The draw, results and schedule for the 2025 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds

In total, 144 players are set to play in the 2025 World Snooker Championship. The world’s top 16 ranked players - following the completion of the 2025 Tour Championship in early April - go straight through to the 32-player main draw at the Crucible Theatre (April 19th to May 5th).

The remaining 128 entrants must go to to the qualifying rounds elsewhere in the ‘Steel City’.

How does the draw for the 2025 World Snooker Championship Qualifying Rounds work?

There are four qualifying rounds at the EIOS. A tiered system is used for the tournament, meaning players enter the fray depending on their world ranking position.

The lowest ranked contestants - and amateur invites - start out in the first qualifying round.

The 32 winners from the first qualifying round then face seed numbers 49 to 80 in the second qualifying round.

The 32 winners from the second qualifying round then face seed numbers 17 to 48 in the third qualifying round.

The 32 winners from the third qualifying round then face each other in the final qualifying round. This will produce 16 qualifiers for the Crucible Theatre stages a few days later.

These 16 qualifiers will be randomly drawn against the top 16 seeds for round one at the Crucible. The draw for this is set to take place at around 08:45BST on Thursday 17th April live on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website.

All matches at the qualifying rounds are the best of 19 frames, with each match scheduled to have two sessions.

Who is playing at the 2025 World Snooker Championship Qualifying Rounds?

A host of star names and Crucible legends are due to be playing at the qualifying rounds, as they attempt to once again play on snooker’s grandest stage.

Former World Champions Stuart Bingham, Graeme Dott and Ken Doherty are all in the draw, while one of snooker’s all-time most popular and influential players, Jimmy White, is back and preparing for his 45th World Snooker Championship campaign.

Ranking event champions Gary Wilson, Ali Carter, Chris Wakelin and Tom Ford all narrowly missed out on automatic Crucible qualification, and will therefore be in action at the EIOS.

Chinese youngster Wu Yize, who has enjoyed a breakthrough season, and David Gilbert, a Crucible semi-finalist last year, are both in these preliminaries, too.

There are four women players in the draw, including reigning World Women's Snooker Champion Bai Yulu from China. At the UK Championship qualifiers earlier this season, Bai reached the final round.

A plethora of amateur players have also been invited to the qualifying rounds, many of whom will be on the professional World Snooker Tour next season.

This list includes 14-year-old Michal Szubarczyk from Poland, who is set to become the youngest-ever player in World Snooker Championship history.

Former UK Champion Zhao Xintong - who finished top of this season’s Q Tour rankings and has won back his professional player status - returns to World Championship action following his ban from the sport.

Information on the top 16 seeds for the Crucible can be found here.

What is the schedule, and what is the prize money at the World Championship qualifiers?

Eight match tables will be in operation at the English Institute of Sport for the duration of the 10-day qualifiers.

There is overlapping across the opening three rounds, but the final qualifying round is exclusively held across the final two days - these are dubbed as ‘Judgement Day’ (two parts), where this year’s 16 Crucible qualifiers will be discovered.

The qualifying schedule is:

• Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th: First qualifying round
• Wednesday 9th to Saturday 12th: Second qualifying round
• Saturday 12th to Monday 14th: Third qualifying round
• Tuesday 15th & Wednesday 16th: Fourth (final) qualifying round

The overall prize fund for the 2025 World Snooker Championship is nearly £2.4 million. The vast majority of this is won at the Crucible - the winner pockets £500,000 - but there is also significant prize money to those who lose in the qualifiers.

Players who lose in the opening qualifying round receive nothing, but there are pay-outs for the other rounds:

• Losers in the second qualifying round: £5,000 each
• Losers in the third qualifying round: £10,000 each
• Losers in the fourth (final) qualifying round: £15,000 each

All players at the Crucible are guaranteed at least £20,000 each.