The venue levels of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship are set to start on Saturday and symbolize the ultimate probability for gamers to win prize cash forward of the essential seeding cut-off to find out locations at January’s Masters.
As in earlier seasons, the world’s prime 16 gamers after the UK Championship will qualify to play at snooker’s premier invitational occasion which is able to run from 12-19 January 2025 on the Alexandra Palace, London.
The counting interval for qualification consists of all prize cash earned at rating occasions from the 2022 Scottish Speak in confidence to and together with the 2024 UK Championship.
The newest Race to the Masters standings, already bearing in mind the prize cash nonetheless to be faraway from the official world rankings from the 2022 UK Championship, exhibits the dwell standings and the true image of how every participant is wanting forward of snooker’s return to York.
It has already been confirmed that Ronnie O’Sullivan would be the prime seed in London as defending champion, with reigning world champion Kyren Wilson to be drawn within the reverse half because the second seed.
Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Luca Brecel, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy at present occupy the remaining prime eight seeded locations within the draw.
State of Play
With the winner of this season’s first Triple Crown Collection occasion set to earn a bumper first prize of £250,000 in York, each participant as far down as thirty seventh positioned Jackson Web page can mathematically qualify for the Masters by successful the title.
Previous to the primary ball being struck on the York Barbican, the highest 13 gamers are already positive of their locations, with Si Jiahui the final confirmed participant.
It’s due to this fact two-time champion John Higgins who could be the primary participant in danger, with the Scot at present holding a bonus of £40,350 to seventeenth positioned Jak Jones. If Higgins have been to lose his opening match in York, three of the next situations must unfold for him to overlook out on the Masters for the primary time since 1994:
- Chris Wakelin reaches the quarter-finals
- Neil Robertson or Xiao Guodong attain the semi-finals
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins attain the ultimate
- Any of the subsequent 9 gamers within the event wins the title
At the moment fifteenth on the provisional Masters checklist is Chris Wakelin, who’s seeking to safe his place on the Alexandra Palace for the primary time. A final 32 exit, mixed with two of the next could be sufficient to knock him out of rivalry:
- Neil Robertson or Xiao Guodong reaches the quarter-finals
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins attain the semi-finals
- David Gilbert or Robert Milkins reaches the ultimate
- Any of the subsequent 7 gamers within the event wins the title
At the moment ‘on the bubble’ in sixteenth place is two-time champion Neil Robertson, who will face Judd Trump in his opening match on the venue stage. A final 32 defeat in York, along with one of many following situations would see him miss out:
- Xiao Guodong reaches the final 16
- Jak Jones or Barry Hawkins attain the quarter-finals
- David Gilbert, Robert Milkins or Jack Lisowski reaches the ultimate
- Any of the subsequent 6 gamers within the event wins the title
For these outdoors of the provisional prime 16, these necessities additionally symbolize their minimal targets if they’re to maneuver into rivalry, with Xiao Guodong nonetheless to play his first match within the occasion as a prime 16 seeded participant.
Common updates on the most recent standings might be printed right here at wpbsa.com in the course of the last levels of the UK Championship.
