The 2025 British Open (officially the 2025 Unibet British Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 28 September 2025 at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place from 25 to 28 June at the Leicester Arena in Leicester. The fifth consecutive edition of the tournament since it was revived in 2021, it was the fifth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 English Open and preceding the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix. It was broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, and by WST Play in mainland Europe and all other territories. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000.
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated John Higgins 10–5 in the 2024 final, but he lost 1–6 to Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals. The final was contested between Murphy and Anthony McGill, who reached his first ranking final in eight years. Murphy defeated McGill 10–7 to win his first British Open title and the 13th ranking title of his career. The event produced 74 century breaks, 11 during the qualifiers in Leicester and 63 at the main venue in Cheltenham, of which the highest was a 144 by Gary Wilson in his second-round match against McGill.
Overview
The tournament began in 1980 as the non-ranking British Gold Cup, won by Alex Higgins. Held as the non-ranking Yamaha Organs Trophy in 1981 and the non-ranking Yamaha International Masters from 1982 to 1984, it was renamed the British Open in 1985, when it also gained ranking status. Staged 21 times as a ranking event from 1985 until its discontinuation after the 2004 edition, the tournament was revived as a ranking event in 2021. In 2022, the tournament trophy was named the Clive Everton Trophy to honour the longtime commentator and snooker journalist.
The 2025 edition of the tournament was held from 22 to 28 September at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place from 25 to 28 June at the Leicester Arena in Leicester. The tournament was the fifth ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 English Open and preceding the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix. Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated John Higgins 10–5 in the 2024 final.
Format There was no seeding system and the draw was randomised for every round. All matches up to the quarterfinals were played as the best of 7 . The quarterfinals were the best of 9 frames, the semifinals were the best of 11 frames, and the final was the best of 19 frames, played over two .
The 16 qualifying matches featuring the highest ranked players were held over to be played in Cheltenham. Several players withdrew from the event and were replaced in the draw by the highest available players from the Q School top-up list. Luca Brecel withdrew before the qualifiers in Leicester and was replaced by Ashley Carty. Ronnie O'Sullivan and Tom Ford withdrew for medical reasons before the held-over qualifiers in Cheltenham and were replaced respectively by Daniel Womersley and Alfie Davies.
Broadcasters
The qualifying round was broadcast by Discovery+ in Germany, Austria and Italy; by HBO Max in other European territories; by Huya Live, , the CBSAWPBSA Academy WeChat Channel and the CBSAWPBSA Academy Douyin in China; and by WST Play in the United Kingdom and all other territories worldwide without a broadcast agreement in place.
The main stage was broadcast in the UK and Ireland by ITV, which carried the tournament for the final time before domestic coverage moved to 5 for the 2026 edition. The main stage was broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying round. It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Malaysia and Brunei by Astro SuperSport, in Thailand by True Sports, in Taiwan by Sportcast, and in the Philippines by TAP Sports. In mainland Europe, and in territories where no other coverage was available, the tournament was streamed via WST Play.
Prize fund The winner of the event received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000. The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:
Winner: £100,000 Runner-up: £45,000 Semi-final: £20,000 Quarter-final: £12,000 Last 16: £9,000 Last 32: £6,000 Last 64: £3,000 Highest break: £5,000
Total: £502,000
Summary
Round one (qualifiers)
All matches before the quarter-final stage were played as the best of seven . At the qualifiers held in Leicester, Marco Fu lost the first three frames against Stephen Maguire but made of 140, 81, and 104 to tie the scores at 3–3 and then won the . Jackson Page trailed Elliot Slessor 1–2 but won three consecutive frames for a 4–2 victory, while Haris Tahir beat Ken Doherty 4–3, making an 81 break in the decider. Amateur player Ryan Davies, who received a top-up place in the event via the Q School Order of Merit, defeated Jimmy Robertson on the last of the deciding frame. Jack Lisowski made a 72 break in the decider to beat Liam Highfield, while Liam Davies defeated Jimmy White 4–2. Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14, the youngest player ever to turn professional, took a 3–2 lead over Umut Dikme, another top-up amateur player from the Q School Order of Merit. Dikme came from behind to win frame six on the and then made a 55 break to win the decider. Stuart Bingham made breaks of 102, 56, and 75 as he beat the 2022 champion Ryan Day, and Ben Mertens recovered from 1–3 behind against Liam Pullen to win the match in a deciding frame. Chang Bingyu made breaks of 118, 93, 64, and 70 as he beat Kreishh Gurbaxani 4–2.
Two female players advanced to the last 64, the reigning World Women's Champion Bai Yulu and the 12-time World Women's Champion Reanne Evans. Bai defeated Artemijs Žižins 4–2 after he attempted a maximum break in the second frame of the match but missed the 14th black. Evans secured a 4–1 victory over 16-year-old Lan Yuhao, who was playing his first season on the professional tour. Robbie McGuigan defeated Lyu Haotian 4–2, while Stan Moody made breaks of 55, 66, and 97 as he beat Zhou Yuelong by the same score. Returning to the tour after an extended absence due to a neck injury, Sam Craigie recorded his first professional victory in 16 months with a 4–1 win over Yao Pengcheng. New tour player Leone Crowley recorded his first professional victory with a whitewash win over Hatem Yassen, while Matthew Selt whitewashed David Gilbert and Lei Peifan whitewashed Mateusz Baranowski. From 46 behind in the decider, Long Zehuang made a of 57 to defeat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, while Robert Milkins advanced with a 4–2 victory over Fan Zhengyi.
At the held-over qualifiers played in Cheltenham, the defending champion Mark Selby defeated David Grace 4–1, and the previous year's runner-up John Higgins came from 1–3 behind to beat Mark Davis in a deciding frame. Judd Trump, the world number one, made two centuries of 103 and 101 as he whitewashed Aaron Hill in 53 minutes. "I have felt good this season, the results just haven't quite come," said Trump, who had not won a title in 2025. "Games like the one tonight give you a boost. I have scored well in most matches, my opponents have just some brilliant balls at the winning line and not given me a chance." The reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong defeated amateur player Ashley Hugill in a deciding frame, and Neil Robertson whitewashed amateur player Alfie Davies. Kyren Wilson made a 141 break as he beat Chris Wakelin 4–1, and Mark Williams made a 127 in the last frame of his 4–2 victory over Si Jiahui. Shaun Murphy advanced by beating Ross Muir 4–1, while Mark Allen, recent winner of the 2025 English Open, defeated Jiang Jun by the same score.
Round two (last 64)
The world number 55 Stan Moody, recently a quarter-finalist at the 2025 Wuhan Open, made a century of 132 as he moved into a 3–1 lead over Kyren Wilson, the 2024 World Champion. Wilson made an 82 break in the fifth frame, but Moody secured a 4–2 victory by winning frame six. Calling it his "best win on tour," Moody said afterwards: "Beating Ding [at the 2025 Wuhan Open] was very good but this tops it, on ITV in front of a big crowd in Cheltenham. I tried to stay as calm as I could towards the end and managed to get over the line." Higgins trailed Lisowski 0–2 and 2–3 but won the sixth frame on the colours and then took the deciding frame with a century of 132. Following his second consecutive victory in a decider, Higgins said: "I am so lucky to still be in the tournament. I really need to improve. I know I have not put the effort into practice and you get what you deserve. I should have gone out in the first round. But the last frame today did give me some confidence." Williams came from 2–3 behind to beat the world number 61 Sanderson Lam in a decider.
Zhao beat Stuart Bingham 4–1, making centuries of 127 and 133. Facing Bai, Zhang Anda made three consecutive centuries of 101, 130, and 125 as he took a 3–1 lead. Bai recovered to tie the scores at 3–3 as she attempted to become the first woman to defeat a top-16 opponent in a ranking tournament. However, Zhang won the decider to advance. Mertens whitewashed Evans, the other female player in the last 64. McGuigan defeated He Guoqiang, winning the deciding frame on the last black. Anthony McGill eliminated Gary Wilson 4–1, although Wilson made the tournament's highest break of 144 in the frame he won. Robertson defeated Xu Si by the same score. Allen advanced by beating Bulcsú Révész, also by a 4–1 scoreline, while Iulian Boiko defeated Craigie 4–2.
Mitchell Mann arrived late for his match against Gao Yang after his car broke down en route to the venue. He was docked the first frame and also lost the second, but he recovered to tie the scores at 2–2. Gao won the fifth frame, but Mann made a 72 break to force a decider, which he won by clearing from the last . Trump lost the first frame against Crowley but won four in a row for a 4–1 victory. Murphy defeated Scott Donaldson by the same score. The defending champion Selby made breaks of 115 and 94 as he won the first three frames against Liu Hongyu, but Liu produced breaks of 86, 58, and 100 as he drew level at 3–3. Selby won the deciding frame with a 65 break. Cheung Ka Wai also defeated Matthew Stevens in a decider.
Round three (last 32)
Higgins, who had stated during the 2025 Wuhan Open that he was struggling for motivation that season, made breaks of 76, 82, and 55 as he defeated Zhao 4–2. Zhao made centuries of 133 and 135 in the two frames he won. Liam Davies compiled breaks of 123, 59, and 63 to beat David Lilley 4–2, while Mann defeated Antoni Kowalski by the same score. Davies and Mann reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the second and fifth time respectively. Louis Heathcote made a century break of 105 as he advanced with a whitewash win over Zak Surety, and McGill made a highest break of 91 as he beat Oliver Lines 4–1. Barry Hawkins lost the first two frames against Jak Jones and also trailed 2–3 but recovered to win the match with an 88 break in the deciding frame. "I was terribly at the start of the match and felt jaded," Hawkins said afterwards."It was only in the last frame that I switched on and made a really good break, so I'm delighted to still be in the tournament."
Facing Robertson, Murphy produced breaks of 86 and 50 as he won the first two frames. Robertson took the third with a century of 100, but Murphy won frame four on the colours. In the fifth, Robertson missed the last red while on a break of 66, and Murphy recovered to win the frame on a for a 4–1 victory. Facing Joe O'Connor, the defending champion Selby won the first three frames. O'Connor recovered to force a deciding frame, but Selby won the decider to advance. Williams defeated Allen, also in a deciding frame. Ali Carter whitewashed Boiko, while Mertens advanced to the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time by whitewashing McGuigan. Xiao Guodong beat Zhang with a 62 break in the deciding frame.