Who qualified for the 2025 World Open Snooker? Mixed fortunes for top 16 stars

With a top prize of £175,000, the final rounds of the 2025 World Open take place between February 23th to March 1st. The 128-player ranking event features a flat draw, meaning all contestants start out in the first round.

Nine of these opening round ties have been held over and will be played in Asia. These matches involve reigning champion Judd Trump, World Champion Kyren Wilson, sponsor's pick Ronnie O'Sullivan, China's top two ranked players - Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda - and the four matches featuring the amateur wildcards (who will be announced in due course).

All other entrants had to travel to Sheffield for their opening assignment of the competition, with the winners advancing to round two (last 64) and a ticket to the Far East for several weeks’ time.

Due to the scheduling, there was a busy few days for several of the sport's top stars who had been to Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, but were not spared qualifying here.

All those affected players took part in the final session of the qualifiers on Sunday afternoon, and they all found themselves in predicaments.

The highest ranked casualty from these qualifiers was world number six Mark Williams (141 break) who was eliminated 5-2 by Thai ace Sunny Akani (109).

Mark Allen and Mark Selby endured a lot of bother as they secured their berths; both squeezing through having trailed 4-3.

Selby compiled a 142 in the deciding frame as he denied teenage rookie Artemijs Zizins, while newly-minted Riyadh Season Champion Allen (137, opening frame) survived a dramatic finish to his tie as he ousted Rory Thor on the final pink ball in the last match to finish.

Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy were both also in trouble at 3-2 down to Iulian Boiko and Mostafa Dorgham, respectively, before stringing together the final three frames for progression.

Elsewhere during the three-day qualifying stint, world number 13 Si Jiahui was the other top 16 star to taste defeat when he was whitewashed 5-0 by Zak Surety. The result means a return to Yushan for Surety who memorably compiled a maximum 147 break against Ding Junhui in this event last season.

Just like fellow top 16 stars Selby and Allen, Ali Carter and John Higgins were forced all the way before breathing a sigh of relief with 5-4 wins.

Carter edged Q School top-up Joshua Thomond, and Higgins pipped Wang Yuchen with a crucial counter break of 76 in the deciding frame having come to the table trailing by 48 points. Hong Kong’s Wang claimed the previous frame having required penalty points.

Not all the top 16 exponents involved in qualifying were exerted much, though. Recent UK Championship runner-up Barry Hawkins rounded off a 5-1 victory over Ka Wai Cheung with a break of 133, while three-time ranking event winner Gary Wilson notched up efforts of 119 and 140 in a 5-1 success against Gong Chenzhi.

Other notable stories and performances elsewhere include recently crowned Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan’s huge 5-4 comeback win over Anthony Hamilton.

Former German Masters champion Hamilton - who is battling to preserve his professional status come the end of this season - went into the mid-session interval 4-0 up. However, it was all change on resumption as Chinese youngster Lei deposited the next five frames.

Alfie Burden also produced an impressive recovery act as he came back from 4-1 down to dispatch Stephen Maguire by the odd frame. Six-time ranking event winner Maguire has now failed to qualify for the last three ranking tournaments in China.

In a match-up between one of the most experienced cueists on the World Snooker Tour - and one of the youngest - Mark Davis won four frames in-a-row from 4-1 adrift against first-season professional Liam Davies to advance.

Xiao Guodong (116 break) and Jak Jones - both players currently hovering outside the world's elite ranking bracket in 17th and 18th respectively - recorded 5-0 clean sweeps. Crucible finalist Jones constructed back-to-back century breaks.

Jack Lisowski was 3-3 with Julien Leclercq before fashioning successive centuries to win; Pang Junxu struck a trio of tons during his 5-2 victory over Ken Doherty.

Last season's World Championship semi-final losers David Gilbert and Stuart Bingham are both out having been defeated by Amir Sarkhosh (5-3) and Chris Totten (5-1). Scotsman Totten had two three-figure contributions.

Chris Wakelin and Neil Robertson withdrew before their scheduled fixtures.

For all the results from the 2025 World Open qualifying phase, please visit here.