A look ahead to the round two matches at the 2025 UK Championship including schedule, order of play

These eight matches will be played across Wednesday and Thursday at the Barbican Centre in York, with quarter-finals Friday ahead of the one-table set-up for the weekend.

Reigning champion Judd Trump got his title defence underway with a hard-fought 6-4 win over former champion Stephen Maguire. Next up for the world number one - who is without a title on the World Snooker Tour since here last year - is number 16 seed Si Jiahui. Chinese youngster Si whitewashed the experienced Ryan Day, 6-0.

In all competitions, Trump holds a 7-1 head-to-head winning record over his upcoming opponent, although Si's solitary win is a significant one when he produced his first 147 break in professional competition during a 6-2 success in the 2024 Wuhan Open semi-finals.

The other match in the top quarter is three-time UK Champion Ding Junhui against qualifier Scott Donaldson.

Ding scored well in his first match with two centuries and a 90, while former Championship League Invitational winner Donaldson defeated Mark Allen 6-1 to reach the last 16 of a Triple Crown event for the first time.

These two have played each other six times before; Ding won the first three encounters, but current world number 52 Donaldson took the following three, although the latest of those was back in 2020.

Another seed versus qualifier meeting is 50-year-old Mark Williams versus 25-year-old Pang Junxu.

Qualifier Pang made the last 16 of the UK Championship on his debut in 2020, although that was behind closed doors in Milton Keynes due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Chinese cueist registered his maiden win at the Barbican venue in round one when he defeated compatriot Xiao Guodong, 6-2.

Two-time UK Champion Williams last made a semi-final in this event in 2010, with quarter-final finishes in 2016 and 2023 representing his best results since then. His last UK title was in 2002.

Pang and Williams have met just once before, with the latter winning 6-1 at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.

The pick of the round two fixtures is arguably Wu Yize and Neil Robertson, who respectively overcome Michael Holt (6-4) and Julien Leclercq (6-2) on Sunday afternoon in York.

Both will be feeling great about their games after huge title triumphs this term. 22-year-old Wu is aiming to reach the quarter-finals of a Triple Crown event for the first time in his young career.

These two have met four times before on the professional circuit (Robertson leads the count 3-1) with a couple of those being very memorable. One was in the first round at the Crucible when the Australian made two breaks of 146 within three frames, and the other was when he won 9-7 in the 2024 English Open final after Wu rallied in spectacular fashion from 8-2 down.

Into the bottom half of the draw and last year’s runner-up Barry Hawkins will share the baize with world number 21 Elliot Slessor - the highest ranked player who emerged from the qualifying rounds in Wigan last week.

One of the most improved players on the Tour over the past couple of years, Slessor’s winless streak at the Barbican venue ended as he dispatched world number two Kyren Wilson, 6-4, in round one.

Slessor - who appears in the last 16 of a Triple Crown event for the first time - comes into this tie placed higher than his opponent on the one-year/seasonal list (9th v 12th), although Hawkins won their only previous top flight match (4-1 in round one of 2023 Northern Ireland Open).

Completing the third quarter is Mark Selby v Zhou Yuelong, two players who are in really good form.

Fresh from his Champion of Champions title success on home soil in Leicester, Selby saw off the dangerous Lei Peifan in round one while during the same session Zhou eliminated the record eight-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan - recording his first win over ‘The Rocket’ in eight attempts.

A semi-finalist in this event in 2020, Zhou reached the final of September’s English Open after defeating Selby in the last four.

There is a blockbuster clash in the last section of the draw as two Career Triple Crown winners go head-to-head in John Higgins and Shaun Murphy, both of whom scored relatively comfortable 6-2 first round wins.

In what has been a reinvigorating year for Higgins’ career during which he has collected two ranking crowns and made the final of last month’s International Championship, it would be fitting if the Scot notched up his fourth UK title. However, his last Triple Crown trophy came in 2011, and he hasn’t been to a UK semi-final since his last title in the event in 2010.

Seventeen years on from his UK Championship glory, Murphy has perhaps the best chance in years to double his tally after a brilliant few months on the scene which have seen him win the British Open and be runner-up at the Xi’an Grand Prix.

These two have been involved in several big match-ups down the years, including a world final in 2009 (Higgins won 18-9). Higgins won their last duel - 5-2 in the last eight of the aforementioned International Championship.

The country best represented in the last 16 is China, who have seven players left in the draw. Two of those will face each other with reigning world champion Zhao Xintong v former International Championship winner Zhang Anda.

Newly-minted Riyadh Season Championship winner Zhao cruised in his opening match, while qualifier Zhang - who made a 147 at this venue last year - battled back from 5-3 down to oust number 15 seed Gary Wilson, 6-5.

Their first, and only previous meeting on the top tier was a qualifying match for the 2015 Australian Open which was held in England. A lot has happened since then!

To view the full draw, results, match schedule, and other information from the 2025 UK Championship, visit here.