 contenders who are vying for the 16 remaining spots in the main draw of the season’s opening Triple Crown event.
The top 16 from the world rankings have already been seeded through to the venue stages at the Barbican Centre in York, which begin on Saturday.
The likes of defending UK champion Judd Trump, reigning world champion Zhao Xintong, and record eight-time UK winner Ronnie O’Sullivan are waiting to see who they might draw in the opening round.
There are several heavy hitters involved on Judgement Day, so let’s take a brief look at the 16 ties in the final round of the 2025 UK Championship qualifiers.
Wednesday, 1pm
Mitchell Mann vs Lyu Haotian
Mitchell Mann, a quarter-finalist in this season’s British Open, conjured one of the upsets of the qualifying competition with his 6-3 defeat of Chris Wakelin.
Standing in his way of a berth at the Barbican is Lyu Haotian, who produced an incredible fight back from 5-1 down to beat 2001 UK champion Matthew Stevens in a deciding frame.
Yuan Sijun vs Michael Holt
Michael Holt is at it again in the UK Championship following his run from the first qualifying round to the quarter-finals a year ago.
The Hitman meets Yuan Sijun on Judgement Day with the pair having shared one win apiece from their prior two meetings against one another.
Ian Burns vs Stephen Maguire
Former UK champion Stephen Maguire defied a maximum break to deny Chang Bingyu in a 6-5 thriller earlier this week.
The Scot next faces Ian Burns, who heaped more misery on Luca Brecel with a relatively straightforward victory over the 2021 finalist.
Daniel Wells vs David Gilbert
Both Daniel Wells and David Gilbert survived marathon matches in the third round, the duo escaping with 6-5 wins over Robert Milkins and Iulian Boiko.
They have played each other four times in the past, exchanging two triumphs apiece, with Wells prevailing from their most recent tie at the Xi’an Grand Prix in October.
Wednesday, 7pm
Elliot Slessor vs Zak Surety
Elliot Slessor and Zak Surety are both ranking event semi-finalists who have been on the cusp on making big breakthroughs in recent times.
They also needed all 11 frames from their penultimate-round fixtures, respectively pipping both Bulcsu Revesz and Martin O’Donnell in dramatic duels.
Joe O’Connor vs Ben Woollaston
Joe O’Connor began the 2025/26 season strongly with a run to the final of Championship League Snooker, but he has been pretty quiet since then.
Here he has an opportunity to reach the venue stages of a major tournament again, but standing in his way is fellow Leicester potter Ben Woollaston.
Jamie Clarke vs Zhou Yuelong
Jamie Clarke’s decision to take a few months out of the spotlight to recharge his batteries after losing his tour card is looking like a good decision.
A recent winner on the satellite Q Tour, Clarke has reached the last round here as an amateur top-up but has a tough concluding opponent to overcome in the form of English Open runner-up Zhou Yuelong.
Scott Donaldson vs Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham, a 6-5 winner against Liam Pullen on Tuesday, needs a UK Championship title to complete the career Triple Crown set.
Bingham entertains Scott Donaldson next, the latter having powered his way past Anthony McGill with a resounding 6-1 scoreline.
Thursday, 1pm
Artemijs Zizins vs David Lilley
There have been several signs in the last year and a half that Artemijs Zizins could turn out to be a proper player, with victory over Ali Carter representing the latest.
Reaching the venue stages of the UK Championship in only his second season on tour would be a feather in his cap, and the teenager from Latvia will fancy his chances against David Lilley.
Pang Junxu vs Noppon Saengkham
Both Pang Junxu and Noppon Saengkham will be disappointed about their recent form, with both failing to challenge at the latter stages of tournaments at all.
The UK Championship qualifiers offer a chance to build momentum, their progress beginning with respective victories over Liam Highfield and Michal Szubarczyk in the last round.
Ryan Day vs Hossein Vafaei
Ryan Day and Hossein Vafaei each possess the experience of reaching the semi-finals of a UK Championship.
They have been a long way short of that kind of form this season, however, with their ranking positions plummeting as a result and making this tie an important one for both.
Long Zehuang vs Louis Heathcote
Louis Heathcote represents one of the most improved players on the circuit this season, and he underlined those credentials with a 6-2 triumph over Northern Ireland Open champion Jack Lisowski.
Heathcote takes on Long Zehuang on Judgement Day at the UK Championship qualifiers, the Chinese potter also impressing during his 6-1 rout of Aaron Hill.
Thursday, 7pm
Zhang Anda vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Zhang Anda was forced into the qualifying competition after losing his spot among the top 16, but in many ways that might help him to build confidence again.
The former International Championship winner thrashed Allan Taylor 6-1 to set up a meeting with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in round four after the Thai ousted Robbie Williams by the same margin.
Tom Ford vs Xu Si
Former semi-finalist Tom Ford meets Xu Si, one of nine players from China who are participating in the final round of the qualifiers.
Reigning Shoot Out champion Ford has never lost to Xu, winning three and drawing one of their prior matches in all competitions.
Jimmy Robertson vs Lei Peifan
Jimmy Robertson and Lei Peifan boast similar ranking positions just around the top 32 mark, so reaching the venue stages would help boost their status in that section.
Both one-time ranking event winners, Robertson defeated Sanderson Lam in the third round while Lei edged Jiang Jun.
He Guoqiang vs Julien Leclercq
Jak Jones compiled a brace of century breaks against Julien Leclercq but those were the only frames he won, the former World Championship finalist duly bowing out early.
Leclercq’s reward is a game with He Guoqiang on Judgement Day, the latter having recorded a 6-3 triumph over Stan Moody.
2025 UK Championship Qualifiers
Round 4 – Judgement Day (bo11)
Wednesday, 1pm UTC/GMT
Mitchell Mann vs Lyu Haotian
Yuan Sijun vs Michael Holt
Ian Burns vs Stephen Maguire
Daniel Wells vs David Gilbert
Wednesday, 7pm UTC/GMT
Elliot Slessor vs Zak Surety
Joe O’Connor vs Ben Woollaston
Jamie Clarke vs Zhou Yuelong
Scott Donaldson vs Stuart Bingham
Thursday, 1pm UTC/GMT
Artemijs Zizins vs David Lilley
Pang Junxu vs Noppon Saengkham
Ryan Day vs Hossein Vafaei
Long Zehuang vs Louis Heathcote
Thursday, 7pm UTC/GMT
Zhang Anda vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Tom Ford vs Xu Si
Jimmy Robertson vs Lei Peifan
He Guoqiang vs Julien Leclercq
How to watch the UK Championship qualifiers
Watch the UK Championship qualifiers on WST Play or the World Snooker Tour YouTube channel.
You can also watch live on discovery+ throughout Europe including the UK and Ireland.
I love snooker and saw my two favourites in Mark Williams and Mark Selby at the Crucible in Reading on Monday | tuesday . It was lovely . I dont play but love the game and look forward to saturday . Thank you so much for the info …Jo
How can I watch the UK championship on my phone?