UK Snooker Championship 2025 Betting Tips: Craig’s four potential Finalists

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UK Championship 

The Barbican Centre in York, which has hosted the event since 2011 and previously from 2001 to 2006, provides a familiar stage for the championship. 

Building on the venue's history, many players have a love-hate relationship with the Barbican, where conditions can be particularly challenging. Certain players, such as Marl Selby, Shaun Murphy, John Higgins and Mark Williams, struggle badly with playing conditions at the Barbican, while others thrive. 

All matches are best of 11 frames, except the final of 19 frames for the £250,000 first prize. 

*You can bet on the event and check out all of the latest UK Snooker Championship 2025 Betting Odds over on betfred.com

Last 32 draw 

• Judd Trump v Stephen Maguire 
• Si Jiahui v Ryan Day 
• Ding Junhui v Xu Si 
• Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson 
• Mark Williams v David Gilbert 
• Xiao Guodong v Pang Junxu 
• Wu Yize v Michael Holt 
• Neil Robertson v Julien Leclercq 
• Kyren Wilson v Elliott Slessor 
• Barry Hawkins v David Lilley 
• Mark Selby v Lei Peifan 
• Ronnie O’Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong 
• John Higgins v Ben Woollaston 
• Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian 
• Gary Wilson v Zhang Anda 
• Zhao Xintong v Long Zehuang 

Why Ding is the each-way value for the Fourth UK Championship? 

Ding Junhui: 1 point each-way @ 20/1 

Our lead selection, Ding Junhui, has demonstrated a particular success at the Barbican and the UK Championship, with three UK titles and two final appearances in the last three seasons, highlighting his strong connection with the venue.

It is also true to state that November has been a productive month in recent campaigns, as evidenced by his win in last season’s International Championship, the ranking event directly preceding the UK Championship. 

The Barbican is a unique venue on the WST roster because there are several top players who, for betting purposes, you can put a line through, while there are a handful of players who play their best snooker all season, and Ding comes out top of that list. 

His defence of the title a couple of weeks ago showed Ding in prolific form in the opening rounds when scoring eight century breaks in his first three matches, before losing to the in-form Shaun Murphy. 

That should be the perfect tune-up for Ding as he attempts to win a fourth UK Championship, and the Betfred price of 20/1 is worth a 1-point each-way bet.

If it is not the Master, will the Pupil win?  

Zhao Xintong: 2-points @ 9/2

Ding Junhui has long been acclaimed as the title of Chinese Master, but his pupil, the new world champion Zhao Xintong, has the ammunition to overtake his illustrious master in the coming years. 

If we rewind the clock to 2021, Zhao Xintong was the shock 200/1 winner, before his ban for match fixing. That alone is proof that the world champion is fine with the heavier conditions in York, and after a subdued start to his season, there is palpable evidence that he is finding his best game.  

Certainly, reaching the semi-finals at the International Championship, followed by the Champion of Champions, where he looked in fine nick, reaching the semi-final. 

Then last week, Xintong carried his momentum to Saudi to win the Riyadh Snooker Championship and £250,000. 

The seeded draw has also been kind to Xintong, with a reasonable path to the quarterfinals, a privilege afforded to the reigning world champion who is seeded No. 2 for all events the following season. 

Betfred offers 9/2 about Zhao Xintong winning his second UK Championship and given his draw and the unique nature of the venue, there is value in a 2-point each-way play.

Can Robbo win a third UK at Barbican? 

Neil Robertson: 1.5 points each-way @ 9/1

Popular Aussie, Neil Robertson, has a proven history at the Barbican Centre in York, winning the 2013 and 2015 renewals of snooker’s major championship. 

The forty-three-year-old also won the hastily rearranged UK Championship of 2020, which was played behind closed doors in Milton Keynes during the Covid pandemic. 

After a slump in form a couple of seasons ago that saw the Australian drop out of the top 16, Robertson has rededicated himself to the sport and increased his team, particularly with his good friend, the now-retired Joe Perry, in his corner as coach. 

The improvement in match play has been palpable for the free-scoring former world champion, with him winning more tactical frames under Perry’s expert tutelage. The evidence for this can be found in Robertson’s elite break-building statistics, which have declined slightly despite winning a significantly higher number of matches. 

Such was Robertson’s break-building prowess that he was used to playing match snooker on his own terms and occasionally would come unstuck in the tactical exchanges. With Perry’s help, he has addressed that deficiency in his game and now wins more matches, thanks to his growing tactical acumen. 

Once again, take Betfred’s each-way option on Neil Robertson for the UK Championship.

Can the Hawk fly under the radar? 

Barry Hawkins: 1 point each-way @ 25/1  

Barry Hawkins has consistently remained overlooked by bettors and snooker enthusiasts despite a record of accomplishment from high-level performances.  

He has been placed in the most challenging section, facing three world champions: Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby, and Kyren Wilson. Despite this, I see a clear path for Barry Hawkins to reach the final and win his quarter.  

Selby and Wilson have never held any fears for the Milton Keynes cue man, and Ronnie has a difficult draw versus Zhou Yuelong and Selby to get past first.  

Wilson will be his last 16 opponent, and there are rumours that the 2024 world champion has cue problems like Judd Trump. Like Trump, with those nagging doubts lingering, there is no way a player can bring his full focus to bear.  

The forty-six-year-old veteran of the tour has been a model of consistency this season with £140,000 plus banked and a 50+ break rate phenomenally high at 2.23. 

His pedigree in the Triple Crown is exceptional, with four runner-up finishes, and he is undoubtedly the best player never to win one!  

Last year, he reached his first UK final after a semi-final in 2021, illustrating that he is finally starting to get to grips with snooker at the Barbican Centre.  

Overall, prices of 25/1 offer each-way value on Barry Hawkins, making a fifth triple crown final this week, and it could finally be time for "the Hawk" to fly away with one!