2025 Scottish Open snooker qualifiers: Who is playing when and how does the draw work?

Contestants on the green baize in Wigan are aiming to secure one of 32 qualification spots and join the tournament’s top 32 seeds for the round of 64 when the main venue, televised stages start at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh.

Where the final professional trophy of 2025 will be awarded - The Stephen Hendry Trophy, to be exact - the final rounds in the Scottish capital city are set to be played between December 15-21.

The event will be the third leg of this season’s Home Nations Series following the English Open in September - that was won by Mark Allen - and October’s Northern Ireland Open.

China’s Lei Peifan is the reigning champion. Last year, he became one of professional snooker’s unlikeliest ranking event champions when he defeated fellow countryman Wu Yize in the final.

How does the Scottish Open draw work?

Just like the other Home Nations Series events these days, the Scottish Open uses a tiered draw system, meaning players enter the fray in different rounds depending on their world ranking position.

The top 32 seeds all go straight through to the main venue, while the remaining entrants must go to qualifying where there are two rounds. The lowest ranked players face each other in the opening qualifying round, with those winners meeting players seeded 33 to 64 in the final qualifying round.

All matches at these qualifiers are the best of seven frames, and there are four tables in operation in Wigan.

In total across the competition, there is a prize fund of £550,400 with the winner picking up £100,000 of that. For players that qualify, they will be on a minimum of £3,600.

Several players who had runs at the recent Xi'an Grand Prix are set to be on the baize in Wigan, including Daniel Wells, Liam Pullen and Lyu Haotian. In fact, Wells and Pullen could meet just days after their quarter-final encounter in Xi'an.

Youngsters Stan Moody and Aaron Hill - who both got to the last 16 in the Far East last week - are in the draw, as too are snooker legends Ken Doherty and Jimmy White.

If Doherty navigates his opening assignment, he will play Moody, whom he ousted at the International Championship qualifiers a few weeks ago.

How to watch the 2025 Scottish Open qualifiers:

• UK and Mainland Europe: discovery+ in UK, Germany, Italy and Austria and HBO Max in all other markets
• China: Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• All other territories including Ireland: WST Play