World Snooker Tour set for big Asian double-header in China and Hong Kong

It has already been a very busy season on the World Snooker Tour, with several trips to Saudi Arabia and China already, but there is one more visit to Asia this term starting later this week in Yushan.

Mark Selby won the most recent ranking event on the snooker roadshow when he lifted The Ray Reardon Trophy in Llandudno at the Welsh Open. That represented back-to-back professional title wins for Selby having successfully defended the Championship League Invitational the previous week.

The Welsh Open was the 13th ranking event of the 2024/25 campaign, and the 14th and 15th offerings will come in quick succession with the World Open (February 23 to March 1) and World Grand Prix (March 4 to 9) being held pretty much back-to-back.

Who has won titles in Asia this season?

There has been a spread of champions for the events already held in Asia throughout this season, starting with Judd Trump who won his maiden Shanghai Masters title in July.

Trump nearly claimed the next competition on the continent, too, but was defeated by Kyren Wilson in the final of the inaugural Xi’an Grand Prix. This was Wilson’s first trophy as the reigning World Champion.

In late August/early September, the first-ever ranking event to be held in Saudi Arabia was played, and it was Trump who scooped the massive £500,000 top prize when he dramatically ousted Mark Williams on the final black of the final to win the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.

Xiao Guodong was a surprise winner of the Wuhan Open in October, while another home soil victor was confirmed at the International Championship in Nanjing the next month when Ding Junhui ended a near five-year wait for a ranking title.

Just before Christmas, the WST went back to the Middle East where Mark Allen pocketed £250,000 as he won the second edition of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.

What are the formats for the 2025 World Open and 2025 World Grand Prix?

Both events are ranked, but have very different formats.

The World Open - which carries a top prize of £175,000 - was open to all tour professionals and features a 128-player flat draw, meaning everyone starts out in the opening round.

The majority of first round matches were played at Ponds Forge in Sheffield between December 20 to 22, with several initial ties held over to the main venue in Yushan including ones involving defending champion Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui.

To find out who qualified for the tournament, please visit here. Ronnie O’Sullivan was in the draw, but has withdrawn due to medical reasons.

The World Grand Prix is being held outside of the UK for the first time, at the very impressive Kai Tak Sports Park. It is the first time that Hong Kong has held a ranking event since 1989.

The first Players Series leg of the term, only the top 32 players from this season’s one-year list have been invited to the tournament. All but one of the world’s current top 24 players (minus Luca Brecel) made the cut.

There will initially be two tables in operation, with a roll-on, roll-off system for the first couple of rounds.

Seedings and the draw bracket is determined by players’ positions on the one-year ranking list, with seed one playing seed 32 in round one, 2 v 31, 3 v 30 etc.

Coinciding with the venue change is a big increase in prize money, with the champion set to pocket £180,000 from the overall £700,000 prize fund. Players who have made it there are already guaranteed £10,000.