The 2025 Snooker Shoot Out (officially the 2025 9Club Snooker Shoot Out) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 10 to 13 December 2025 at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England, where the tournament was previously held from 2011 to 2015. The 16th consecutive edition of the tournament since it was revived in 2011, it was the 10th ranking event of the 202526 season, following the 2025 UK Championship and preceding the 2025 Scottish Open. It was broadcast by TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by Eurosport in mainland Europe, by local channels in China and elsewhere in Asia, and by WST Play in all other territories. The winner received £50,000 from a total prize fund of £171,000.
The tournament was played under a variation of the standard rules of snooker, with each match contested over a single , lasting a maximum of 10 minutes. Tom Ford was the defending champion, having defeated Liam Graham 3128 in the 2024 final, but he lost 21–55 to Stuart Bingham in the fourth round. Former professional player Alfie Burden, competing in the tournament as an amateur substitute, won the first ranking title of his 30-year career by defeating Bingham 63–8 in the final. He won the title the day before his 49th birthday, making him the oldest maiden ranking event winner, surpassing Doug Mountjoy, who had won the 1988 UK Championship at age 46. Burden was the second player to win a ranking title while competing as an amateur, following Zhao Xintong at the 2025 World Snooker Championship.
The tournament produced four century breaks, the highest of which was a 141 by Wu Yize in the first round. Wu's century was the third-highest break in the history of the event.
Overview The tournament was the seventeenth edition of the Snooker Shoot Out, first held as a nonranking event in 1990 before being revived in 2011 and since then having been held annually. It was promoted to a ranking event starting with the 2017 edition. Tom Ford was the defending champion, having defeated Liam Graham 3128 in the 2024 final.
Format
The tournament was played using a variation of the traditional snooker rules. The draw was randomised before each round. All matches were played over a single , each of which lasted up to 10 minutes. The event featured a variable shot clock; players were allowed 15 seconds per shot during the first five minutes and 10 seconds per shot during the final five minutes. The player with the most points after the time runs out or after all balls have been pocketed (or after a foul on the final ) won the match. All resulted in the opponent receiving a . Unlike traditional snooker, a foul was called if a ball did not either hit a or enter a pocket on every shot. Rather than a coin toss, a was used to determine which player . In the event of a draw, the frame would be decided by a " shootout". With the cue ball placed inside and the blue ball on its spot, the players took alternate shots until one player had potted the blue more times than their opponent from an equal number of attempts.
Amateur nominations The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association nominated the following eight amateur players to participate in the tournament, alongside other amateurs and professionals:
Vladislav Gradinari, English Under-18 Champion Riley Powell, Welsh Under-18 Champion Steven Wardropper, Scottish Under-18 Champion Jack O’Brien, Irish Under-18 Champion Kaylan Patel, 2025 WSF Junior Championship Runner-Up Ethan Llewellyn, 2025 EBSA European Under-18 Championship Runner-Up Ellise Scott, ranked first in the World Women's Snooker Under-21 list Joel Connolly, Northern Ireland Under-21 Champion
Broadcasters The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland by TNT Sports and Discovery+. It was broadcast in mainland Europe by Eurosport, with streaming coverage on Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and on HBO Max in other European territories. It was broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live, and . It was broadcast in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Thailand by TrueSports, in Malasyia & Brunei by Astro SuperSport, in Taiwan by Sportcast, and in the Philippines by TAP Sports. In territories where no other coverage was available, the tournament was streamed by WST Play.
Prize fund The prize fund for the tournament is shown below:
Winner: £50,000 Runner-up: £20,000 Semi-final: £8,000 Quarter-final: £4,000 Last 16: £2,000 Last 32: £1,000 Last 64: £500 Last 128: £250 Highest break: £5,000
Total: £171,000
Summary
Round one (last 128) The first-round matches were played on 10 and 11 December. The defending champion Tom Ford defeated Martin O'Donnell by nine points. "Getting the first win on the board definitely settles your nerves," said Ford afterwards. "I think quickly and I usually know what I'm doing before the white stops rolling so that's why this event suits me." Michael Holt, winner in 2020 and runner-up in 2019, trailed Ashley Hugill by seven points with 45 seconds remaining. He Hugill, who then committed a time foul, allowing Holt to pot a and a to win. The victory was controversial, as bleeps did not sound to warn Hugill that the shot clock was about to expire. Alfie Burden, who secured a place in the event that morning when Alex Clenshaw withdrew, faced David Lilley after a four-hour drive from London. Burden came from 46 points behind to win the match with a 49 break. Luca Brecel won his first professional match since September as he defeated Long Zehuang. Brecel said afterwards: "I felt very calm, in control of the game and potted some good balls. In this event you just have to pot balls and don't do stupid things."
Shaun Murphy, the only player in the event's history to make a maximum break, potted five reds and five before missing the sixth red. He later made another break of 51 to secure victory over Patrick Whelan. "Not everything has to be hard work and super-serious all the time," Murphy said. "It's great to come here and have interaction with the crowd, like a big exhibition. I love it!" Ishpreet Singh Chadha trailed Dean Young by 11 points with 50 seconds remaining. Young missed a red, and Chadha potted two reds and two blacks to secure victory. David Gilbert made a 106 break as he beat Matthew Stevens, and Sanderson Lam made a 105 to defeat Jonas Luz.
Ng On-yee made a 25 break to move 16 points ahead of the world number nine Mark Allen, winner of the December 2023 event. In the last seconds, Allen potted two reds and two pinks but missed a ; Ng won the match, becoming the first woman to beat a top-10 player at a ranking event. She said afterwards: "I hope it helps people realise this is not just a male sport. Women can play snooker too and hopefully there will be more to join our sport." Ellise Scott, aged 14, attempted to become the youngest female player to win a match at a ranking event. She led the reigning World Women's Champion Bai Yulu by two points with less than a minute remaining, but Bai secured victory after Scott missed a shot with the . Wu Yize made a 141 against Craig Steadman, the third-highest break in the tournament's history. The reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong led Ross Muir by eight points with two minutes remaining, but Muir won the match with a break of 15 after Zhao missed a red. The previous year's runner-up Liam Graham defeated Cheung Ka Wai, saying afterwards: "This format really suits me, I play fast and I enjoy the buzz and the crowd." Michał Szubarczyk, aged 14 and playing in his debut season on the tour, defeated Jamie Jones.
Sahil Nayyar, playing in his first season on the professional tour, defeated Antoni Kowalski. Having trailed by one point with two minutes remaining, Nayyar potted a red and a blue to move ahead, securing victory after Kowalski missed a red. It was his second win on the professional tour. "It was nerve-wracking but I enjoyed it," Nayyar said afterwards. "When I was preparing I just tried to see the ball and hit it fast, go for it and whatever happens will happen." Amateur player Zachary Richardson trailed the world number 15 Si Jiahui 8–26 but won the match with a 59 break, becoming one of ten amateur players to reach the last 64. "I am really pleased by how I took the opportunity," he said. "It was a really good experience." Stephen Maguire lost to Farakh Ajaib, and former winner Anthony McGill lost to Liam Davies. Stuart Bingham made a 76 break to defeat Jack O'Brien.
Round two (last 64) The second-round matches were played on 12 December. Stan Moody trailed Lan Yuhao by 42 points with two minutes and four reds remaining but cleared to the pink to win the match. "I'm still shaking, I thought I was out," said Moody afterwards. "It was amazing at the end when the crowd were chanting my name. I love getting them involved and having some fun." From 52 points behind against Ricky Walden, Liam Highfield made breaks of 38 and 15, moving one point in front. With seconds remaining, Walden missed a cut on the to a , and Highfield secured victory. Oliver Lines came from 36 points behind to beat Chang Bingyu, while the defending champion Ford defeated Jimmy Robertson, and Gilbert beat Wu. Belgian players Ben Mertens and Julien Leclercq advanced with victories over Graham and Szubarczyk respectively.
Ng took a 51–0 lead over Aaron Hill, who responded with a break of 45. Ng secured victory after Hill missed the last red to a baulk pocket with ten seconds remaining. She reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the second time that season, having previously reached that stage at the 2025 Championship League. "I'm very happy to win a couple of matches and it helps me just to play against the likes of [Allen] and [Hill]," she said afterwards. "In practice I have tried to be decisive, getting down on the shot and committing to it." Brecel made a 52 break to beat Murphy. Muir trailed Liu Hongyu 34–60 with a minute remaining but made a clearance to win the match, potting the black with just five seconds left.
Mitchell Mann trailed Stuart Carrington by two points with 30 seconds left but won the match after Carrington the blue while playing a shot. Jackson Page recovered from 28 points behind to defeat Holt. Bulcsú Révész secured his first appearance in the last 32 of a ranking event as he beat Davies. Kaylan Patel, a 17-year-old amateur, defeated fellow amateur Kayden Brierley and paid tribute afterwards to practice partner Ben Woollaston, who he said had helped him improve as a player. Amir Sarkhosh defeated Nayyar with an 85 break, and Burden also made an 85 break as he beat Chadha. Elliot Slessor made a break of 57 as he advanced with a win over amateur Paul Deaville.
Round three (last 32) The third-round matches were played on 13 December. Five amateur players, Ethan Llewellyn, Patel, Halim Hussain, Richardson, and Burden reached the last 16. Llewellyn, playing the day before his 18th birthday, defeated Ryan Day. "It's unbelievable, I just came here for the experience but I have played well," he said "I am getting more shaky as the day goes on but hopefully I can hold it together tonight." Patel defeated Révész, while Richardson beat Mann and Hussain defeated Oliver Brown. Burden defeated Gary Wilson, eliminating the last top-16 player from the event. Defending champion Ford won his 10th consecutive Shoot Out match, beating Gilbert. Brecel lost to Fan Zhengyi, who made a break of 75. Moody defeated Ng, and Bingham made a 74 break to beat Lam. Iulian Boiko defeated Lines after Lines missed a red to a corner pocket with two minutes remaining.
Round four (last 16)