Why York’s snooker UK Championship is adopting the same competition format as Sheffield’s World Championship

In recent years, all 128 players started in a flat draw at the York Barbican, but now the world’s top 16 will be seeded - and guaranteed to feature in the televised stages - and joined by 16 players who come through the qualifying rounds.

Prize money for next season’s Cazoo UK Championship has been increased to £1,205,0000, with the first prize up from £200,000 to £250,000.

World Snooker Tour chairman Steve Dawson said: “This format works perfectly for the World Championship so it is also ideal for our second biggest ranking event, the UK Championship.

“This guarantees a star-studded line-up for the final stages, while the qualifying event itself also creates drama and great storylines as 128 players battle for 16 coveted spots at the fabulous York Barbican venue.

“We are also delighted to increase prize money for the event, to the benefit of every player on the tour.

“These changes will enhance the status of the Cazoo UK Championship as one of the outstanding events on our calendar.”

The final stages will run from November 12 to 20 at the Barbican, its home since 2011.

This will be preceded by a qualifying event featuring 128 players, made up by 112 professionals and 16 invited amateurs. Matches will remain best of 11 frames up until the final.

China’s Zhao Xintong - who lives in Sheffield and trains at the city’s Victoria’s Academy - is the current champion having beaten Belgium’s Luca Brecel in the 2021 final.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams took command of their respective quarter-finals on day 11 of the World Championship in Sheffield.

O’Sullivan benefited from an error-strewn display from Stephen Maguire to open up a 6-2 lead following their opening session, with Williams leading Yan Bingtao by the same margin after winning four frames in a row.

Maguire won a scrappy opening frame which had threatened to degenerate into a stalemate, with the green, brown and blue all clustered around the same corner pocket, but O’Sullivan quickly levelled the scores and moved in front with a run of 54 in the third.

The six-time champion looked unhappy with the state of his tip on several occasions but stretched his lead with the aid of breaks of 70 and 123 before Maguire crucially won an eventful eighth frame.

The Scot initially missed an attempted double on the final red and then went in-off when he did double it following an O’Sullivan safety, but O’Sullivan failed to pot the yellow to the middle and Maguire gratefully cleared up.

Yan fought back from 2-0 down with breaks of 102 and 85, but Williams found his scoring touch after the mid-session interval to produce breaks of 60, 106, 72 and 77, Yan failing to pot a single ball in the last three frames.

By the end of the evening session, six-time champion O’Sullivan had extended his lead to 11-5, needing two more frames to reach the semi-finals.

It was a lot closer on the other table though, where Williams and Yan were tied at 8-8.

During Tuesday’s afternoon matches, Judd Trump and John Higgins both came out on top in the opening sessions of their respective quarter-finals.

Trump, world champion three years ago, took a 5-3 lead over Stuart Bingham, whose own memorable Crucible triumph came in 2015 at the age of 38.

Both players scored century breaks, Bingham’s 106 the highest in the seventh frame, before Trump edged a tense final frame of the session 73-35.

On the other table, four-time champion Higgins also built a 5-3 advantage over Jack Lisowski, who was back in action following his dramatic 13-12 win over Neil Robertson late on Monday evening.

Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty have been handed wildcards to compete on the World Snooker Tour (WST) for the next two seasons.

The decision was announced by WST chairman Steve Dawson during day 11 of the World Championship at the Crucible, an event for which seven-time champion Hendry did not attempt to qualify.

The 53-year-old Scot won just three times in 11 matches after coming out of retirement in September 2020 and accepting a two-year invitational tour card.

Doherty, who beat Hendry in the final of the 1997 World Championship, lost 6-4 to Rory McLeod in the second round of qualifying for this year’s event.

Dawson said: “We have decided to offer Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry invitational tour cards for the next two seasons. “They are both great ambassadors for our sport and they have both done a huge amount to grow snooker around the world over many years.

“Both Ken and Stephen continue to generate interest from fans, television and media.

“We wish them all the best for the next two seasons.

“We will review this invitation at the end of the two-year period.”

Dawson also announced that the format for November’s Cazoo UK Championship in York has changed to mirror that of the World Championship, with the top 16 players seeded into the last 32 and the other 16 to come through qualifying.

Prize money has been increased to £1.2million, with the first prize up from £200,000 to £250,000.