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Players Championship 2025: Format and Prize Fund
The Players Championship will be played at the Telford International Centre between the 17th and 22nd February
The event is the second leg of the bonus Players Series which features the top players on the one-year ranking list. The other two tournaments in this series are the World Grand Prix (won this season by Zhao Xintong) and the Tour Championship, which was won last season by John Higgins.
The Players Championship will feature the top sixteen players in the one-year ranking list after the World Grand Prix.
The first three rounds of the event are played over eleven frames. The final is played over two sessions and consists of nineteen frames.
The Players Championship has a total prize fund of £500,000:
- Winner: £150,000
- Runner-up: £75,000
- Semi-final: £35,000
- Quarter-final: £20,000
- Last sixteen: £15,000
- Highest break: £10,000
OLBG's expert snooker tipsters will have tips on all the matches at The Players Championship.
Players Championship 2026: Draw and Results
First Round Draw - Best of eleven frames (player ranking in brackets):
- Neil Robertson (1) v John Higgins (16)
- Chris Wakelin (8) v Xiao Guodong (9)
- Judd Trump (5) v Zhou Yuelong (12)
- Mark Williams (4) v Barry Hawkins (13)
- Shaun Murphy (3) v Zhang Anda (14)
- Zhao Xintong (6) v Elliot Slessor (11)
- Wu Yize (7) v Mark Allen (10)
- Mark Selby (2) v Jack Lisowski (15)
Players Championship: One-year ranking list
The Players Championship features the top sixteen players on the one-year ranking list.
Players receive points based on their performance in the previous events in the 25/26 season.
Not sure which bookmaker to have your Players Championship be with? Why not check out our guide to the best bookmakers for snooker odds?
Below is the final one-year points list after the completion of the World Grand Prix:
| Current Rating | Player | Points this season | Centuries this season | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Neil Robertson | 620,300 | 50 | |
| 2. | Mark Selby | 399,350 | 59 | |
| 3. | Shaun Murphy | 364,900 | 48 | |
| 4. | Mark Williams | 309,800 | 18 | |
| 5. | Judd Trump | 304,350 | 44 | |
| 6. | Zhao Xintong | 293,550 | 52 | |
| 7. | Wu Yize | 271,300 | 47 | |
| 8.* | Chris Wakelin | 239,800 | 17 | |
| 9. | Xiao Guodong | 213,000 | 42 | |
| 10. | Mark Allen | 202,350 | 24 | |
| 11. | Elliot Slessor | 190,300 | 18 | |
| 12. | Zhou Yuelong | 170,000 | 24 | |
| 13. | Barry Hawkins | 168,800 | 21 | |
| 14. | Zhang Anda | 165,400 | 33 | |
| 15. | Jack Lisowski | 165,400 | 28 | |
| 16. | John Higgins | 163,600 | 16 |
*Ronnie O'Sullivan qualified in eighth place on the on-year list but he has chosen not to play in this event. This means that John Higgins is the final player to qualify for the Players Championship.
Some notable missing names from the field for this season's Players Championship, most notably last year's winner, Kyren Wilson who is only twenty-second on the one-year list. Other big names to miss out include Ding Junhui, Si Jiahui, Gary WIlson and Ali Carter.
Players Championship: The tournaments that made up the rankings for this event are listed below
There are thirteen events that count towards qualification for the Players Championship and all thirteen tournaments have been won by different players.
| Tournament | Winner + points won | Runner-up + points won | Semi-Finalists + points won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship League | Stephen Maguire 33,000 | Joe O'Connor 23,000 | Ricky Walden Ben Mertens 11,000 |
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Neil Robertson 50,000 | Ronnie O'Sullivan 20,000 | Elliot Slessor Chris Wakelin 10,000 |
| Wuhan Open | Xiao Guodong 140,000 | Gary Wilson 63,000 | Mark Allen Mark WIlliams 30,000 |
| English Open | Mark Allen 100,000 | Zhou Yuelong 45,000 | Jak Jones Mark Selby 21,000 |
| British Open | Shaun Murphy 100,000 | Anthony McGill 45,000 | Mark Selby John Higgins 20,000 |
| Xian Grand Prix | Mark Williams 177,000 | Shaun Murphy 76,000 | Gary Wilson Daniel Wells 34,500 |
| Northern Ireland Open | Jack Lisowski 100,000 | Judd Trump 45,000 | Mark Allen Zhou Yuelong 21,000 |
| International Championship | Wu Yize 175,000 | John Higgins 75,000 | Zhao Xintong Stephen Maguire 33,000 |
| UK Championship | Mark Selby 250,000 | Judd Trump 100,000 | Shaun Murphy Neil Robertson 50,000 |
| Shoot-Out | Alfie Burden 50,000 | Stuart Bingham 20,000 | Iulian Boiko Noppon Saengkham 8,000 |
| Scottish Open | Chris Wakelin 100,000 | Chang Bingyu 45,000 | Mark Allen Matthew Selt 21,000 |
| German Masters | Judd Trump 100,000 | Shaun Murphy 45,000 | Ali Carter Neil Robertson 21,000 |
| World Grand Prix | Zhao Xintong 180,000 | Zhang Anda 80,000 | Zhou Yuelong Xiao Guodong 35,000 |
Players Championship: Previous Winners
The Players Championship has yet to establish a permanent home with ten different venues used in the event’s fifteen-year history.
There have been eleven different winners of the Players Championship with Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Ronnie O’Sullivan all winning the event twice.
Details of all the previous winners, runners-up, final score and venue can be found below:
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kyren Wilson | Judd Trump | 10-9 | Telford International Centre |
| 2024 | Mark Allen | Zhang Anda | 10-8 | Telford International Centre |
| 2023 | Shaun Murphy | Ali Carter | 10-4 | Aldersley Leisure Village Wolverhampton |
| 2022 | Neil Robertson | Barry Hawkins | 10-5 | Aldersley Leisure Village Wolverhampton |
| 2021 | John Higgins | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 10-3 | Marshall Arena Milton Keynes |
| 2020 | Judd Trump | Yan Bingtao | 10-4 | Southport Theatre |
| 2019 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Neil Robertson | 10-4 | Preston Guild Hall |
| 2018 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Shaun Murphy | 10-4 | Venue Cymru Llandudno |
| 2017 | Judd Trump | Marco Fu | 10-8 | Venue Cymru Llandudno |
| 2016 | Mark Allen | Ricky Walden | 10-6 | Event City Manchester |
| 2015 | Joe Perry | Mark Williams | 4-3 | Montien Riverside Hotel Bangkok |
| 2014 | Barry Hawkins | Gerard Greene | 4-0 | Preston Guild Hall |
| 2013 | Ding Junhui | Neil Robertson | 4-3 | Bailey Allen Hall Galway |
| 2012 | Stephen Lee | Neil Robertson | 4-0 | Bailey Allen Hall Galway |
| 2011 | Shaun Murphy | Martin Gould | 4-0 | The Helix Dublin |
Remember to check out OLBG's top Snooker tipsters
Players Championship: Highest Break winners
Below is a table outlining the high break winners from all of the Players Championship events where the final was played over nineteen frames:
| Year | Player | High Break |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Judd Trump Mark Selby | 139 139 |
| 2024 | Mark Allen | 146 |
| 2023 | Shaun Murphy | 145 |
| 2022 | Kyren Wilson | 141 |
| 2021 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 144 |
| 2020 | Neil Robertson | 140 |
| 2019 | Neil Robertson | 140 |
| 2018 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 143 |
| 2017 | Judd Trump | 136 |
| 2016 | Ding Junhui | 143 |
The players in bold also won the tournament.
Players Championship 2025: Draw and Results
Kyren Wilson underlined that he is the main rival to Judd Trump's ranking as World Number one when defeating Trump 10-9 in an absorbing final that probably did not play out the way most people expected.
Both players had been playing some unbelievable snooker during the earlier rounds of the Players Championship and a high-scoring match looked a certainty given the form of the finalists. As it was, the final only saw one century with both players finding conditions in Telford particularly challenging. The table and the balls came in for criticism with misses from both players occurring with far more frequency than had been seen during the earlier rounds.
The first session had finished 4-4 but Trump won the opening frame of the evening to take a slender lead. Wilson then kicked into overdrive winning the next four frames for an 8-5 lead. Trump retaliated, winning four of the next five frames to take the final into a decider. Both players had chances in the final frame but eventually Wilson crossed the line for a tense 10-9 victory and his fourth ranking event title of the season.
The World Champion has obviously relished his year as champion and will be a force to be reckoned with in the remaining two tournaments of the season.
Final - Best of nineteen frames:
Kyren Wilson v Judd Trump 10-9
Semi-Finals - Best of eleven frames:
Judd Trump v John Higgins 6-4
Kyren Wilson v Neil Robertson 6-5
Quarter-finals - Best of eleven frames:
Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy 6-0
Xiao Guodong v John Higgins 5-6
Neil Robertson v Mark Selby 6-3
Kyren Wilson v Mark Williams 6-3
First Round Draw - Best of eleven frames (player ranking in brackets):
Judd Trump (1) v Lei Peifan (16) 6-2
Barry Hawkins (8) v Shaun Murphy (9) 4-6
Xiao Guodong (5) v Wu Yize (12) 6-5
John Higgins (4) v Chris Wakelin (13) 6-5
Neil Robertson (3) v Stuart Bingham (14) 6-4
Mark Selby (6) v Si Jiahui (11) 6-3
Mark Williams (7) v Ding Junhui (10) 6-2
Kyren Wilson (2) v Mark Allen (15) 6-3
Players Championship 2024: Draw and Results
Mark Allen added his eleventh ranking event victory when taking the Players Championship in a hard-fought victory over Zhang Anda, 10-8.
Allen is up to number three on the world rankings and was winning his seventh major event in the last three seasons.
The full draw and results from the Players Championship are listed below:
Final - Best of nineteen frames:
Mark Allen v Zhang Anda 10-8
Semi-Finals - Best of eleven frames:
Mark Allen v Ali Carter 6-3
Mark Selby v Zhang Anda 5-6
Quarter Finals - Best of eleven frames:
Judd Trump v Ali Carter 4-6
Mark Allen v Gary Wilson 6-4
Zhang Anda v John Higgins 6-4
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby 0-6
First Round - Best of eleven frames:
Judd Trump v Chris Wakelin 6-2
Tom Ford v Ali Carter 2-6
Mark Williams v Mark Allen 3-6
Gary Wilson v Hossein Vafaei 6-4
Zhang Anda v Noppon Saengkham
Ding Junhui v John Higgins 4-6
Barry Hawkins v Mark Selby
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong 6-2
