2025 International Championship


The 2025 International Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 2 to 9 November 2025 at the South New City National Fitness Center in Nanjing, China. Qualifiers took place from 30 September to 2 October at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. The 11th edition of the International Championship since it was first staged in 2012, it was the eighth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Northern Ireland Open and preceding the 2025 UK Championship.
The tournament was broadcast by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, by TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by Eurosport in mainland Europe, and by WST Play in all other territories. The winner received £175,000 from a total prize fund of £825,000.
Ding Junhui was the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 10–7 in the 2024 final, but he lost 2–6 to Shaun Murphy in the fourth round. The final was contested between John Higgins and Wu Yize, who respectively reached the 59th and third ranking finals of their professional careers. The age difference between 50-year-old Higgins and 22-year-old Wu was the fourth-largest of any ranking final in snooker history. Wu defeated Higgins 10–6 to win his maiden ranking title, following defeats in his two previous ranking finals. The ninth different player from mainland China to win a ranking title, he advanced from 22nd to a career high of 13th place in the world rankings after the event, entering the top 16 for the first time.
The tournament produced a record 160 century breaks, 37 during the qualifying matches in Sheffield and 123 at the main venue in Nanjing, surpassing the previous record of 155 set at the 2023 event. Wu made the most centuries during the tournament, with 14. Two maximum breaks were compiled at the event: Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum of his career during his 6–3 win over Artemijs Žižins in the Sheffield qualifiers, and Zak Surety made the second maximum of his career in his 65 win over Aaron Hill in the third round. These were respectively the 11th and 14th maximums of the season and the 228th and 231st official maximums in professional snooker history. During his 6–1 win over Umut Dikme in the Sheffield qualifiers, Neil Robertson became the fourth player to reach the milestone of 1,000 career century breaks, following Ronnie O'Sullivan, Higgins, and Judd Trump. During her pre-qualifying match in Nanjing, Bai Yulu compiled a century of 145, the highest break ever made by a female player in professional competition.

Overview

The International Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament held in China. It first took place in 2012 and the inaugural champion was Judd Trump, who defeated Neil Robertson 10–8 in the final. Staged from 2012 to 2014 in Chengdu and from 2015 to 2019 in Daqing, the tournament was not held from 2020 to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following its return to the calendar, the tournament was staged in Tianjin in 2023 and Nanjing in 2024.
The 2025 edition of the tournament—the 11th staging of the event—took place from 2 to 9 November at the South New City National Fitness Center in Nanjing. Qualifiers took place from 30 September to 2 October at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Northern Ireland Open and preceding the 2025 UK Championship. It was also the last event to determine the top 16 players who are seeded through to the main stage of the 2025 UK Championship. Ding Junhui was the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 10–7 in the 2024 final.

Format

Matches were played as the best of 11 until the semi‑finals, which were played as the best of 17 frames, held over two. The final was the best of 19 frames, also held over two sessions.
Marco Fu withdrew from the tournament before the qualifiers after suffering a fractured elbow. He was replaced in the qualifying draw by amateur player Umut Dikme. Mark Williams, Ali Carter, Sam Craigie, Ken Doherty, and David Gilbert all withdrew before the event's main stage. Their respective opponents, Anthony McGill, Aaron Hill, Jimmy Robertson, Neil Robertson, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, all received byes to the last 32.

Broadcasters

The qualifying round was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. It was broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live and. In all other territories it was streamed by WST Play.
The main stage was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland by TNT Sports and Discovery+. It was broadcast in mainland Europe by Eurosport, with streaming coverage on Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and on HBO Max in other European territories. It was broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying rounds and in Macau by CCTV-5. It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Thailand by TrueSports, and in Taiwan by Sportcast. In territories where no other coverage was available, the tournament was streamed by WST Play.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
  • Winner: £175,000
  • Runner-up: £75,000
  • Semi-final: £33,000
  • Quarter-final: £22,000
  • Last 16: £14,000
  • Last 32: £9,000
  • Last 64: £5,000
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £825,000

    Summary

Round one (qualifiers)

In the Sheffield qualifiers, Neil Robertson made the 1,000th century break of his professional career during his 6–1 win over Umut Dikme. He became the fourth player in snooker history to reach the milestone of 1,000 centuries, following Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, and Judd Trump. Higgins led the world number 103 Liam Pullen 3–0, but Pullen—who had recently defeated Higgins in the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix qualifiers—won four consecutive frames to lead 4–3 and also led 5–4. Higgins recovered to win the match in a. Ben Mertens made two century breaks of 132 and 124 as he defeated Matthew Selt 6–3, and Mark Selby also made two centuries of 124 and 131 in his whitewash win over Steven Hallworth. Jack Lisowski made two centuries of 101 and 128 and four other as he beat Bulcsú Révész 6–2. Veteran player Ken Doherty took a 5–3 lead over Stan Moody, a player 37 years his junior, but Moody made breaks of 76 and 51 to level at 5–5. Doherty won the decider, but he subsequently withdrew from the event. Liu Wenwei, who had recently turned professional, took the first three frames against Luca Brecel and went on to lead 4–1 and 5–2. Brecel won the next two frames, but Liu secured a 6–4 victory in the tenth. Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams both won their qualifying matches 6–2, over Gong Chenzhi and Iulian Boiko respectively, although Williams subsequently withdrew from the main stage.
Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum break of his career in the final frame of his 6–3 victory over Artemijs Žižins, having made a 133 break earlier in the match. It was the 11th maximum of the season and the 228th in professional snooker history. Mark Allen, recent winner of the 2025 English Open, trailed the world number 84 Mitchell Mann 2–4. Allen made breaks of 85 and 82 as he tied the scores at 4–4, but Mann, who had reached the quarter-finals of the previous week's 2025 British Open, won the next two frames to secure a 6–4 victory. Sam Craigie made a century of 128 as he beat Joe O'Connor 6–1, but he later withdrew from the tournament. Liam Highfield trailed Jackson Page 1–3 but recovered to win the match in a deciding frame. Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14, the youngest ever professional player, defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6–4. Shaun Murphy, recent winner of the 2025 British Open, made a century of 120 in his 6–1 win over Yao Pengcheng, while Stephen Maguire came from 2–4 behind to beat Kreishh Gurbaxani in a deciding frame. Ali Carter whitewashed Liam Graham but subsequently withdrew from the main stage. Michael Holt beat Reanne Evans 6–2, and Aaron Hill advanced with a 6–1 win over fellow Cork player Leone Crowley.
In the held-over qualifiers played in Nanjing, O'Sullivan trailed Allan Taylor 1–3 and 2–4 but then made three consecutive centuries of 100, 119, and 129 to take the lead at 5–4. Taylor forced a decider, but O'Sullivan secured victory with his fourth century of the match, a 128. "I'm enjoying playing more than I have done for maybe over a decade," he said afterwards. "When I click into gear, that raises the temperature in there a little bit." By reaching the final of the previous ranking event, the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, the world number one Judd Trump had advanced beyond the last 16 of a ranking tournament for the first time that season. He was tied at 4–4 with Dylan Emery but then won two consecutive frames for a 6–4 victory. Bai Yulu, the reigning World Women's Champion, made a of 145 in her pre-qualifying match against 14-year-old amateur wildcard player Wang Xinzhong, setting a new record for the highest break by a female player in professional competition. The record had previously been held by Ng On-yee, who made a 137 break at the 2025 English Open. Wang defeated Bai in a deciding frame; later that day, he reached the last 64 with a 6–1 win over Robbie Williams. Zhao Xintong, the reigning World Champion, made a 135 break in his 6–1 win over Oliver Brown. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh whitewashed Xu Jiarui, while the defending champion Ding Junhui made four century breaks as he whitewashed David Grace.

Round two (last 64)

The previous year's runner-up Chris Wakelin lost 2–6 to the world number 111 Jiang Jun, while Selby defeated Liu Hongyu in a deciding frame. Higgins made breaks of 86, 66, and 56 during his 6–2 win over Oliver Lines, saying afterwards that " really struggled and I just picked up the pieces." Kyren Wilson made a highest break of 95 as he beat David Lilley 6–2, Trump defeated Matthew Stevens 6–3, and Zak Surety advanced with a 6–1 win over Xiao Guodong. Continuing his title defence, Ding made two further centuries of 134 and 112 as he defeated Holt 6–1, meaning that he had won 12 of the first 13 frames he had played at the event, six of them with century breaks. O'Sullivan lost the first two frames against Sanderson Lam but then took six in a row for a 6–2 victory. Having recently claimed his maiden ranking title at the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, Lisowski made four centuries of 127, 103, 115, and 130 in his 6–4 win over Louis Heathcote, who also produced a century of 136 in the match. Zhao made a highest break of 111 as he beat Fan Zhengyi 6–3. Barry Hawkins beat Huang Jiahao in a deciding frame after Huang had made breaks of 110 and 130 in the match.
Murphy won the first three frames against the 14-year-old wildcard Wang, who then made breaks of 81, 100, and 58 to tie the scores at 3–3. Murphy won frame seven with a 77 break, but Wang made breaks of 105 and 74 as he took a 5–4 lead. After Wang missed a black off its spot in frame 10, Murphy tied the scores with a break of 72 and then took the decider with an 89 break. After the match, Murphy said: "I've never seen anything like that. I was good at 14. was good at 14, as were many others. I think that young man may well be the best 14-year-old I've ever seen. He has everything. I kept waiting for him to crack but he played like someone who has 20 titles and doesn't have a care in the world. I think I've just seen the future of snooker." Highfield made back-to-back centuries of 117 and 102 as he defeated Pang Junxu 6–4. Hossein Vafaei, Jak Jones, and Slessor each made three century breaks in their respective matches as they all advanced to the last 32.