There isn’t a lot of time left to secure automatic seeding for the 2025 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
A brief lull in the action this week gives a lot of the players time to assess what they need to do to make sure of their involvement at the sport’s blue-riband event.
As usual, the top 16 players from the official two-year world rankings list will guarantee their spots in the 2025 World Snooker Championship draw.
Anyone below that cut-off point after the Tour Championship in April will be forced into the dreaded qualifying competition.
The remaining 16 tickets will then be up for grabs at the English Institute of Sport, culminating with the ever-dramatic final round known as Judgement Day.
Kyren Wilson is assured of being the top seed this year as the reigning world champion, the Kettering cueist etching his name onto the trophy for the first time in 2024.
World number one Judd Trump – boasting an enormous points lead in the rankings – will definitely be the second seed on the opposite side of the draw.
The first round at the Crucible Theatre will also feature the likes of former world champions Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, and Luca Brecel.
This will be a particularly important edition of the World Championship for the Belgian Bullet.
Brecel’s £500,000 earnings from his 2023 success in Sheffield will be deducted from his tally at the end of the season, meaning a dramatic plummet down the ranking list could be forthcoming.
Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, and Barry Hawkins occupy the remaining spots in the top ten of the provisional World Snooker Championship seeding positions.
While that quartet appears safe, there could be some nervous moments ahead for contenders further down the pecking order.
Si Jiahui is 11th as things stand and has a healthy buffer of almost £100,000 to the player in 17th, but the Chinese 22 year-old has failed to qualify for next week’s World Open.
Below Si lies four-time world champion John Higgins, Xiao Guodong, Jak Jones, Gary Wilson, and Neil Robertson.
The latter in 16th boasts a lead of just £3,650 over Chris Wakelin, with neither player set to participate in Yushan in a week’s time.
The top 16 Crucible seeds in 2024. Photo credit: WST
Three proven tournament winners from the 2024/25 snooker season are placed in the following three spots and are provisionally missing out on World Championship seeding.
Snooker Shoot Out champion Tom Ford and Championship League Snooker winner Ali Carter would be forced into the qualifiers as things stand.
Perhaps most surprising is the presence of Shaun Murphy in 20th position.
The Magician captured a memorable Masters triumph in January, but as an invitation event it didn’t carry any ranking points.
Despite being the current world number eight on the official list, Murphy has big points from his 2023 Players and Tour Championships double success soon being subtracted from his total.
Good news for Murphy fans is that the 42 year-old is 10th on the one-year rankings based on points earned from this season alone.
He is already in the draw for the upcoming World Grand Prix, but a ranking of 10th on that list would additionally see him qualify for the 16-strong Players Championship and the 12-player Tour Championship.
That would grant Murphy with a potentially vital opportunity to defend those points that he is set to lose from two years ago.
Remaining ranking events
World Open: Feb 23 – Mar 1
World Grand Prix: Mar 4 – 9
Players Championship: Mar 17 – 23
Tour Championship: Mar 31 – Apr 6
World Championship: Apr 19 – May 5
Provisional Tour Championship lineup
1. Judd Trump
2. Kyren Wilson
3. Xiao Guodong
4. Mark Selby
5. Mark Williams
6. Neil Robertson
7. Barry Hawkins
8. Ding Junhui
9. Si Jiahui
10. Shaun Murphy
11. Chris Wakelin
12. Wu Yize
Indeed, any player who can manage to get all the way to the Tour Championship will be given the greatest opportunity to earn more money and, with that, seeding at the Crucible.
Wu Yize – twice a runner-up in ranking events this term – is in 21st on the provisional race to the World Championship standings.
However, the 21 year-old from China is 12th on the one-year list and would qualify for the Tour Championship in Manchester as things stand.
Last year’s World Championship semi-finalists David Gilbert and Stuart Bingham are others who are looking for a strong couple of months to safeguard their returns to the Crucible.
With huge sums of money on offer in all four of the remaining ranking events prior to Sheffield, everything remains up for grabs.
There is a champion’s cheque worth £175,000 available at the World Open and an elevated £180,000 top prize at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
The Players Championship and the Tour Championship have both been given monetary boosts this season as well with £150,000 rewarded to the winners in both.
It promises to be an exciting couple of months with a special reward in store for the players who can hit a timely purple patch.
Race to the 2025 World Snooker Championship
Provisional Crucible seedingFeb 20, 20251Kyren Wilson£1,130,3002Judd Trump£1,740,2003Ronnie O’Sullivan£690,0004Mark Selby£658,0005Mark Williams£638,6006Luca Brecel£623,9007Mark Allen£567,9008Ding Junhui£497,0009Zhang Anda£496,55010Barry Hawkins£468,05011Si Jiahui£425,20012John Higgins£406,25013Xiao Guodong£369,00014Jak Jones£364,80015Gary Wilson£358,90016Neil Robertson£332,050———17Chris Wakelin£328,40018Tom Ford£323,40019Ali Carter£320,30020Shaun Murphy£313,90021Wu Yize£288,60022David Gilbert£287,65023Hossein Vafaei£260,30024Stuart Bingham£258,90025Jack Lisowski£255,60026Stephen Maguire£242,750Click here for the full updated list (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
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Publish date : 2025-02-19 20:58:00
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