Race to the Masters 2025 | UK Preview
The venue stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship are set to begin on Saturday and represent the final chance for players to win prize money ahead of the crucial seeding cut-off to determine places at January’s Masters.
As in previous seasons, the world’s top 16 players after the UK Championship will qualify to play at snooker’s premier invitational event which will run from 12-19 January 2025 at the Alexandra Palace, London.
The counting period for qualification includes all prize money earned at ranking events from the 2022 Scottish Open up to and including the 2024 UK Championship.
The latest Race to the Masters standings, already taking into account the prize money still to be removed from the official world rankings from the 2022 UK Championship, shows the live standings and the true picture of how each player is looking ahead of snooker’s return to York.
It has already been confirmed that Ronnie O’Sullivan will be the top seed in London as defending champion, with reigning world champion Kyren Wilson to be drawn in the opposite half as the second seed.
Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Luca Brecel, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy currently occupy the remaining top eight seeded places in the draw.
State of Play
With the winner of this season’s first Triple Crown Series event set to earn a bumper first prize of £250,000 in York, every player as far down as 37th placed Jackson Page can mathematically qualify for the Masters by winning the title.
Prior to the first ball being struck at the York Barbican, the top 13 players are already sure of their places, with Si Jiahui the last confirmed player.
It is therefore two-time champion John Higgins who would be the first player at risk, with the Scot currently holding an advantage of £40,350 to 17th placed Jak Jones. If Higgins were to lose his opening match in York, three of the following scenarios would have to unfold for him to miss out on the Masters for the first time since 1994:
- Chris Wakelin reaches the quarter-finals
- Neil Robertson or Xiao Guodong reach the semi-finals
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins reach the final
- Any of the next 9 players in the tournament wins the title
Currently 15th on the provisional Masters list is Chris Wakelin, who is looking to secure his place at the Alexandra Palace for the first time. A last 32 exit, combined with two of the following would be enough to knock him out of contention:
- Neil Robertson or Xiao Guodong reaches the quarter-finals
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins reach the semi-finals
- David Gilbert or Robert Milkins reaches the final
- Any of the next 7 players in the tournament wins the title
Currently ‘on the bubble’ in 16th position is two-time champion Neil Robertson, who will face Judd Trump in his opening match at the venue stage. A last 32 defeat in York, together with one of the following scenarios would see him miss out:
- Xiao Guodong reaches the last 16
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins reach the quarter-finals
- David Gilbert, Robert Milkins or Jack Lisowski reaches the final
- Any of the next 6 players in the tournament wins the title
For those outside of the provisional top 16, these requirements also represent their minimum targets if they are to move into contention, with Xiao Guodong still to play his first match in the event as a top 16 seeded player.
Regular updates on the latest standings will be published here at wpbsa.com during the final stages of the UK Championship.
