🎱 British Open Snooker Betting Preview, Stats and Analysis

British Open Snooker: History and Last Ten Winners

The British Open dates back as far as 1985 when Silvino Francisco beat Kirk Stevens 12-9 in the first official Final. The tournament was withdrawn from the circuit in 2004 but was revived for the 2021/22 season. 

Some unexpected winners can be found in the British Open's history, not least the aforementioned Francisco, whose victory proved to be his only win in a ranking event during his career. Similarly, Nigel Bond’s only ranking event victory came in this event when the Derbyshire player beat Scotland’s John Higgins in the 1996 Final. Irish professional, Fergal O'Brien, was another player who found crossing the winning line in the British Open the highlight of his thirty-year career when winning the event in 1999.

Canadian Bob Chaperon, who played on the tour for fifteen seasons, recorded his only ranking event victory when defeating Alex Higgins 10-8 in Higgins’ last appearance in a major final in 1990. Popular 1980s player Tony Meo had plenty of success partnering Steve Davis in the World Doubles Championships but achieved his only ranking event win as a solo player in the British Open in 1989. Players such as Mike Hallett, Dean Reynolds, Gary Wilkinson, Ian McCulloch and James Wattana (three times) also made the Final of the British Open.

Some more familiar names have also had notable success in the British Open. 

Seven-time World Champion, Stephen Hendry won the British Open four times (1988, 1991, 1999 and 2003) and made the Final on two other occasions. Hendry notably beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-6 in the British Open Final in 2003, the only time Hendry beat O’Sullivan in a ranking event Final. Hendry and O’Sullivan played each other in six major finals with The Rocket winning on five occasions.

John Higgins also won the British Open four times (1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004) as well as losing 9-8 to Nigel Bond in the Final in 1996. 

The last ten winners of the British Open are detailed below:

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Recent Snooker Event Winners

Below is a table of all the major tournament winners and runners-up for the last twelve months.

We saw fourteen different winners of the last twenty-one main tournaments on the World Snooker Tour:

The table above does not include minor events such as the Championship League and the Shootout.

There were four multiple event winners in the last twelve months. Detailed as follows:

• Xhao Zintong (4 events)
• Mark Selby (3 events)
• Wu Yize (2 events)
• Judd Trump (2 events)

The seedings are a useful guide when considering a bet on any of the major snooker events. In the table above you can see that eighteen of the twenty tournaments were won by players ranked in the top twenty.

Perhaps the only real big shock of the season was the win of the forty-first ranked Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the World Open, who was winning only his second ranking event in a career that stretches back to 2009. Un-Nooh's only other ranking event victory came in the 2019 Shootout so it could be argued the World Open was his first meaningful tournament win.

Some other lowly ranked players made it to finals, such as Anthony McGill (58) in the British Open and Chang Bingyu (68) in the Scottish Open. The last named looks a player to follow  and could go one place better in an event this season.

If you have your eye on an outsider winning a big event this year one of the Home Nations tournaments are probably the most likely to provide a shock.

British Open Snooker 2025 Review

Shaun Murphy won the 2025 British Open, beating Anthony McGill 10-7 in a closely fought final.

The 2025 British Open was played at the Centaur in Cheltenham from 22nd to the 28th September.

Murphy's victory was his thirteenth ranking tournament win and pushes Murphy up to twelfth in the two-year rolling rankings. The forty-three-year-old Englishman made seven centuries during the tournament and defeated Ross Muir, Scott Donaldson, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mitchel Mann, Mark Selby and Anthony McGill on his way to picking up the trophy.

Despite losing out in the final, this was a major return to form for McGill who was making his first ranking final since 2017.

The total prize money fund for the event was £502,000 with £100,000 going to the winner.

Gary Wilson made the highest break of 144 and received £5000.

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British Open 2025: Draw and results

Matches are of a duration of seven frames up to and including Round Four. For the Quarter-Finals the match length is nine frames. The Semi-Finals are over eleven frames and the Final is a best of nineteen.

The British Open is unusual in that there is a random draw before each round (like the FA Cup) rather than the traditional draw format which is based on rankings.

Finals - Best of nineteen frames (rankings in brackets):

• Shaun Murphy (13) v Anthony McGill (58) 10-7

Semi-Finals - Best of nine frames (rankings in brackets):

• Shaun Murphy (13) v Mark Selby (1) 6-1
• John Higgins (6) v Anthony McGill (58) 3-6

Quarter-Finals - Best of nine frames (rankings in brackets):

• Mark Selby (1) v Mark Williams (5) 5-3
• John Higgins (6) v Louis Heathcote (112) 5-2
• Anthony McGill (58) v Stan Moody (61) 5-3
• Shaun Murphy (13) v Mitchell Mann (83) 5-1

Round Four - Best of seven frames (rankings in brackets):

• Mark Selby (1) v Chang Bingyu (114) 4-0
• Mark Williams (5) v Lei Peifan (30) 4-1
• John Higgins (6) v Ben Mertens (69) 4-1
• Barry Hawkins (9) v Mitchell Mann (83) 2-4
• Judd Trump (3) v Shaun Murphy (13) 3-4
• Ali Carter (16) v Stan Moody (61) 3-4
• Xiao Guodong (12) v Anthony McGill (58) 2-4
• Liam Davies (73) v Louis Heathcote (102) 2-4
• 
  

Round Three - Best of seven frames (rankings in brackets):

• Iulian Boiko (104) v Ali Carter (16) 0-4
• Zhang Anda (11) v Xiao Guodong (12) 3-4
• Louis Heathcote (102) v Zak Surety (62) 4-0
• Ben Mertens (69) v Robbie McGuigan (81) 4-0
• Mitchell Mann (83) v Antoni Kowalski (68) 4-2
• John Higgins (6) v Zhao Xintong (2) 4-2
• Judd Trump (3) v Martin O'Donnell (42) 4-2
• Barry Hawkins (9) v Jak Jones (20) 4-3
• Stan Moody (61) v Ian Burns (95) 4-2
• Cheung Ka Wai (77) v Lei Peifan (30) 1-4
• Joe O'Connor (27) v Mark Selby (1) 4-3
• Chang Bingyu (114) v Noppon Saengkham (32) 4-3
• Anthony McGill (58) v Oliver Lines (64) 4-1
• Mark Williams (5) v Mark Allen (10) 4-3
• Liam Davies (73) v David Lilley (56) 4-2
• Shaun Murphy (13) v Neil Robertson (8) 4-1

Round Two - Best of seven frames (rankings in brackets):

• Chang Bingyu (114) v Long Zehuang (57) 4-1
• He Guoqiang (44) v Robbie McGuigan (81) 3-4
• Ben Woollaston (41) v Noppon Saengkham (32) 3-4
• Haris Tahir (79) v Louis Heathcote (102) 2-4
• Amir Sarkhosh (72) v Jak Jones (20) 0-4
• Iulian Boiko (104 v Sam Craigie (96) 4-2
• Ian Burns (95) v Marco Fu (91) 4-3
• Zak Surety (62) v Ashley Carty (am) 4-0
• Ryan Davies (am) v Liam Davies (73) 2-4
• Robert Milkins (48) v Antoni Kowalski (68) 2-4
• Xu Yichen (115) v David Lilley (56) 3-4
• Mitchell Mann (83) v Gao Yang (117) 4-3
• Cheung Ka Wai (77) v Matthew Stevens (51) 4-3
• Lei Peifan (30) v Matt Selt (33) 4-1
• Martin O'Donnell (42) v Sunny Akani (67) 4-2
• Joe O'Connor (27) v Allan Taylor (71) 4-1
• Barry Hawkins (9) v Yuan Sijun (29) 4-0
• Stan Moody (61) v Kyren Wilson (4) 4-2
• Zhang Anda (11) v Bai Yulu (85) 4-3
• Neil Robertson (8) v Xu Si (40) 4-1
• Mark Williams (5) v Sanderson Lam (59) 4-3
• John Higgins (6) v Jack Lisowski (24) 4-3
• Umut Dikme (am) v Xiao Guodong (12) 2-4
• Jackson Page (35) v Oliver Lines (64) 1-4
• Anthony McGill (58) v Gary Wilson (17) 4-1
• Stuart Bingham (21) v Zhao Xintong (2) 1-4
• Leone Crowley (109) v Judd Trump (3) 1-4
• Ben Mertens (69) v Reanne Evans (98) 4-0
• Wu Yize (19) v Ali Carter (16) 3-4
• Liu Hongyu (55) v Mark Selby (1) 3-4
• Bulcsu Revesz (76) v Mark Allen (10)  1-4
• Scott Donaldson (54) v Shaun Murphy (13) 1-4

Round One - Best of seven frames (rankings in brackets):

• Chang Bingyu (114) v Kreish Gurbaxani (88) 4-2
• Jak Jones (20) v Gong Chenzi (65) 4-1
• Noppon Saengkham (32) v Liu Wenwei (120) 4-1
• Liam Davies (73) v Jimmy White (120) 4-2
• Martin O'Donnell (42) v Sahil Nayyar (122) 4-1
• Oliver Lines (64) v Stuart Carrington (am) 4-1
• Barry Hawkins (9) v Daniel Wells (43) 4-0
• Zhao Xintong (2) v Ashley Hugill (am) 4-3
• Umut Dikme (am) v Michal Szubarczyk (121) 4-3
• Judd Trump (3) v Aaron Hill (49) 4-0
• Anthony McGill (58) v Dylan Emery (105) 4-3
• Ashley Carty (am) Alexander Ursenbacher (99) 4-2 (Ashley Carty replaced Luca Brecel who withdrew)
• Ben Mertens (69) v Liam Pullen (108) 4-3
• Mitchell Mann (83) v Wang Yuchen (70) 4-3
• Sanderson Lam (59) v Daniel Wormersley (am) 4-2 (Wormersley replaced Ronnie O'Sullivan who withdrew)
• Pang Junxu (25) v Wu Yize (19) 0-4
• Matthew Stevens (51) v Huang Jiahao (84) 4-2
• Yuan Sijun (29) v Jamie Jones (50) 4-3
• Alfie Davies (am) v Neil Robertson (8) 0-4 (Davies replaces Tom Ford who withdrawn due to medical reasons)
• David Lilley (56) v Liam Graham (42) 4-2
• Joe O'Connor (27) v Ricky Walden (39) 4-2
• Anton Kowalski (68) v Chris Totten (80) 4-0
• Reanne Evans (98) v Lan Yuhao (123) 4-1
• Lei Peifan (30) v Mateusz Baranowski (110) 4-0
• Robert Milkins (48) v Fan Zhengyi (47) 4-2
• Leone Crowley (109) v Hatem Yassen (90) 4-0
• Jiang Jun (107) v Mark Allen (10) 1-4
• Matthew Selt (33) v David Gilbert (22) 4-0
• Xu Yichen (115) v Oliver Brown (97) 4-2
• Stan Moody (61) v Zhou Yuelong (31) 4-2
• Jackson Page (35) v Elliot Slessor (28) 4-2
• Gao Yang (117) v Fergal Quinn (116) 4-2
• Kyren Wilson (4) v Chris Wakelin (15) 4-1
• Marco Fu (91) v Stephen Maguire (26) 4-3
• He Guoqiang (44) v Farakh Ajaib (82) 4-0
• Sunny Akani (67) v Steven Hallworth (100) 4-0
• David Grace (94) v Mark Selby (1) 1-4
• Xu Si (40) v Florian Nuble (103) 4-0
• Ryan Davies (am) v Jimmy Robertson (34) 4-3
• Ross Muir (101) v Shaun Murphy (13) 1-4
• Haris Tahir (79) v Ken Doherty (86) 4-3
• Long Zehuang (57) v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3
• Bulcsu Revesz (76) v Robbie Williams (46) 4-1
• Scott Donaldson (54) v Ishpreet Singh Chadha (60) 4-2
• Robbie McGuigan (81) v Lyu Haotian (37) 4-2
• Amir Sarkhosh (72) v Mink Nutcharut (87) 4-1
• Xiao Guodong (12) v Haydon Pinhey (78) 4-1
• Jack Lisowski (24) v Liam Highfield (93) 4-3
• Mark Williams (5) v Si Jiahui (14) 4-2
• Zhang Anda (11) v Duane Jones (66) 4-3
• Iulian Boiko (104) v Connor Benzey (118) 4-2
• Ben Woollaston (41) v Julien Leclercq (74) 4-2
• Patrick Whelan (am) v Ali Carter (16) 2-4
• Allan Taylor (71) v Chatchapong Nasa (119) 4-2
• Zak Surety (62) Zhao Hanyang (112) 4-2
• Liu Hongyu (55) v Ng On Yee (113) 4-0
• Cheung Ka Wai (77) v Jonas Luz (89) 4-1
• Ian Burns (95) v Michael Holt (63) 4-1
• Stuart Bingham (21) v Ryan Day (36) 4-2
• Louis Heathcote (102) v Jordan Brown (52) 4-3
• Sam Cragie (96) v Yao Pengcheng (111) 4-1
• John Higgins (6) v Mark Davis (53) 4-3
• Bai Yulu (85) v Artemijs Zizins (75) 4-2
• Gary Wilson (17) v Hossein Vafaei (23)

British Open 2024: Format and draw

Matches are of a duration of seven frames up to and including Round Four. For the Quarter-Finals the match length is nine frames. The Semi-Finals are over eleven frames and the Final is a best of nineteen.

The British Open is unusual in that there is a random draw before each round (like the FA Cup) rather than the traditional draw format which is based on rankings. 

Final - Best of nineteen frames

Mark Selby v John Higgins 10-5

Semi-Finals - Best of eleven frames

Mark Selby v Mark Allen 6-3

John Higgins v Oliver Lines 6-0

Quarter Finals - Best of nine frames

David Gilbert v Mark Selby 4-5

Elliot Slessor v John Higgins 1-5

Jak Jones v Oliver Lines 4-5

Judd Trump v Mark Allen 3-5 (Trump made his 1000th century in this match)

Round 4 - Best of seven frames

John Higgins v Rory Thor 4-0

Judd Trump v Stephen Maguire 4-2

Oliver Lines v Stan Moody 4-1

David Gilbert v Lyu Haotian 4-3

Mark Selby v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3

Mark Allen v Chris Wakelin 4-3

Elliot Slessor v Kyren Wilson 4-2

Jak Jones v Luca Brecel 4-2

Round 3 - Best of seven

Yuan Sijun v Mark Selby 3-4

Jak Jones v Iulian Boiko 4-1

Zhang Anda v Stan Moody 3-4

Haris Tahir v Lyu Haotian 2-4

Neil Robertson v Rory Thor 4-1

Stuart Bingham v Stephen Maguire 3-4

David GIlbert v Ashley Carty 4-3

Elliot Slessor v Xu Si 4-3

John Higgins v Graeme Dott 4-2

Mark Davis v Judd Trump 2-4

Ricky Walden v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3-4

Oliver Lines v Sunny Akani 4-3

Marco Fu v Kyren Wilson 0-4

Ben Mertens v Mark Allen 1-4 (Allen made a 147)

Liam Davies v Luca Brecel 1-4

David Grace v Chris Wakelin 2-4

Round 2 - Best of seven

Aaron Hill v Mark Allen 1-4

Yuan Sijun v Robbie Williams 4-2

Ashley Carty v Long Zehuang 4-0

Bulcsu Revesz v Stuart Bingham 0-4

David Gilbert v Ben Woollaston 4-1

Sunny Akani v Antoni Kowalski 4-1

Mark Selby W/O Lim Kok Leong

Hossein Vafaei v Zhang Anda 1-4

Tian Pengfei v Luca Brecel 2-4

Rory Thor v Mark Joyce 4-3

Allan Taylor v Lyu Haotian 1-4

Hammad Miah v Ben Mertens

Neil Robertson v Chris Totten 4-1

Kyren Wilson v Duane Jones 4-1

David Grace v Lewis Ullah

Ryan Day v Judd Trump 2-4

Haris Tahir v Simon Blackwell 4-1

Marco Fu v Ma Hailong 4-2

Graeme Dott v Zhou Yuelong 4-1

Stan Moody v Michael Holt 4-0

Xu Si v Gong Chenzi 4-1

Jak Jones v Alfie Burden 4-0

Ricky Walden v Jamie Clarke 4-0

Elliot Slessor v Martin O'Donnell 4-3

Stephen Maguire v Liam Graham 4-1

Anton Kazakov v Liam Davies 0-4

Thepchaiya Un Nooh v Noppon Saengkham 4-0

Chris Wakelin v Wu Yize 4-2

Iulian Bolko v Si Jiahui 4-1

Cheung Ka Wai v Oliver Lines 3-4

Mark Davis v Xiao Guodong 4-2

John Higgins v Shaun Murphy

Qualifying

Some of the bigger named players have had their qualifying matches held over the main venue (all of these matches to played on Monday 23rd September):

Mark WIlliams v Rory Thor 1-4

Ross Muir v John Higgins 1-4

Bulcsu Revesz v Ali Carter 4-3

Lewis Ullah v Manasawin Phetmalaikul 4-2 (Phetmalaikul was originally due to play Ronnie O'Sullivan who withdrew)

Pang Junxu v Mark Selby 3-4

Ryan Day v Louis Heathcote 4-1

Robert Milkins v Judd Trump 1-4

Gary Wilson v Mark Allen 3-4

Jordan Brown v Zhang Anda 2-4

Sanderson Lam v Jak Jones 2-4

Luca Brecel v Mohammed Shebab 4-1

Ding Junhui v Aaron Hill 3-4

Barry Hawkins v Liam Davies 1-4

Shaun Murphy v Ian Burns 4-0

Kyren Wilson v Julien Leclercq 4-0

The qualifying event was played at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. Some of the big names who didn’t make it through qualifying this year were: Jack Lisowski, Tom Ford, Matt Selt and Anthony McGill

Noppon Saengkham made the high break of 127 at the qualifying arena.

Which bookmaker should you use for your snooker bets? Our best bookmakers for snooker betting guide gives you all the answers you could need.

Other Snooker Articles on OLBG

• The Masters
• UK Championship
• European Masters
• Wuhan Open
• Home Nations Series  (covers Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open, English Open and Welsh Open)
• World Championship
• Best Matches of the 80s and the 90s
• Evolution of maximum breaks
• Shanghai Masters
• Player Form in China since 2015
• How much can snooker players earn

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