The 2025 International Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 2 to 9 November 2025 at the South New City National Fitness Center (SNCNFC) in Nanjing, China. Qualifiers took place from 30 September to 2 October at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. The 11th edition of the International Championship since it was first staged in 2012, it was the eighth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Northern Ireland Open and preceding the 2025 UK Championship. The tournament was broadcast by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, by TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by Eurosport in mainland Europe, and by WST Play in all other territories. The winner received £175,000 from a total prize fund of £825,000.
Ding Junhui was the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 10–7 in the 2024 final, but he lost 2–6 to Shaun Murphy in the fourth round. The final was contested between John Higgins and Wu Yize, who respectively reached the 59th and third ranking finals of their professional careers. The age difference between 50-year-old Higgins and 22-year-old Wu was the fourth-largest of any ranking final in snooker history. Wu defeated Higgins 10–6 to win his maiden ranking title, following defeats in his two previous ranking finals. The ninth different player from mainland China to win a ranking title, he advanced from 22nd to 13th place in the world rankings after the event, entering the top 16 for the first time.
The tournament produced a record 160 century breaks, 37 during the qualifying matches in Sheffield and 123 at the main venue in Nanjing, surpassing the previous record of 155 set at the 2023 event. Wu made the most centuries during the tournament, with 14. Two maximum breaks were compiled at the event: Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum of his career during his 6–3 win over Artemijs Žižins in the Sheffield qualifiers, and Zak Surety made the second maximum of his career in his 6–5 win over Aaron Hill in the third round. These were respectively the 11th and 14th maximums of the season and the 228th and 231st official maximums in professional snooker history. During his 6–1 win over Umut Dikme in the Sheffield qualifiers, Neil Robertson became the fourth player to reach the milestone of 1,000 career century breaks, following Ronnie O'Sullivan, Higgins, and Judd Trump. During her pre-qualifying match in Nanjing, Bai Yulu compiled a century of 145, the highest break ever made by a female player in professional competition.
Overview
The International Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament held in China. It first took place in 2012 and the inaugural champion was Judd Trump, who defeated Neil Robertson 10–8 in the final.[1] Staged from 2012 to 2014 in Chengdu and from 2015 to 2019 in Daqing, the tournament was not held from 2020 to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following its return to the calendar, the tournament was staged in Tianjin in 2023 and Nanjing in 2024.[2]
Matches were played as the best of 11 frames until the semi‑finals, which were played as the best of 17 frames, held over two sessions . The final was the best of 19 frames, also held over two sessions.
The qualifying round was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. It was broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live and Migu[zh]. In all other territories (including Ireland) it was streamed by WST Play.[12]
The main stage was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland by TNT Sports and Discovery+. It was broadcast in mainland Europe by Eurosport, with streaming coverage on Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and on HBO Max in other European territories. It was broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying rounds and in Macau by CCTV-5. It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Thailand by TrueSports, and in Taiwan by Sportcast. In territories where no other coverage was available, the tournament was streamed by WST Play.[13]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[2]
Winner: £175,000
Runner-up: £75,000
Semi-final: £33,000
Quarter-final: £22,000
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,000
Last 64: £5,000
Highest break: £5,000
Total: £825,000
Summary
Round one (qualifiers)
Neil Robertson(pictured in 2015) made the 1,000th century break of his career during the qualifiers in Sheffield. He was the fourth player to reach this milestone.
In the Sheffield qualifiers, Neil Robertson made the 1,000th century break of his professional career during his 6–1 win over Umut Dikme. He became the fourth player in snooker history to reach the milestone of 1,000 centuries, following Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, and Judd Trump.[14] Higgins led the world number 103 Liam Pullen 3–0, but Pullen—who had recently defeated Higgins in the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix qualifiers—won four consecutive frames to lead 4–3 and also led 5–4. Higgins recovered to win the match in a deciding frame . Ben Mertens made two century breaks of 132 and 124 as he defeated Matthew Selt 6–3, and Mark Selby also made two centuries of 124 and 131 in his whitewash win over Steven Hallworth. Jack Lisowski made two centuries of 101 and 128 and four other half-centuries as he beat Bulcsú Révész 6–2. Veteran player Ken Doherty took a 5–3 lead over Stan Moody, a player 37 years his junior, but Moody made breaks of 76 and 51 to level at 5–5. Doherty won the decider, but he subsequently withdrew from the event.[15][11]Liu Wenwei, who had recently turned professional, took the first three frames against Luca Brecel and went on to lead 4–1 and 5–2. Brecel won the next two frames, but Liu secured a 6–4 victory in the tenth.[16]Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams both won their qualifying matches 6–2, over Gong Chenzhi and Iulian Boiko respectively, although Williams subsequently withdrew from the main stage.[11][17]
Bai Yulu(pictured in 2024) made a 145 break, the highest ever achieved by a female player in professional competition.
In the held-over qualifiers played in Nanjing, O'Sullivan trailed Allan Taylor 1–3 and 2–4 but then made three consecutive centuries of 100, 119, and 129 to take the lead at 5–4. Taylor forced a decider, but O'Sullivan secured victory with his fourth century of the match, a 128. "I'm enjoying playing more than I have done for maybe over a decade," he said afterwards. "When I click into gear, that raises the temperature in there a little bit." By reaching the final of the previous ranking event, the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, the world number one Judd Trump had advanced beyond the last 16 of a ranking tournament for the first time that season. He was tied at 4–4 with Dylan Emery but then won two consecutive frames for a 6–4 victory. Bai Yulu, the reigning World Women's Champion, made a total clearance of 145 in her pre-qualifying match against 14-year-old amateur wildcard player Wang Xinzhong, setting a new record for the highest break by a female player in professional competition.[20] The record had previously been held by Ng On-yee, who made a 137 break at the 2025 English Open.[21] Wang defeated Bai in a deciding frame; later that day, he reached the last 64 with a 6–1 win over Robbie Williams. Zhao Xintong, the reigning World Champion, made a 135 break in his 6–1 win over Oliver Brown. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh whitewashed Xu Jiarui, while the defending champion Ding Junhui made four century breaks as he whitewashed David Grace.[22][23]
Round two (last 64)
The previous year's runner-up Chris Wakelin(pictured in 2016) lost to the world number 111 Jiang Jun.
The previous year's runner-up Chris Wakelin lost 2–6 to the world number 111 Jiang Jun, while Selby defeated Liu Hongyu in a deciding frame.[23] Higgins made breaks of 86, 66, and 56 during his 6–2 win over Oliver Lines, saying afterwards that "[Lines] really struggled and I just picked up the pieces." Kyren Wilson made a highest break of 95 as he beat David Lilley 6–2, Trump defeated Matthew Stevens 6–3, and Zak Surety advanced with a 6–1 win over Xiao Guodong. Continuing his title defence, Ding made two further centuries of 134 and 112 as he defeated Holt 6–1, meaning that he had won 12 of the first 13 frames he had played at the event, six of them with century breaks.[24] O'Sullivan lost the first two frames against Sanderson Lam but then took six in a row for a 6–2 victory. Having recently claimed his maiden ranking title at the 2025 Northern Ireland Open, Lisowski made four centuries of 127, 103, 115, and 130 in his 6–4 win over Louis Heathcote, who also produced a century of 136 in the match. Zhao made a highest break of 111 as he beat Fan Zhengyi 6–3. Barry Hawkins beat Huang Jiahao in a deciding frame after Huang had made breaks of 110 and 130 in the match.[25][26][27]
Murphy won the first three frames against the 14-year-old wildcard Wang, who then made breaks of 81, 100, and 58 to tie the scores at 3–3. Murphy won frame seven with a 77 break, but Wang made breaks of 105 and 74 as he took a 5–4 lead. After Wang missed a black off its spot in frame 10, Murphy tied the scores with a break of 72 and then took the decider with an 89 break.[28] After the match, Murphy said: "I've never seen anything like that. I was good at 14. [O'Sullivan] was good at 14, as were many others. I think that young man may well be the best 14-year-old I've ever seen. He has everything. I kept waiting for him to crack but he played like someone who has 20 titles and doesn't have a care in the world. I think I've just seen the future of snooker." Highfield made back-to-back centuries of 117 and 102 as he defeated Pang Junxu 6–4. Hossein Vafaei, Jak Jones, and Slessor each made three century breaks in their respective matches as they all advanced to the last 32.[25][26][27]
Round three (last 32)
Zak Surety(pictured in 2014) made the second maximum break of his career. It was the 14th maximum of the season.
Surety made the second maximum break of his professional career in his 6–5 win over Hill. It was the 14th maximum of the season and the 231st official maximum in snooker history.[29] Lisowski made breaks of 72, 75, 113, 88, and 63 as he took a 5–3 lead over O'Sullivan. Lisowski had match-winning opportunities in the ninth and tenth frames, but O'Sullivan won both frames to tie the scores at 5–5. Both players missed opportunities to win the deciding frame before Lisowski secured victory on the colours by clearing from brown to black, potting the winning black along the top cushion . It was the first time Lisowski had beaten O'Sullivan, having lost 1–6 in three of their four previous meetings. "I sort of collapsed over the line," said Lisowski afterwards. "I got lucky when it mattered a few times at the end. I was doing alright to 5–3 up, then I started thinking I could beat [O'Sullivan]. That is such a big deal. I've watched him since being a child. I've never gotten close to him." Hawkins defeated Jak Jones, Trump defeated Noppon Saengkham, and Higgins beat Vafaei, all by 6–3 scorelines. Zhao took a 2–0 ahead over Lei Peifan, but Lei won five of the next seven frames for a 5–4 lead. However, Zhao tied the scores with a 96 break and then made a 62 break in the decider to advance. Si Jiahui made centuries of 138 and 110 as he whitewashed Gary Wilson, and Maguire made centuries of 104 and 116 as he defeated the world number two Kyren Wilson. Wu Yize made three consecutive centuries of 113, 137, and 119 as he beat Zhang Anda 6–3.[30][31][32] Zhang's defeat meant that he fell out of the top 16 in the world rankings after the event, falling from 15th to 23rd as his prize money from winning the 2023 event no longer counted towards his ranking.[33]
The defending champion Ding made back-to-back centuries of 131 and 138 as he took a 4–0 lead over Highfield at the mid-session interval, and then extended his lead to 5–1. Highfield won three consecutive frames to reduce Ding's lead to one, but Ding secured a 6–4 victory with an 85 break in the tenth frame. Murphy made a century of 140 as he defeated Slessor 6–4, and Selby made a century of 132 as he beat Daniel Wells 6–3. Yuan Sijun took a 2–1 lead over Neil Robertson, but Robertson won five of the next six frames for a 6–3 victory. Jiang made a 135 break as he took a 5–3 lead over He Guoqiang, but He made back-to-back centuries of 109 and 118 to tie the scores at 5–5 and force a deciding frame. Jiang won the decider to progress. Scott Donaldson made a century of 132 as he beat Un-Nooh 6–4.[30][31][34]
The world number one Trump led the world number 22 Wu 4–0 at the mid-session interval. However, Wu then won six consecutive frames, making breaks of 62, 109, 88, 92, 86, and 80, as he secured a 6–4 victory and reached his seventh ranking quarter-final. Trump scored only 18 points in the last six frames of the match.[35] "I attacked really well today," Wu said afterwards. "I barely made any mistakes and once I was given opportunities I just took them. He certainly put me under a lot of pressure." Facing Lisowski, Hawkins made breaks including 123, 91, and 132 as he took a 4–0 lead. After the mid-session interval, Lisowski produced three consecutive centuries of 141, 100, and 103 and went on to tie the scores at 4–4. However, Hawkins won the last two frames of the match for a 6–4 victory.[36][37][38][39]
Zhao made five half-centuries in his 6–1 win over Si, reaching his first ranking quarter-final since winning the World Championship six months earlier. Selby made two centuries of 134 and 115 as he beat Anthony McGill by the same score.[40] Murphy made breaks of 104 and 81 as he took a 3–0 lead over the defending champion Ding and added further breaks of 114, 86, and 67 as he secured a 6–2 victory. "The crowd were fantastic," Murphy said afterwards. "They were very respectful and cheered my good shots as well as Ding's good shots." Higgins came from 4–5 down to defeat Donaldson in a deciding frame, while Maguire advanced with a 6–4 win over Jiang. Surety made breaks of 64, 67, and 70 as he won the first three frames against Neil Robertson. Although Robertson took frame four with a century of 137, Surety extended his lead to 5–1 with breaks of 81 and 80. Robertson won the next two frames, but Surety made a 78 break in the ninth frame to win 6–3 and reach the second ranking quarter-final of his career.[41][38][37][42]
Wu made breaks of 66, 64, 73, 85, 111, and 86 as he whitewashed Hawkins, who produced only one half-century break in the match.[43] Wu advanced to the fifth ranking semi-final of his career, having won 12 consecutive frames at the tournament, all with breaks over 60. Selby, who had won the title in 2016 and 2017,[34] made breaks of 55, 78, 118, and 107 as he moved into a 4–2 lead over Zhao. However, Zhao then won three consecutive frames with breaks of 68, 97, and 55 as he moved 5–4 in front. Selby tied the scores at 5–5 with an 81 break, but Zhao won the decider with a 63 break.[44] It was Zhao's first victory over Selby, having lost all five of their previous professional matches. "That was unbelievable," Zhao said afterwards. "It was my first time beating Mark Selby and I had to come back from behind. I am so proud of myself."[45][46]
Facing Murphy, Higgins made breaks of 77, 112, and 67 as he took a 3–1 lead at the mid-session interval. In frame five, Murphy made the highest break of the match, a century of 137, but Higgins then won three consecutive frames, making another century of 116 in frame seven, as he completed a 6–2 victory and reached his 90th ranking semi-final.[47] "It was all about me today," Higgins said afterwards. "I had to play at the top of my game to have a chance against [Murphy]. I felt I did that. My safety was pretty good and when I got my chances I scored pretty well. When I play these top guys now I’ve got to be on my game to win." Surety took the first frame against Maguire, but Maguire then won six consecutive frames, making breaks including 50, 94, and 59, as he secured a 6–1 victory and reached the 38th ranking semi-final of his career.[48][49][50][51]
Semi-finals
John Higgins(pictured in 2015) defeated Stephen Maguire to reach the 59th ranking final of his professional career.
The semi-finals were played as the best of 17 frames, held over two sessions. Zhao made breaks of 82 and 61 as he took a 2–1 lead over Wu in the first semi-final. Wu made a century of 140 to win frame four and also took frames five and six for a 4–2 advantage. However, Zhao won frame seven and came from behind to take the eighth with a break of 72. The first session ended with the scores tied at 4–4.[52] When play resumed for the second session, Wu made breaks including 108 and 71 as he won four consecutive frames to move one from victory at 8–4. Zhao took the next two frames with breaks of 81 and 50, but Wu completed a 9–6 win with a 65 break in the 15th frame. "I didn't think I could actually beat him," Wu said afterwards. "In fact, as soon as the second session began, I felt a lot of pressure. He missed a brown ball I didn't expect in the ninth frame.... It was a turning point."[53][54][55]
In the second semi-final, Higgins faced Maguire, their first meeting in professional competition since 2019. Higgins made breaks including 67, 71, 101, 137, and 97 as he took a 6–0 lead. Maguire, who had won the first ranking event of the season at the 2025 Championship League, won frame seven with a century of 114 and also took frame eight to leave Higgins leading 6–2 after the first session.[56] When play resumed, Higgins won three consecutive frames, making breaks including 93 and 84, as he completed a 9–2 victory.[57] It was his fifth consecutive win over Maguire, who had not defeated Higgins since 2014. Commenting on reaching his third ranking final of the calendar year, after winning the 2025 World Open and 2025 Tour Championship, Higgins said: "It was pivotal to win the World Open. It gave me that bit of self-belief in my game. It doesn’t matter who you are, when you start losing that self-belief the game becomes so difficult. Especially when it comes to getting over the winning line. To make it concrete in my mind and say I was a winner again took the pressure off."[58][59]
Final
Wu Yize(pictured in 2025) defeated John Higgins to win his maiden ranking title and enter the top 16 for the first time.
The final was played as the best of 19 frames, held over two sessions, between the world number six Higgins and the world number 22 Wu. Higgins was contesting his 59th ranking final and Wu his third.[60][54] The players had previously met in the held-over qualifiers at the 2019 event when Wu was a 15-year-old amateur; on that occasion, Wu led 5–4, but Higgins recovered to win 6–5.[61] The age difference between 50-year-old Higgins and 22-year-old Wu was the fourth-largest of any ranking final in professional snooker history. The largest age difference had been recorded at the 2005 UK Championship final, contested by 48-year-old Steve Davis and 18-year-old Ding.[58]
Wu won the opening two frames with breaks of 86 and 62. Higgins took frame three with a century of 101, but Wu made back-to-back centuries of 110 and 113 as he moved 4–1 ahead. Higgins won frame six, but Wu took the seventh with a century of 137 to lead 5–2. Higgins won frame eight on the last pink and came from behind to win frame nine with a 46 break, reducing Wu's lead to 5–4 at the end of the first session.[62] When play resumed for the second session, Wu won frame 10 with an 87 break. In frame 11, Higgins was leading when he missed a pot on the brown to a baulk pocket . Wu made a double and went on to produce a clearance of 43, including potting the last green along the baulk cushion , to win the frame on the last black. Wu attempted a maximum break in frame 12 but missed a double on the 11th red, ending the break at 80 but increasing his lead to four frames at 8–4. Higgins won frame 13, but Wu took the next to move one from victory at 9–5. Higgins won frame 15 with a 53 break after Wu missed a red while playing with the rest , but Wu potted a long red from Higgins's break-off in frame 16 and went on to secure a 10–6 victory with a 108 break, his fourth century of the final and 14th of the tournament.[63][64][65] The five centuries made in the final took the overall number of centuries at the event to a new record of 160, surpassing the 155 made at the 2023 event.[66]
Victory gave Wu the maiden ranking title of his four-year professional career, following defeats in the finals of the 2024 English Open and the 2024 Scottish Open. He advanced from 22nd to 13th in the world rankings after the event, entering the top 16 for the first time and qualifying automatically for the final stages of the 2025 UK Championship, displacing Wakelin.[67][62][8] Wu became the ninth different player from mainland China to win a ranking title.[65] "Honestly, it feels unbelievable," he said after the match. "It has been a long wait since reaching the final at the Scottish Open and the English Open last year. At times I honestly felt quite desperate, but deep down I always believed I had the ability to win a title. Every day I kept thinking about it. I had a strong will to lift a trophy. That belief carried me through this week." He paid tribute to the support he had received from his parents during his career, saying "My parents are everything," and adding "[My father has] helped me so much, especially during difficult times in the UK. I’m so grateful for what he has done for me.” Runner-up Higgins said he was "nowhere near good enough" during the match and was "disappointed" with his play, but he praised his opponent, saying: "[Wu] was striking the ball beautifully. He was by far the better player. It reminded me so much of playing Paul Hunter. The way he gets through the ball and gets so much action on it. He is a brilliant player."[64]
Main draw
The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, an (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[68][69]
↑ "2025世界斯诺克巡回赛国际锦标赛新闻发布会今日举行"[2025 World Snooker International Championship officially announced today]. weibo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
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Wu Yize (CHN)
John Higgins (SCO)
