Next week’s Welsh Open will represent the last opportunity to bag points on the one-year snooker rankings list and qualification for the World Grand Prix.
It had originally been expected that the cut-off point would be the World Open, which concludes a few days before the World Grand Prix commences in Hong Kong next month.
But the World Snooker Tour clarified last week that ranking points earned at the World Open will only count towards the Race to the Players Championship.
Therefore, the top 32 players on the one-year snooker rankings list following the conclusion of the Welsh Open will gain an invitation to participate in this year’s World Grand Prix.
Having accumulated a staggering £949,200 in prize money from ranking events this term, Judd Trump leads the way and will be the top seed in Hong Kong.
Kyren Wilson, who has won three ranking titles during a prolific 2024/25 campaign, will also definitely feature in the lucrative competition.
Indeed, the majority of the current top 16 players from the official two-year snooker rankings list are in line to play at the Kai Tak Arena in March.
Reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, recent Masters winner Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, and Neil Robertson are among the other marquee names who will safely be involved.
The only member from the elite top-16 bracket who is missing out as things stands is Luca Brecel.
The Belgian Bullet’s form has somewhat improved recently compared to how it looked at the start of the campaign, when tour survival was incredibly even entering the equation.
Brecel has fewer fears these days when it comes to retaining his professional status for next season, but it doesn’t look promising in terms of qualifying for the World Grand Prix.
The 29 year-old reached the final of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in December, but the £125,000 he earned in Saudi Arabia won’t count towards his one-year snooker rankings as the tournament was classified as an invitational.
The 2023 world champion languishes down at number 58 in the Race to the World Grand Prix standings – £27,100 off Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in 32nd place.
That means Brecel requires a run to the final in Wales if he’s to secure a last-gasp spot on the plane to Hong Kong.
2025 Welsh Open Prize Money
Champion: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-Finals: £21,000
Quarter-Finals: £13,200
Round of 16: £9,000
Round of 32: £5,400
Round of 64: £3,600
Round of 96: £1,000
Highest Break: £5,000
Total: £550,400
Un-Nooh, meanwhile, will be nervously looking over his shoulder to see if he can keep his place in the lineup after suffering defeat in the Welsh Open qualifiers last week.
Ben Woollaston in 31st place also exited at the preliminary hurdle, putting the Englishman in danger of missing out as well.
The nearest challengers to that pair who are still in the running at the Welsh Open are Hossein Vafaei, Matthew Selt, and Ryan Day.
But realistically, any player who is in the Welsh Open still has a chance considering the £100,000 top prize that’s available at the Venue Cymru.
China’s Lei Peifan proved that anything is possible by emerging with the Scottish Open crown in December while ranked as the number 84 in the world.
Stephen Maguire, Noppon Saengkham, Ricky Walden, and Graeme Dott are other familiar players who are hoping for a deep run at just the right time.
The 2025 Welsh Open runs from February 10th to 16th with the Ray Reardon Trophy up for grabs in Llandudno.
The draw for the main stages of the competition is available by clicking here.
Race to the World Grand Prix
| Provisional 1-Year Snooker Rankings* | Feb 8, 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £949,200 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £512,400 |
| 3 | Xiao Guodong | £281,500 |
| 4 | Mark Williams | £250,200 |
| 5 | Barry Hawkins | £224,550 |
| 6 | Neil Robertson | £221,650 |
| 7 | Ding Junhui | £211,000 |
| 8 | Si Jiahui | £209,200 |
| 9 | Shaun Murphy | £200,900 |
| 10 | Chris Wakelin | £179,000 |
| 11 | Wu Yize | £176,200 |
| 12 | Mark Selby | £160,000 |
| 13 | Mark Allen | £143,000 |
| 14 | Lei Peifan | £141,000 |
| 15 | John Higgins | £125,550 |
| 16 | Zhang Anda | £112,150 |
| 17 | Jack Lisowski | £108,400 |
| 18 | Jimmy Robertson | £102,600 |
| 19 | Elliot Slessor | £101,850 |
| 20 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £94,500 |
| 21 | Pang Junxu | £93,400 |
| 22 | Xu Si | £92,050 |
| 23 | David Gilbert | £91,750 |
| 24 | Ali Carter | £89,800 |
| 25 | Stuart Bingham | £89,400 |
| 26 | Yuan Sijun | £86,200 |
| 27 | Tom Ford | £82,950 |
| 28 | Jackson Page | £76,100 |
| 29 | Jak Jones | £75,300 |
| 30 | Gary Wilson | £72,400 |
| 31 | Ben Woollaston | £67,900 |
| 32 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | £65,500 |
| — | — | — |
| 34 | Hossein Vafaei | £64,400 |
| 36 | Ryan Day | £57,800 |
| 41 | Stephen Maguire | £50,750 |
| 58 | Luca Brecel | £38,400 |
Click here for the full update-to-date list
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
