There are 16 gamers within the draw who’re nonetheless in competition for glory because the 2025 Welsh Open creeps towards the enterprise finish of the week in Llandudno.
It was a day of upsets on Wednesday with a number of marquee names bowing out of the working on the Venue Cymru.
The likes of Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Mark Williams, and Neil Robertson all exited the competitors within the spherical of 32.
World quantity 4 Mark Selby is the highest-ranked competitor remaining within the 2025 Welsh Open draw, with solely 4 top-16 members nonetheless concerned altogether.
Like Selby, two of the opposite three are former champions with document five-time winner John Higgins and 2009 champion Ali Carter on the right track for a repeat triumph.
Selby, who edged Elliot Slessor in a deciding-frame thriller on day three, subsequent encounters Jamie Jones.
Higgins and Carter will hope to increase their runs within the calendar yr’s second rating occasion once they play Yuan Sijun and Ryan Day respectively.
Who can win the House Nations bonus?
The one different top-16 participant is Luca Brecel, who will face Pang Junxu in an fascinating tie that would have large implications for the House Nations bonus.
Robertson’s 4-3 defeat to Tom Ford yesterday left the door ajar for world champion Wilson to leapfrog the Australian into high spot on the House Nations sequence rankings.
However the current German Masters champion succumbed to a shock 4-3 reverse of his personal to Joe O’Connor, leaving Brecel and Pang as the one two cueists left who may catch Robertson.
One of many pair is now assured to achieve the quarter-finals, however they should go all the best way and win the title if they’re to grab the £150,000 jackpot bonus from the Melbourne man.
Race to the World Grand Prix
Brecel, after all, additionally wants to achieve the ultimate if he’s to safe a last-gasp ticket to the upcoming World Grand Prix by the one-year rating record.
Certainly, there are a number of gamers within the final 16 of the 2025 Welsh Open who may nonetheless nab a spot in subsequent month’s Hong Kong draw.
A win for Day over Carter would see the Welshman displace Hossein Vafaei within the high 32 of the provisional one-year standings.
However Stephen Maguire, O’Connor, Matthew Stevens, Sanderson Lam, and Jones may all drive their approach into competition in that race too relying on how outcomes go over the subsequent few days.
Matthew Selt, who faces Jack Lisowski for a quarter-final berth, seems to be fairly protected in thirtieth place and would solely be denied by a selected sequence of outcomes.
| Provisional 1-12 months Snooker Rankings* | Feb 12, 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £949,200 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £517,800 |
| 3 | Xiao Guodong | £281,500 |
| 4 | Mark Williams | £255,600 |
| 5 | Neil Robertson | £227,050 |
| 6 | Barry Hawkins | £224,550 |
| 7 | Ding Junhui | £211,000 |
| 8 | Si Jiahui | £209,200 |
| 9 | Shaun Murphy | £200,900 |
| 10 | Chris Wakelin | £184,400 |
| 11 | Wu Yize | £181,600 |
| 12 | Mark Selby | £169,000 |
| 13 | Mark Allen | £148,400 |
| 14 | Lei Peifan | £141,000 |
| 15 | John Higgins | £134,550 |
| 16 | Zhang Anda | £117,550 |
| 17 | Jack Lisowski | £117,400 |
| 18 | Elliot Slessor | £107,250 |
| 19 | Jimmy Robertson | £102,600 |
| 20 | Pang Junxu | £102,400 |
| 21 | Ali Carter | £98,800 |
| 22 | David Gilbert | £97,150 |
| 23 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £94,500 |
| 24 | Xu Si | £92,050 |
| 25 | Tom Ford | £91,950 |
| 26 | Yuan Sijun | £91,600 |
| 27 | Stuart Bingham | £89,400 |
| 28 | Jackson Web page | £85,100 |
| 29 | Jak Jones | £75,300 |
| 30 | Matthew Selt | £73,250 |
| 31 | Gary Wilson | £72,400 |
| 32 | Hossein Vafaei | £69,800 |
| — | — | — |
| 34 | Ryan Day | £66,800 |
| 38 | Stephen Maguire | £59,750 |
| 42 | Joe O’Connor | £55,050 |
| 48 | Luca Brecel | £47,400 |
| 56 | Matthew Stevens | £43,550 |
| 67 | Sanderson Lam | £34,000 |
| 80 | Jamie Jones | £28,350 |
Click on right here for the total update-to-date record
(snooker.org)
Can there be a Welsh champion?
Maguire beat dwelling favorite Williams on Wednesday to arrange a fixture towards Lam, who’s the lowest-ranked participant left within the hunt for the Ray Reardon Trophy this yr.
Williams is the one earlier Welsh champion, and historically this has been a nasty occasion for the native contingent.
However 1 / 4 of the last-16 lineup is Welsh, and there’s the potential for an thrilling climax for the house followers on the Venue Cymru.
Veterans Day and Stevens may arrange an thrilling quarter-final battle towards each other if they’ll get previous Carter and O’Connor respectively.
Jones has a troublesome one towards Selby, whereas younger expertise Jackson Web page meets Snooker Shoot Out champion Tom Ford.
2025 Welsh Open draw
Final 16 (bo7)
Matches to be performed on Thursday, February thirteenth. Occasions in UTC.
Jackson Web page vs Tom Ford (1pm)
Pang Junxu vs Luca Brecel (est: 9pm)
Mark Selby vs Jamie Jones (7pm)
John Higgins vs Yuan Sijun (1pm)
Matthew Selt vs Jack Lisowski (est: 9pm)
Sanderson Lam vs Stephen Maguire (est: 3pm)
Ryan Day vs Ali Carter (7pm)
Matthew Stevens vs Joe O’Connor (est: 3pm)
Featured picture credit score: WST
