2025 British Open


The 2025 British Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 28 September 2025 at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place from 25 to 28 June at the Leicester Arena in Leicester. The fifth consecutive edition of the tournament since it was revived in 2021, it was the fifth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 English Open and preceding the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix. It was broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the final time before moving to Channel 5 from 2026, by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, and by WST Play in mainland Europe and all other territories. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000.
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated John Higgins 105 in the 2024 final, but he lost 1–6 to Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals. The final was contested between Murphy and Anthony McGill, who reached his first ranking final in eight years. Murphy defeated McGill 10–7 to win his first British Open title and the 13th ranking title of his career. The event produced 74 century breaks, 11 during the qualifiers in Leicester and 63 at the main venue in Cheltenham. The tournament's highest was a 144 by Gary Wilson in his second-round match against McGill.

Overview

The tournament began in 1980 as the non-ranking British Gold Cup, won by Alex Higgins. Held as the non-ranking Yamaha Organs Trophy in 1981 and the non-ranking Yamaha International Masters from 1982 to 1984, it was renamed the British Open in 1985, when it also gained ranking status. Staged 21 times as a ranking event from 1985 until its discontinuation after the 2004 edition, the tournament was revived as a ranking event in 2021. In 2022, the tournament trophy was named the Clive Everton Trophy to honour the longtime commentator and snooker journalist.
The 2025 edition of the tournament was held from 22 to 28 September at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place from 25 to 28 June at the Leicester Arena in Leicester. The 16 qualifying matches featuring the highest ranked players were held over to be played in Cheltenham. The tournament was the fifth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 English Open and preceding the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix. Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated John Higgins 105 in the 2024 final.

Format

There was no seeding system and the draw was randomised for every round. All matches up to the quarterfinals were played as the best of 7. The quarterfinals were the best of 9 frames, the semifinals were the best of 11 frames, and the final was the best of 19 frames, played over two.
Several players withdrew from the event and were replaced in the draw by the highest available players from the Q School top-up list. Luca Brecel withdrew before the qualifiers in Leicester and was replaced by Ashley Carty. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Tom Ford withdrew for medical reasons before the held-over qualifiers in Cheltenham and were replaced respectively by Daniel Womersley and Alfie Davies.

Broadcasters

The qualifying round was broadcast by Discovery+ in Germany, Austria and Italy; by HBO Max in other European territories; by Huya Live,, the CBSAWPBSA Academy WeChat Channel and the CBSAWPBSA Academy Douyin in China; and by WST Play in the United Kingdom and all other territories worldwide without a broadcast agreement in place.
The main stage was broadcast in the UK and Ireland by ITV, which carried the tournament for the final time. Domestic coverage of the event will move to 5 for the 2026 edition. The main stage was broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying round. It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Malaysia and Brunei by Astro SuperSport, in Thailand by TrueSports, in Taiwan by Sportcast, and in the Philippines by TAP Sports. In mainland Europe, and in territories where no other coverage is available, the tournament was streamed via WST Play.

Prize fund

The winner of the event received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000. The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:
  • Winner: £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

    Summary

Round one (qualifiers)

All matches before the quarter-final stage were played as the best of seven. At the qualifiers held in Leicester, Marco Fu lost the first three frames against Stephen Maguire but made of 140, 81, and 104 to tie the scores at 3–3 and then won the. Jackson Page trailed Elliot Slessor 1–2 but won three consecutive frames for a 4–2 victory, while Haris Tahir beat Ken Doherty 4–3, making an 81 break in the decider. Amateur player Ryan Davies, who received a top-up place in the event via the Q School Order of Merit, defeated Jimmy Robertson on the last of the deciding frame. Jack Lisowski made a 72 break in the decider to beat Liam Highfield, while Liam Davies defeated Jimmy White 4–2. Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14, the youngest player ever to turn professional, took a 3–2 lead over Umut Dikme, another top-up amateur player from the Q School Order of Merit. Dikme came from behind to win frame six on the and then made a 55 break to win the decider. Stuart Bingham made breaks of 102, 56, and 75 as he beat the 2022 champion Ryan Day, and Ben Mertens recovered from 1–3 behind against Liam Pullen to win the match in a deciding frame. Chang Bingyu made breaks of 118, 93, 64, and 70 as he beat Kreishh Gurbaxani 4–2.
Two female players advanced to the last 64, the reigning World Women's Champion Bai Yulu and the 12-time World Women's Champion Reanne Evans. Bai defeated Artemijs Žižins 4–2 after he attempted a maximum break in the second frame of the match but missed the 14th black. Evans secured a 4–1 victory over 16-year-old Lan Yuhao, who was playing his first season on the professional tour. Robbie McGuigan defeated Lyu Haotian 4–2, while Stan Moody made breaks of 55, 66, and 97 as he beat Zhou Yuelong by the same score. Returning to the tour after an extended absence due to a neck injury, Sam Craigie recorded his first professional victory in 16 months with a 4–1 win over Yao Pengcheng. New tour player Leone Crowley recorded his first win in a professional match with a whitewash victory over Hatem Yassen, while Matthew Selt whitewashed David Gilbert and Lei Peifan whitewashed Mateusz Baranowski. From 46 behind in the decider against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Long Zehuang won the frame and match with a 57. Robert Milkins advanced with a 4–2 victory over Fan Zhengyi.
At the held-over qualifiers played in Cheltenham, the defending champion Mark Selby defeated David Grace 4–1, and the previous year's runner-up John Higgins recovered from 1–3 behind against Mark Davis to win the match in a deciding frame. Judd Trump, the world number one, made two centuries of 103 and 101 as he whitewashed Aaron Hill in 53 minutes. "I have felt good this season, the results just haven't quite come," said Trump, who had not won a title in 2025. "Games like the one tonight give you a boost. I have scored well in most matches, my opponents have just some brilliant balls at the winning line and not given me a chance." The reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong defeated amateur player Ashley Hugill in a deciding frame, and Neil Robertson whitewashed amateur player Alfie Davies. Kyren Wilson made a 141 break as he beat Chris Wakelin 4–1, and Mark Williams made a 127 in the last frame of his 4–2 victory over Si Jiahui. Shaun Murphy advanced by beating Ross Muir 4–1, and Mark Allen, recent winner of the 2025 English Open, defeated Jiang Jun by the same score.

Round two (last 64)

The world number 55 Stan Moody, recently a quarter-finalist at the 2025 Wuhan Open, made a century of 132 as he moved into a 3–1 lead over Kyren Wilson, the 2024 World Champion. Wilson made an 82 break in the fifth frame, but Moody secured a 4–2 victory by winning frame six. Calling it his "best win on tour," Moody said afterwards: "Beating Ding was very good but this tops it, on ITV in front of a big crowd in Cheltenham. I tried to stay as calm as I could towards the end and managed to get over the line." Higgins trailed Lisowski 0–2 and 2–3 but won the sixth frame on the colours and then took the deciding frame with a century of 132. Following his second consecutive victory in a decider, Higgins said: "I am so lucky to still be in the tournament. I really need to improve. I know I have not put the effort into practice and you get what you deserve. I should have gone out in the first round. But the last frame today did give me some confidence." Williams, another Class of '92 player, also came from 2–3 behind to beat the world number 61 Sanderson Lam in a decider.
Zhao beat Stuart Bingham 4–1, making centuries of 127 and 133 to become the first player to reach 20 centuries for the season. Facing Bai, Zhang Anda made three consecutive centuries of 101, 130, and 125 as he took a 3–1 lead. Bai recovered to tie the scores at 3–3 in her effort to become the first woman to win a match at a ranking event against a top-16 opponent. However, Zhang won the decider to advance. Mertens whitewashed Evans, the other female player in the last 64. McGuigan defeated He Guoqiang, winning the deciding frame on the last black. Anthony McGill defeated Gary Wilson 4–1, although Wilson made the tournament's highest break of 144 in the frame he won. Robertson defeated Xu Si by the same score. Allen advanced by beating Bulcsú Révész, also by a 4–1 scoreline, while Iulian Boiko defeated Craigie 4–2.
Mitchell Mann arrived late for his match against Gao Yang after his car broke down en route to the venue. He was docked the first frame and also lost the second, but he recovered to tie the scores at 2–2. Gao won the fifth frame, but Mann made a 72 break to force a decider, which he won by clearing from the last. Trump lost the first frame against Crowley but won four in a row for a 4–1 victory. Murphy defeated Scott Donaldson by the same score. The defending champion Selby made breaks of 115 and 94 as he won the first three frames against Liu Hongyu, but Liu made breaks of 86, 58, and 100 as he drew level at 3–3. Selby won the deciding frame with a 65 break. Cheung Ka Wai also defeated Matthew Stevens in a decider.