2025 International Championship

2025 International Championship

Tournament information
Dates	2–9 November 2025 (2025-11-02 – 2025-11-09)
Venue	SNCNFC
City	Nanjing
Country	China
Organisation	World Snooker Tour
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£825,000
Winner's share	£175,000
Highest break	Gary Wilson  (ENG) (147)
Defending champion	Ding Junhui  (CHN)
← 2024

The 2025 International Championship is an upcoming professional snooker tournament that will take place from 2 to 9 November 2025 at the South New City National Fitness Center (SNCNFC) in Nanjing, China ^[1] . 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 will be the eighth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Northern Ireland Open and preceding the 2025 UK Championship. The winner will receive £175,000 from a total prize fund of £825,000. Ding Junhui is the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 10–7 in the 2024 final.

Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum break of his career during his 6–3 win over Artemijs Žižins in the qualifying round. It was the 11th maximum of the season and the 228th in professional snooker history. Neil Robertson made the 1,000th century break of his professional career during his 6–1 win over Umut Dikme in the qualifiers. 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.

Overview

The International Championship is 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. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

The 2025 edition of the tournament—the 11th staging of the event—will take place from 2 to 9 November in Nanjing, China. ^{[4] [5]} Qualifiers took place from 30 September to 2 October at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. ^[6] It will be the eighth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Northern Ireland Open and preceding the 2025 UK Championship. ^[7] Ding Junhui is the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 10–7 in the 2024 final. ^[8]

Format

Matches are played as the best of 11 frames until the semi‑finals, which will be the best of 17 frames played over two sessions . The final will be the best of 19 frames, also played over two sessions.

Marco Fu withdrew from the tournament after suffering a fractured elbow. He was replaced in the qualifying draw by amateur player Umut Dikme. ^[9]

Broadcasters

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. ^[10]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below: ^[3]

• 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. ^[11] 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. Robert Milkins, facing possible relegation from the tour at the end of the season, lost in a deciding frame to Wang Yuchen. Veteran player Ken Doherty took a 5–3 lead over Stan Moody, a player 37 years his junior. Moody tied the scores at 5–5 with breaks of 76 and 51, but Doherty won the decider to advance. ^[12] 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 reduced Liu's lead to one frame, but Liu secured a 6–4 victory in the tenth. ^[13] Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams both advanced with 6–2 wins over Gong Chenzhi and Iulian Boiko respectively. ^[14]

Gary Wilson made the sixth maximum break of his career in the final frame of his 6–3 victory over Artemijs Žižins, having made a 133 break earlier in the match. It was the 11th maximum of the season and the 228th in professional snooker history. ^[15] Mark Allen, recent winner of the 2025 English Open, trailed the world number 84 Mitchell Mann 2–4. Allen made breaks of 85 and 82 as he tied the scores at 4–4, but Mann, who had reached the quarter-finals of the previous week's 2025 British Open, won the next two frames to secure a 6–4 victory. Stuart Bingham defeated Ian Burns 6–3, and Wu Yize beat Lan Yuhao by the same score. Sam Craigie made a century of 128 as he beat Joe O'Connor 6–1, and Elliot Slessor made a century of 122 as he defeated Alexander Ursenbacher 6–2. Liam Highfield trailed Jackson Page 1–3 but recovered to win the match in a deciding frame. Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14, the youngest ever professional player, made four half-century breaks as he defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6–4. Shaun Murphy, recent winner of the 2025 British Open, made a century of 120 in his 6–1 win over Yao Pengcheng. Stephen Maguire came from 2–4 behind to beat Kreishh Gurbaxani in a deciding frame. ^[16] Ali Carter whitewashed Liam Graham, Michael Holt beat Reanne Evans 6–2, and Aaron Hill advanced with a 6–1 win over fellow Cork player Leone Crowley. ^[15]

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.

Top half

Last 64 Best of 11 frames

Last 32 Best of 11 frames

Last 16 Best of 11 frames

Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames

Semi-finals Best of 17 frames

Ding Junhui  (CHN)(1) OR   David Grace  (ENG)

Michael Holt  (ENG)

Pang Junxu  (CHN)(28)

Liam Highfield  (ENG)

Shaun Murphy  (ENG)(16)

Robbie Williams  (ENG) OR   Bai Yulu  (CHN) OR  wild card (CHN)

Elliot Slessor  (ENG)(23)

Ben Mertens  (BEL)

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh  (THA) OR  wild card (CHN)

David Gilbert  (ENG)(24)

Scott Donaldson  (SCO)

Mitchell Mann  (ENG)

Ryan Day  (WAL)

Hossein Vafaei  (IRN)(26)

Oliver Lines  (ENG)

John Higgins  (SCO)(8)

Neil Robertson  (AUS)(5)

Ken Doherty  (IRL)

Yuan Sijun  (CHN)(31)

Ricky Walden  (ENG)

Xiao Guodong  (CHN)(10) OR   Mahmoud El Hareedy  (EGY)

Zak Surety  (ENG)

Ali Carter  (ENG)(18)

Aaron Hill  (IRL)

He Guoqiang  (CHN)

Stuart Bingham  (ENG)(22)

Jiang Jun  (CHN)

Chris Wakelin  (ENG)(14)

Xu Si  (CHN)

Stephen Maguire  (SCO)(25)

David Lilley  (ENG)

Kyren Wilson  (ENG)(4)

Bottom half

Last 64 Best of 11 frames

Last 32 Best of 11 frames

Last 16 Best of 11 frames

Quarter-finals Best of 11 frames

Semi-finals Best of 17 frames

Judd Trump  (ENG)(3) OR   Dylan Emery  (WAL)

Matthew Stevens  (WAL)

Zhou Yuelong  (CHN)(30) OR  wild card (CHN)

Noppon Saengkham  (THA)

Zhang Anda  (CHN)(13)

Michał Szubarczyk  (POL)

Wu Yize  (CHN)(19)

Lyu Haotian  (CHN)

Ben Woollaston  (ENG)

Jak Jones  (WAL)(20)

Huang Jiahao  (CHN)

Barry Hawkins  (ENG)(12) OR  wild card (CHN)

Louis Heathcote  (ENG)

Jack Lisowski  (ENG)(29)

Sanderson Lam  (ENG)

Ronnie O'Sullivan  (ENG)(6) OR   Allan Taylor  (ENG)

Mark Williams  (WAL)(7)

Anthony McGill  (SCO)

Sam Craigie  (ENG)

Jimmy Robertson  (ENG)

Mark Selby  (ENG)(11)

Liu Hongyu  (CHN)

Tom Ford  (ENG)(21)

Daniel Wells  (WAL)

Martin O'Donnell  (ENG)

Gary Wilson  (ENG)(17)

Wang Yuchen  (HKG)

Si Jiahui  (CHN)(15)

Liu Wenwei  (CHN)

Lei Peifan  (CHN)(32)

Fan Zhengyi  (CHN)

Zhao Xintong  (CHN)(2) OR   Oliver Brown  (ENG)

Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 30 September to 2 October 2025 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England.

Nanjing

A number of matches have been held over, to be played in Nanjing.

•   Bai Yulu  (CHN) v  wild card (CHN)
•   Ding Junhui  (CHN) v   David Grace  (ENG)
•   Robbie Williams  (ENG) v   Bai Yulu  (CHN) or  wild card (CHN)
•   Thepchaiya Un-Nooh  (THA) v  wild card (CHN)
•   Xiao Guodong  (CHN) v   Mahmoud El Hareedy  (EGY)
•   Judd Trump  (ENG) v   Dylan Emery  (WAL)
•   Zhou Yuelong  (CHN) v  wild card (CHN)
•   Barry Hawkins  (ENG) v  wild card (CHN)
•   Ronnie O'Sullivan  (ENG) v   Allan Taylor  (ENG)
•   Zhao Xintong  (CHN) v   Oliver Brown  (ENG)

Sheffield

The results of the qualifying matches played in Sheffield were as follows: ^{[17] [6]}

30 September

•   Long Zehuang  (CHN) 4–6  Jiang Jun  (CHN)
•   John Higgins  (SCO)6–5   Liam Pullen  (ENG)
•   Xu Si  (CHN)6–3   Sahil Nayyar  (CAN)
•   Robert Milkins  (ENG) 5–6  Wang Yuchen  (HKG)
•   Yuan Sijun  (CHN)6–2   Julien Leclercq  (BEL)
•   Si Jiahui  (CHN)6–3   Sunny Akani  (THA)
•   Neil Robertson  (AUS)6–1  Umut Dikme (GER) (a) ^[a]
•   Matthew Selt  (ENG) 3–6  Ben Mertens  (BEL)
•   David Lilley  (ENG)6–3   Chatchapong Nasa  (THA)
•   Jack Lisowski  (ENG)6–2   Bulcsú Révész  (HUN)
•   Mark Selby  (ENG)6–0   Steven Hallworth  (ENG)
•   Jak Jones  (WAL)6–1   Mateusz Baranowski  (POL)
•   Lyu Haotian  (CHN)6–1   Ng On-yee  (HKG)
•   Ben Woollaston  (ENG)6–3   Cheung Ka Wai  (HKG)
•   Anthony McGill  (SCO)6–0   Mink Nutcharut  (THA)
•   Kyren Wilson  (ENG)6–2   Gong Chenzhi  (CHN)
•   Martin O'Donnell  (ENG)6–5   Xu Yichen  (CHN)
•   Mark Williams  (WAL)6–2   Iulian Boiko  (UKR)
•   Fan Zhengyi  (CHN)6–1   Hatem Yassen  (EGY)
•   Stan Moody  (ENG) 5–6  Ken Doherty  (IRL)
•   Luca Brecel  (BEL) 4–6  Liu Wenwei  (CHN)

1 October

•   Ricky Walden  (ENG)6–1   Gao Yang  (CHN)
•   Lei Peifan  (CHN)6–3   Haris Tahir  (PAK)
•   Wu Yize  (CHN)6–3   Lan Yuhao  (CHN)
•   Mark Allen  (NIR) 4–6  Mitchell Mann  (ENG)
•   Mark Davis  (ENG) 5–6  Huang Jiahao  (CHN)
•   Jimmy Robertson  (ENG)6–3   Chang Bingyu  (CHN)
•   Pang Junxu  (CHN)6–1   Ross Muir  (SCO)
•   Stuart Bingham  (ENG)6–3   Ian Burns  (ENG)
•   Noppon Saengkham  (THA)6–1   Jonas Luz  (BRA)
•   Zak Surety  (ENG)6–2   Farakh Ajaib  (PAK)
•   Elliot Slessor  (ENG)6–2   Alexander Ursenbacher  (SWI)
•   Hossein Vafaei  (IRN)6–1   Fergal Quinn  (NIR)
•   Jackson Page  (WAL) 5–6  Liam Highfield  (ENG)
•   Joe O'Connor  (ENG) 1–6  Sam Craigie  (ENG)
•   David Gilbert  (ENG)6–5   Liam Davies  (WAL)
•   Stephen Maguire  (SCO)6–5   Kreishh Gurbaxani  (IND)
•   Shaun Murphy  (ENG)6–1   Yao Pengcheng  (CHN)
•   Matthew Stevens  (WAL)6–2   Connor Benzey  (ENG)
•   Ishpreet Singh Chadha  (IND) 4–6  Michał Szubarczyk  (POL)
•   Sanderson Lam  (ENG)6–0   Amir Sarkhosh  (IRN)
•   Scott Donaldson  (SCO)6–0   Antoni Kowalski  (POL)

2 October

•   Liu Hongyu  (CHN)6–1   Haydon Pinhey  (ENG)
•   He Guoqiang  (CHN)6–3   Duane Jones  (WAL)
•   Ryan Day  (WAL)6–3   Zhao Hanyang  (CHN)
•   Zhang Anda  (CHN)6–3   Chris Totten  (SCO)
•   Chris Wakelin  (ENG)6–1   Florian Nüßle  (AUT)
•   Aaron Hill  (IRL)6–1   Leone Crowley  (IRL)
•   Daniel Wells  (WAL)6–2   Jimmy White  (ENG)
•   Gary Wilson  (ENG)6–3   Artemijs Žižins  (LAT)
•   Jordan Brown  (NIR) 2–6  Oliver Lines  (ENG)
•   Michael Holt  (ENG)6–2   Reanne Evans  (ENG)
•   Jamie Jones  (WAL) 2–6  Louis Heathcote  (ENG)
•   Ali Carter  (ENG)6–0   Liam Graham  (SCO)
•   Tom Ford  (ENG)6–1   Robbie McGuigan  (NIR)

Century breaks

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 37 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Sheffield. ^[18]

• 147, 133 – Gary Wilson
• 135 – Lan Yuhao
• 132, 124 – Ben Mertens
• 131, 124 – Mark Selby
• 131 – Chang Bingyu
• 128, 101 – Jack Lisowski
• 128 – Sam Craigie
• 128 – Jamie Jones
• 125 – David Gilbert
• 123 – Artemijs Žižins
• 122 – Elliot Slessor
• 120 – Shaun Murphy
• 118, 107 – Yuan Sijun
• 115 – Oliver Lines
• 113 – Gao Yang
• 113 – Matthew Stevens
• 113 – Mark Williams
• 110 – Michael Holt
• 109, 107 – Jak Jones
• 109 – Louis Heathcote
• 109 – Jimmy Robertson
• 106 – He Guoqiang
• 105, 102 – Daniel Wells
• 105 – Ali Carter
• 105 – Neil Robertson
• 103 – Scott Donaldson
• 101 – Jordan Brown
• 100 – Ryan Day
• 100 – Kyren Wilson
• 100 – Wu Yize

Notes

1. Umut Dikme replaced Marco Fu, who withdrew. ^[9]

References

1. "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.
2. "Judd Trump beats Robertson in International Championship final". BBC Sport . 4 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
3. "International Championship". World Snooker Tour . Retrieved 4 September 2025.
4. "Tournaments 2025–26". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
5. "International Championship draw". World Snooker Tour . 24 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
6. "International Championship Qualifiers 2025 - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
7. "Calendar 2025/2026 - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
8. "International Championship: Ding Junhui beats Chris Wakelin 10-7 in final". BBC Sport. 10 November 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
9. "Fu out for two months with fractured elbow". World Snooker Tour . 28 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
10. "How to watch the International Championship qualifiers". World Snooker Tour . 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
11. "Robertson crafts 1,000th career century". World Snooker Tour . 30 September 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
12. "2025 International Championship: Stan Moody v Ken Doherty". World Snooker Tour . 30 September 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
13. "2025 International Championship: Luca Brecel v Liu Wenwei". World Snooker Tour . 30 September 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
14. "Higgins earns narrow win over Pullen". World Snooker Tour . 30 September 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
15. "Wilson makes sixth 147". World Snooker Tour . 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
16. "Mann on a mission". World Snooker Tour . 1 October 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
17. "International Championship 2025 qualifiers matches". World Snooker Tour . 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
18. "Centuries: International Championship Qualifiers - 37". 2 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.