Gary Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Martin O'Donnell 9–4 in the 2024 final, but he lost 3–4 to Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the first round. Mark Selby won the tournament, beating Stephen Maguire 9–6 in the final to claim his second Welsh Open title and 24th ranking title.[1]Neil Robertson secured the £150,000 BetVictor Bonus for winning the most prize money across the season's four Home Nations Series events.[2]
The tournament produced 72 century breaks, 26 in the qualifying rounds and 46 at the main stage, of which the highest was a maximum break by Xu Si in the second round of qualifying. It was Xu's third maximum break in professional competition.[3][4][5]
Qualifying took place from 4 to 6 February 2025 at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England.[9][10] The WST implemented a new format for the four Home Nations events and the German Masters this season. In qualifying round one, players seeded 65–96 face those seeded 97–128. In qualifying round two, the 32 round one winners play those seeded 33–64. The 32 round two winners then play the top 32 seeds in the first round of the main stage.[11]
All matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter‑finals, which were the best of nine. The semi‑finals were the best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frames match played over two sessions . The defending champion was Gary Wilson, who defeated Martin O'Donnell 9–4 in the 2024 final in what was O'Donnell's first ranking final,[12][13][14] but he lost 3–4 to Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the first round.[15] World number one Judd Trump chose to withdraw from the tournament prior to the seeding, citing a focus on other events.[16]
Broadcasters
The qualifying rounds were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland) and by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live and Migu[zh] in China. They were available from WST Play in all other territories.[17]
The main stage of the event was broadcast by BBC Wales, BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button in the United Kingdom; Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe (including the UK and Ireland); CCTV‑5, Huya Live, Migu, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel and the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin in mainland China; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; TrueVisions in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; and TAP in the Philippines. It was available from WST Play in all other territories.[18]
Prize fund
The tournament winner received the Ray Reardon trophy.[19] The breakdown of prize money for the event, an increase of £123,400 from the previous event, is shown below:[7]
Winner: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-final: £21,000
Quarter-final: £13,200
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £5,400
Last 64: £3,600
Last 96: £1,000
Highest break: £5,000
Total: £550,400
Summary
Qualifying rounds
Round 1
Reanne Evans (pictured in 2017) won her second professional match of the season.
Xu Si (pictured in 2017) made his third career maximum break in qualifying.
The second qualifying round was played on 5 and 6 February.[10] Amateur Welsh player Dylan Emery defeated reigning Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan 4–3, while Ishpreet Singh Chadha whitewashed Ashley Carty, making breaks of above 80 in every frame including a 104 century in the fourth. Welshman Dominic Dale, playing in his final season as a professional, defeated Mitchell Mann 4–3 and Jimmy Robertson came from 0–3 down to defeat Allan Taylor 4–3. Reanne Evans was whitewashed by Joe O'Connor while Andrew Higginson overturned a 2–3 deficit to defeat He Guoqiang 4–3.[21]Xu Si made the third maximum break of his career in the fourth frame of his 4–2 victory over Bulcsú Révész. Xu made the three 147s within 15 months as he made his first at the UK Championship in November 2023. No other player has had three maximums over that period.[5] Welshman Liam Davies qualified for the main stages by overcoming a 1–3 deficit to Anthony McGill to defeat the Scotsman 4–3, making 2 century breaks in the last 3 frames. Ricky Walden, having recently been forced to withdraw from the 2025 German Masters mid‑tournament due to pancreatitis, beat Artemijs Žižins 4–2 while Thepchaiya Un-Nooh was defeated 2–4 by Ben Mertens. Martin O'Donnell, who was runner‑up in the previous year's edition of the event, was whitewashed by Hong Kong's Wang Yuchen. Yuan Sijun defeated Amir Sarkhosh 4–0 and Jimmy White was narrowly beaten 3–4 by Scott Donaldson. Welshman Jamie Clarke defeated Louis Heathcote 4–2 while Stan Moody overcame Anthony Hamilton by the same 4–2 scoreline, making a top break of 134. Hong Kong's Marco Fu whitewashed David Grace while amateur player Florian Nüßle beat Liu Hongyu 4–3 and Matthew Stevens defeated Hammad Miah 4–1.[22]
The last 16 matches were played on 13 February as the best of 7 frames.[8][23]Jackson Page whitewashed Tom Ford, and John Higgins whitewashed Yuan Sijun. Stephen Maguire beat Sanderson Lam 4–2, and Joe O'Connor defeated Matthew Stevens 4–1.[31] Luca Brecel beat Pang Junxu 4–1, Mark Selby whitewashed Jamie Jones, Ali Carter beat Ryan Day 4–1, and Jack Lisowski defeated Matthew Selt 4–2.[32]
Quarter finals
The quarter‑finals were played on 14 February as the best of 9 frames.[8][23]
In the afternoon session, in a match that lasted five hours, Mark Selby beat John Higgins 5–4. After the match, Selby said: "We both struggled and brought each other down, there were a lot of scrappy frames, if one of us had played better, the other might have raised his game. The only positive for me is that I got over the line and I can only improve tomorrow. If I had lost I would have been gutted, but now I can put that behind me." Higgins commented: "It was a mammoth game, I gave it everything. I know the shots but I've got deficiencies in my game. I just can't bring myself to play the right shot, that's the disappointing thing." Luca Brecel defeated Jackson Page 5–2. Brecel commented: "I enjoyed the game and took my chances."[33][34]
In the evening session Stephen Maguire beat Jack Lisowski 5–3. After the match Maguire said: "Jack [Lisowski] looked brilliant early on, I thought he was going to make a maximum in the fourth frame, I managed to nick that one and it changed the match. My cueing was a lot better tonight, though I still threw in a few stupid shots and I'm a long way off my best." Ali Carter beat Joe O'Connor 5–3. After the match Carter said: "I came here feeling very rough with a virus, I just had to get through the early rounds to give myself a chance, At the interval I said to my coach Chris Henry that I still felt I could play well and I was just going to go for it. I have played some turgid stuff this week, but that was by far my best tonight from 3–1 down."[35][34]
Semi finals
The semi‑finals were played on 15 February as the best of 11 frames.[8][23]
In the afternoon session Mark Selby came back from 2–3 down to take four frames in a row and beat Luca Brecel 6–3. After the match Selby said: "I got stronger as it went on, from 3–2 down that was the most composed I have felt all week. I lost my way a bit after the interval. The match turned on the plant Luca [Brecel] went for at 3–3, it was probably a one in ten shot and perhaps he shouldn't have gone for it. ... Winning the Championship League gave me confidence. I have lacked consistency at times this season so it has been great this week to put a run together. I'll enjoy the final tomorrow but I will be trying my hardest and determined to win." Brecel commented: "I didn't play well enough, I missed too many chances. I felt I was playing well enough to win the tournament, but Mark [Selby] was a very tough opponent today."[36]
In the evening session Stephen Maguire beat Ali Carter 6–4. After the match Maguire said: "It was a scrap from start to finish and I'm very happy to come out on the right end. I have done well in the scrappy frames this week because I have not been scoring well, I haven't even made a century. Working with Chris (Small) has definitely helped me. A few months ago I was losing to players who I didn't feel should be beating me. I made the call to Chris and he stripped my game back to basics. Maybe this is the reward. It's nice to be in the World Grand Prix now but for me it's all about trying to win the title. I'll only enjoy it tomorrow if I win."[37]
Final
The final was played on 16 February as the best of 17 frames, played over two sessions .[8][23]
Mark Selby, contesting his 36th ranking final, faced Stephen Maguire, who was contesting his 14th. At the end of the afternoon session the score was level at 4–4.[38] Selby was never behind at any stage in the match and won 9–6 to claim his second Welsh Open title having previously been champion in 2008. It was also his 24th ranking event title. After the match Selby said: "At 6–5 I missed an easy red and the clearance Stephen [Maguire] made was ridiculous. That could have been a turning point but I managed to get ahead again in the next frame. I had run of the ball at key moments, that can be the difference at this level. It's great to see Stephen playing well and back in a final because he is a class act." Maguire commented: "I want to say thanks to the crowd, it was unreal to have that much support. When I made the clearance for 6–6 I wanted to carry on, the interval came at the wrong time for me. From 6–6 I hardly had a chance so all credit to Mark [Selby]."[39][1]
Main draw
The results of the main draw are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeds, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[8][40][23]
The results of the qualifying rounds are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[41][10]
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Xu Si (CHN) (147)
Mark Selby (ENG)
Stephen Maguire (SCO)
