World Snooker Championship 2025

Day Seven:

Session One: 10am
Mark Allen (8) 4-12 Chris Wakelin
Mark Williams (6) 4-4 Hossein Vafaei
(Both matches resume tonight 7pm)

Session Two: 2.30pm
Lei Peifan 3-5 Zhou Xintong
John Higgins (3) 8-8 Xiao Guodong
(Both matches resume Saturday 10am)

Session Three: 7pm
Result:
Chris Wakelin bt Mark Allen (8) 13-6
Mark Williams (6) 9-7 Hossein Vafaei
(Resumes Saturday 2.30pm)

(25-04-2025 10:14 )Snooks Wrote:  147 maximum break for Mark Allen .

An extraordinary frame, not least in reaction to losing the first 4 frames of the session. It might have kicked in a turnaround, but Wakelin looks in a good part of the draw now.

Keeping up with the Woollastons - snooker's family affair - https://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/articles/cly16wz7zlgo

Am I right in thinking if one of the overseas players win it it will be only the fourth time the Championship has gone abroad?

In the Crucible era

Cliff Thorburn - 1980 - Canada
Ken Doherty - 1997 - Ireland
Neil Robertson - 2010 - Australia
Luca Brecel - 2023 - Belgium

An overseas winner this year would be the fifth overall.

Meanwhile on table two Mark Williams and Hossein Vafaei seem intent on setting a record for the most reracks of a frame .
Three so far in frame 9 .

Day Eight:

Session One: 10am
Lei Peifan 6-10 Zhou Xintong
(Resumes Sunday 10am)
John Higgins (3) 12-11 Xiao Guodong (14)
(Match resumes on first available table after the conclusion of tonight's evening session)

Session Two: 2.30pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 6-2 Pang Junxu
(Resumes Sunday 2.30pm)
Result:
Mark Williams (6) bt Hossein Vafaei 13-10

Session Three: 7pm
Si Jiahui (13) 5-3 Ben Woollaston
(Resumes Sunday 7pm)
Luca Brecel (7) 7-1 Ding Junhui (10)
(Resumes Sunday 2.30pm)
Result:
John Higgins (3) bt Xiao Guodong (14) 13-12

(25-04-2025 18:57 )Snooks Wrote:  Meanwhile on table two Mark Williams and Hossein Vafaei seem intent on setting a record for the most reracks of a frame .
Three so far in frame 9 .

Thought Williams was proving indomitable when he moved to a 7-4 lead, so glad Vafaei just about hung in there. Like the Higgins match, it looks set for a gritty marathon finish.

Before the mid-session interval the match between Ronnie and Pang Junxu was scrappy and Pang looked all at sea against Ronnie's better tactical game. Ronnie won all 4 frames. After the interval things got a bit more open. Pang made a 119 to get on the score sheet, and also won frame 7 after Ronnie made an unforced error and msssed an easy red. But Ronnie won the last frame of the session to take a 6-2 lead.

I don't want to be premature, but Zhao Xintong looks like he's heading for victory. Both Zhao and Lei Peifan are attacking players and great potters, but Lei seems to make risk assessments before taking on difficult shots, and Zhao is like a Chinese version of Mark Williams, just getting down and going for tricky, difficult shots like he doesn't feel the pressure. Lei is the only player who's made a century, but Zhao seems to be getting the job done with decisive breaks of about 60. Zhao takes a 10-6 lead into the final session.

It's battle of the granite's again, as due to their relative seedings, Higgins got Xiao Guodong. Again it seems to be going to the wire.They ran out of time with Higgins 12-11 ahead, but the man who turns 50 in around 3 weeks time has to wait until later to try and finish the job.

The actual Quinquagenarian Mark Williams is into the quarter finals, capping off a 13-10 victory over Vafaei with a break of 115.

Luca Brecel is playing some very naughty snooker

Edit: Take a bow son. Take a bow.
That was a session performance of such outstanding flair and fearless brilliance it's virtually impossible to put into words.
Ding rattled in a 141 in frame one but all that did was inspire Brecel into overdrive. Imperious, glorious, stupendous. Some of the shot making was other worldly. Best session of naughty snooker I've seen in over 30 years. Absolutely mind boggling .