What is the prize money at the 2025 UK Snooker Championship, how much does the winner in York get?

The first Triple Crown event of the season, with the Masters and World Championship to follow in the coming months, the UK Championship has been held annually since 1977, with this latest edition being the 49th staging.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the most successful player in the tournament’s history with eight title triumphs to his name, although world number one Judd Trump is the reigning and defending champion having claimed his second UK crown in 2024.

The Barbican has firmly established itself as the host venue for the competition, and the BBC will once again continue its support as the host broadcaster.

Down the years, the UK Championship has chopped and changed its format, but organisers seem settled on its current arrangement which is split into two different phases - qualifying, and the main draw in York where the TV cameras start rolling.

The world’s top 16 automatically go through to the main venue, and they are joined by the 16 players further down the rankings who emerge from the qualifying gauntlet held in Wigan between November 22-27.

The prize money pay-outs for the 2025 UK Championship

The 2025 UK Championship carries a regular prize fund in excess of £1.2 million pounds, making it one of the richest events on the professional snooker tour.

Whoever lifts the famous trophy on the evening of Sunday 7th November will pocket the £250,000 first prize - this amount also gets added to their ranking totals.

A quarter-of-a-million pounds has been the winner’s purse since 2022 when the format reverted back to a tiered draw system with a reduced field at the Barbican and the top ranked stars going straight into the TV phase.

Every player in York is guaranteed at least £10,000, although if a top 16 player (these players are seeds) loses their opening match, they don’t add anything to their ranking tallies.

Away from the 32-player main draw, contestants can earn money at the qualifiers. Again, if a player loses their first match, though, nothing will be put on their rankings.

A good result at this tournament can also open doors to other stops on the circuit. With this being a ranking event, players can go up the global standings and into the latter rounds of some competitions, as well as putting themselves in a strong position to qualify for the three lucrative Players Series legs later this term.

The winner of this UK Championship will also qualify for next year’s Champion of Champions - if they haven’t already made it.

2025 UK Championship prize money:

• Champion: £250,000
• Runner-up: £100,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £50,000 (each)
• Losing quarter-finalists: £25,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 16: £15,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 32: £10,000 (each)
• Losers in the final qualifying round/last 48: £7,500 (each)
• Losers in the third qualifying round/last 80: £5,000 (each)
• Losers in the second qualifying round/last 112: £2,500 (each)
• Tournament’s highest break: £15,000 (available across both the qualifying and TV stages)
• Total prize fund: £1,205,000

Is there a prize for a 147 maximum break?

There isn’t a bonus prize for an individual maximum 147 break (we explain what we mean by this below) but there is a £15,000 kitty for the highest break of the tournament which runs across both Wigan and York.

As it stands at the time of writing, Liam Pullen and Chang Bingyu both made 147s during the qualifying rounds. If no-one else completes perfection in the tournament they will share equally the £15k on offer.

However, with a record number of 147s this season having already been produced, it seems likely that another max is on the cards.

Whilst there is no bonus for one 147, the World Snooker Tour has again put up a special prize for any player who can make two 147s across this season’s four biggest events: Saudi Arabia Masters, UK Championship, Masters, World Championship.

There are three pots of £147,000 up for grabs, although Ronnie O’Sullivan has already taken one of these shares for sensationally completing two maximums during his semi-final win over Chris Wakelin in Jeddah a few months ago.

Last season, Welsh youngster Jackson Page was the first person to unlock this unique jackpot for two maximums in the same match at World Championship qualifying.

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - along with Pullen and Chang - is in pole position for the bonus as he also completed a 147 at the Saudi Arabia Masters.