2025 Xi’an Grand Prix: Difference between revisions

 

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===Main stage centuries===

===Main stage centuries===

A total of 72 [[century break]]s have been made during the main stage of the tournament in [[Xi’an]].<ref name=”S_info_cent_M”>{{cite web |title=Centuries: Xi-an Grand Prix – 42 |url=https://snookerinfo.co.uk/2025-26/#xi-an-grand-prix-42 |website=snookerinfo.co.uk |date=8 October 2025 |access-date=8 October 2025}}</ref>

A total of 72 [[century break]]s have been made during the main stage of the tournament in [[Xi’an]].<ref name=”S_info_cent_M”>{{cite web |title=Centuries: Xi-an Grand Prix – |url=https://snookerinfo.co.uk/2025-26/#xi-an-grand-prix- |website=snookerinfo.co.uk |date= October 2025 |access-date= October 2025}}</ref>

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* [[Maximum break|147]], 131, 104, 102 {{ndash}} [[Aaron Hill (snooker player)|Aaron Hill]]<ref name=”:5″ />

* [[Maximum break|147]], 131, 104, 102 {{ndash}} [[Aaron Hill (snooker player)|Aaron Hill]]<ref name=”:5″ />

Snooker competition

Snooker tournament

The 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix (officially the 2025 Du Xiaoman Xi’an Grand Prix)^[1] is a professional snooker tournament that is taking place from 7 to 13 October 2025 at the Qujiang Sports Complex in Xi’an, China. Qualifying took place from 1 to 3 September at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. The second consecutive edition of the tournament since its inaugural staging in 2024, it is the sixth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 British Open and preceding the 2025 Northern Ireland Open. It is being broadcast by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia; by TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland; by Eurosport, Discovery+, and HBO Max in mainland Europe; and by WST Play in all other territories. The winner will receive £177,000 from a total prize fund of £850,000.

Kyren Wilson is the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–8 in the 2024 final.

At the qualifiers in Leicester, Zhou Yuelong made the third maximum break of his professional career in his 5‍–‍2 win over Julien Leclercq. During the held-over qualifiers in Xi’an, Trump made the ninth maximum of his career in his 5‍–‍2 win over Ng On-yee. Aaron Hill made the second maximum of his career in his 5‍–‍2 win over Huang Jiahao in the second round. These maximums were respectively the 8th, 12th, and 13th of the season and the 225th, 229th, and 230th in professional snooker history. Trump and Hill both made their maximums on 7 October, marking the fifth time in the sport’s history that multiple 147s were made on the same day.

The inaugural 2024 edition of the Xi’an Grand Prix was won by Kyren Wilson, who defeated Judd Trump 10–8 in the final.^[2][3] The 2025 edition—the second staging of the tournament—is taking place from 7 to 13 October at the Qujiang Sports Complex in Xi’an.^[1] Qualifying took place from 1 to 3 September at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England.^[4] The tournament is the sixth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 British Open and preceding the 2025 Northern Ireland Open.^[5]

All matches up to and including the quarter‑finals are the best of nine frames. The semi‑finals will be the best of 11 frames, and the final will be the best of 19 frames, held over two sessions.^[6][7]

Marco Fu won his qualifying match in Leicester but withdrew from the tournament’s main stage after suffering a fractured elbow. His withdrawal meant that the defending champion Kyren Wilson received a bye to the last 32.^[8] Scott Donaldson and Jamie Jones also withdrew from the main stage, as a result of which Mark Williams and Yuan Sijun also received byes to the last 32.^[6][9][10]

The qualifying round was broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live and Migu [zh]. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. In all other territories, it was streamed by WST Play.^[11]

In mainland China, the main stage is being broadcast by the same broadcasters as the qualifying round, with the addition of coverage on CCTV5. It is being broadcast by TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In mainland Europe, it is being broadcast by Eurosport, with coverage by Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and HBO Max in other European territories. It is being broadcast by Now TV in Hong Kong, by TrueSports in Thailand, and by Sportcast in Taiwan. In territories where no other coverage is available, it is being streamed by WST Play.^[12]

The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:^[9]

In the qualifiers held in Leicester from 1 to 3 September, Zhou Yuelong made the third maximum break of his career in the fourth frame of his 5‍–‍2 victory over Julien Leclercq. It was the eighth maximum of the season and the 225th in professional snooker history.^[13] Having missed the season’s opening tournaments—including failing to appear for his 2025 Wuhan Open qualifying match—the 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel made his first professional appearance since losing in the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Snooker Championship over four months earlier.^[14] Facing Sunny Akani and playing with a new cue, Brecel scored just six points in the first two frames as he fell 0–2 behind. While trailing 1–40 in the third frame, he conceded the match, and Akani won 5–0 by default.^[15][16][17] The world number 111 Liam Pullen took a 4–1 lead over four-time World Champion John Higgins and went on to win the match 5–3.^[17] Stan Moody, who had recently reached his first ranking quarter-final at the 2025 Wuhan Open, recovered from 2–4 behind to defeat Amir Sarkhosh in a deciding frame.^[17] Farakh Ajaib came from 54 points behind in his decider against Zhang Anda to win the match on the last black. Xu Yichen, who had recently turned professional, made four consecutive half-century breaks as he came from 1–4 behind to beat Jack Lisowski in a deciding frame.^[17]

Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14, the youngest player ever to turn professional, took a 4–1 lead over Martin O’Donnell. O’Donnell recovered to tie the scores at 4–4, but Szubarczyk won the deciding frame.^[18] David Grace took a 4–0 lead over Anthony McGill, but McGill won four consecutive frames to force a decider, which lasted 48 minutes before Grace won the match on the last black.^[18] Mark Allen and Wu Yize also advanced to the main stage by winning deciding frames, over Mitchell Mann and Florian Nüßle respectively.^[18] Louis Heathcote beat Lei Peifan 5–3, making a 135 break in the last frame. New professional player Yao Pengcheng made a 137 break as he defeated Zak Surety 5–1.^[18] Jiang Jun, the world number 124, whitewashed the world number 25 Hossein Vafaei, while Barry Hawkins made century breaks of 121 and 134 as he whitewashed Hatem Yassen.^[19] Marco Fu made breaks of 106, 99, and 71 as he beat Sanderson Lam 5–1, and Stephen Maguire made a highest break of 85 as he defeated the reigning World Women’s Champion Bai Yulu 5–2.^[19] Wang Yuchen lost the first three frames against Pang Junxu but recovered to win five consecutive frames for a 5–3 victory.^[19]

In the held-over qualifiers in Xi’an, Judd Trump made the ninth maximum break of his career, and his first since 2022, in the fifth frame of his 5–2 win over Ng On-yee. It was the 12th maximum of the season and the 229th in professional snooker history.^[20][21] Ronnie O’Sullivan played his 1,000th match at a ranking event and made two centuries of 107 and 112 as he whitewashed Iulian Boiko. Following his first competitive match since the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, O’Sullivan said: “I haven’t played for nearly two months so it felt a bit strange to play a serious game. I felt a bit rusty. My preparation on the practice table has been good, but practice and playing matches are very different.” The defending champion and world number two Kyren Wilson made breaks of 52, 60, 103, and 76 as he defeated Haris Tahir 5–1. Wilson, who had not reached a semi-final since winning the 2025 Shanghai Masters, stated that he had spent less time practicing in previous weeks due to health issues affecting his wife. Ding Junhui defeated Sam Craigie 5–1 and Neil Robertson beat Leone Crowley by the same score. Gary Wilson produced back-to-back centuries of 123 and 144 as he whitewashed Zhang Xiao. The reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong defeated Wang Xinbo 5–2, but the world number 15 Chris Wakelin lost 3–5 to wildcard player Zhang Hao.^[22][21][23]

Aaron Hill made the second maximum break of his career during his 5–2 win over Huang Jianbo, having made his first maximum 23 days earlier at the 2025 English Open. It was the 13th maximum break of the season and the 230th in professional snooker history. Trump and Hill both made their maximums on 7 October, marking the fifth time in the sport’s history that multiple 147s were made on the same day.^[20][21] The recent 2025 English Open runner-up Zhou made two centuries and three half-centuries as he beat Ryan Day 5–2. Louis Heathcote whitewashed Jackson Page, and Elliot Slessor made centuries of 132 and 117 as he defeated Ricky Walden 5–3. Jak Jones defeated Dylan Emery 5–1.^[22][21]

Facing Matthew Stevens, the world number one and previous year’s runner-up Trump took a 3–1 lead, but Stevens then won three frames in a row to move 4–3 ahead. Trump required snookers in frame eight, as he trailed by 38 points with only the colours remaining, but he secured penalty points from fouls on the blue and pink and went on to win the frame on a re-spotted black to tie the scores at 4–4. However, Trump failed to score in the decider and Stevens won the frame and match. Trump’s loss meant that he had not reached a ranking quarter-final since the 2025 World Snooker Championship. O’Sullivan made a century of 128 and three further half-centuries as he defeated Yao Pengcheng 5–1. “I feel like I’m cueing as well as I have done since 2012,” O’Sullivan said afterwards. “I played well between 2016 and 2019, but the last few years were pretty awful. I know I had some good wins but I was struggling with ball striking. At the moment I’m hitting the ball so pure and so clean.”^[24][25][26]

The reigning World Champion Zhao, who also had not reached a ranking quarter-final since the World Championship, lost 2–5 to the world number 56 Robert Milkins in a match that produced only two half-century breaks. Zhao took a 2–1 lead, but Milkins then won four consecutive frames to advance. “I was expecting Zhao to play better, but he struggled,” Milkins said afterwards. “You just have to take it. I’ve lost a lot of deciders this season and it has put me in a bad position. I’ve really been struggling and everything is like a pint of blood at the moment.” The 10th seed Mark Selby and the 11th seed Allen both lost in deciding frames to Mark Davis and Oliver Lines respectively. The world number 49 Moody advanced with a 5–3 victory over Ali Carter.^[25][26]

Kyren Wilson made two centuries as he continued his title defence with a 5–2 victory over Yuan Sijun. “It’s a great feeling defending the title and I want to make that last as long as possible,” Wilson said afterwards. “I really enjoyed being here for the first time last year so I was looking forward to coming back. When you are excited and happy as a player, it brings out the best in you.” O’Sullivan made a century of 134 as he whitewashed Maguire to reach the last 16 having lost just one frame. Maguire scored only 25 points in the match. “This game has a way of humbling you,” O’Sullivan commented afterwards. “So far I’m very happy, but maybe next month I’ll be saying this game is really hard. You have to enjoy it when it’s good, and when it’s not you have to get through those periods.” Pullen made breaks of 103, 83, 96, 101, and 77 as he whitewashed Noppon Saengkham to reach the last-16 stage of a ranking event for the second time. Afterwards, Pullen called the victory “the best win of my career and the best I have played.”

Lines recovered from 2–4 behind to defeat Slessor with a clearance of 58 in the deciding frame. “I kept telling myself I was going to do it, and that calmed me down,” said Lines of his match-winning break. Milkins defeated Jimmy Robertson in a decider, making three centuries of 127, 113, and 121 in the match, including his 200th century in professional competition. The world number three Neil Robertson made century breaks of 126 and 103 but lost in a deciding frame to He Guoqiang. Facing Wu, Shaun Murphy, recent winner of the 2025 British Open, made breaks of 140, 94, 138, and 78 and won the match in a decider. Gary Wilson made two centuries as he beat Mateusz Baranowski, also in a deciding frame. Hawkins defeated Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–2, and Mark Williams beat Zhou by the same score. Hill defeated Davis 5–1, making breaks of 97, 131, 81, and 102, and Stuart Bingham advanced with a whitewash victory over Moody.^[27][28]

The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players’ names denote the top 32 seeded players, and players in bold denote match winners. An (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour.

Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

The results of the held-over qualifying matches played in Xi’an are given below. An (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour.

The results of the qualifying matches played in Leicester are given below.

A total of 72 century breaks have been made during the main stage of the tournament in Xi’an.^[29]

A total of 25 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Leicester.^[30]