What is the latest draw for the 2025 UK Snooker Championship and when are the matches played in York?

The first Triple Crown event of the 2025/26 season - with the Masters and the World Championship to come later in the term - carries a regular prize fund in excess of £1.2 million, with £250,000 of that going to the eventual champion.

World number one Judd Trump is the reigning and defending champion having claimed his second UK crown last year when he defeated Barry Hawkins, 10-8, in an enthralling final.

How does the draw work and who is playing at the 2025 UK Championship?

The 2025 UK Championship main draw will feature 32 contestants - the world’s top 16 ranked players and the 16 cueists who emerged from the qualifying rounds held in Wigan a few days before.

The top 16 players - who are referred to as seeds - are placed in the draw bracket as per their seeding, but were randomly drawn against a qualifier for round one at the Barbican. The draw took place on the afternoon of Thursday 27th November.

As the returning title holder, Trump is the number one seed and positioned at the top of the draw. Reigning world champion Zhao Xintong is the number two seed and placed at the bottom.

The remaining seeding positions are then determined as per the world rankings, starting with world number two Kyren Wilson (number three seed) and working downwards.

The most successful player in UK Championship history, Ronnie O’Sullivan - the youngest and oldest person to lift the trophy - will be aiming for a record-extending ninth crown in this event.

Ten of the top 11 seeds have won the UK title before - Trump, Zhao, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Selby. The only one who hasn’t is 2024 World Champion Wilson.

Xiao Guodong, Wu Yize, Hawkins, Gary Wilson, and Si Jiahui are the other seeds. Chinese youngster Wu will be making his first appearance since winning the International Championship - his maiden ranking title - a result that pushed him into the world’s top 16 for the first time.

Notably, there are 12 Chinese players in the main draw, and three all-Chinese first round ties.

The format and match schedule for the 2025 UK Championship:

Matches up to and including the semi-finals will be the best of 11 frames, with a scheduled mid-session interval after the fourth frame.

The final will be the best of 19 frames played across two sessions, with a scheduled mid-session interval after the fourth frame of both sessions.

Two tables will be in operation at the Barbican up to and including the quarter-finals. This changes to a one-table set-up for the semi-finals.