UK Championship 2025 snooker LIVE – Zhao Xintong kicks off title bid, Mark Allen later, Ronnie O’Sullivan tomorrow

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UK Championship 2025 snooker LIVE - Zhao Xintong kicks off title bid, Mark Allen later, Ronnie O'Sullivan tomorrow

Allen 1-5 Donaldson (0-43)

Scott plays back to baulk … and cross-doubles a starter. Whoops! He’s not on a colour, but, so lays a light snooker; Mark escapes on to a red, last roll.

Allen 1-5 Donaldson (0-42)

When you think about how Scott’s night started, this is one incredible experience for him. He looks to open the pack … and he tears into it, the match there to be won. Can he hold it down? A poor positional shot means a difficult red … and it’s into left corner, but a kiss means end of break. So near but yet so far.

Allen 1-5 Donaldson (0-19)

Mark knows any onepoor shot cold mean curtains, and he takes on an opener to right corner, almost straight diagonal …close, but nope. It’s not going for him tonight, but on this occasion, Scott can’t deal with a not-dissimilar shot. No matter: he soon has another, a longun into right corner… and this time he delivers a humdinger. There aren’t loads of loose reds, but there are enough for a useful lead – plus of course the potential to develop more.

On table two

Gary Wilson 5-5 Zhang Anda

Allen 1-5 Donaldson

Scott clips into the green bag and Mark needs five on the spin. Nothing we’ve seen tonight suggests that’s going to happen, lots we’ve seen across his career tells us it’s possible.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (30-53)

Mark gets rid of the brown and goes after his snooker … but has he left the blue?

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (30-53)

Immediately, Mark cannons the pink, leaves the green, a thin cut with the rest … and now needs a snooker. Scott has dominated the safety-play tonight, and he plays another decent shot off the brown.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (30-50)

We’re chasing the yellow, with snookers attempted; eventually, Scott eyes up a long diag … and power-strikes home a beauty. He timed that so well … only to land tight between blue and black. Had he he been on the green, it was 5-1, instead he’s got to escape a nasty snooker … and he does. He hit that full-ball. There are 25 points left on the table.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (30-48)

Mark lays a snooker, thinks about replacing Scott when he misses, then opts to get potting. He sends a red to middle, soon develops another, the last, and Uncle Joe thinks he’s missed it … but it drops, having been played slowly enough to tip itself in. Then, with the yellow hard to get at, he develops the black, and we await the next phase of this frame.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (18-48)

Mark takes a red off the side, hoping it’s of use to him later; Scott missses to left corner … but is it shooting off into the yellow bag? Almost, but not quite. No matter, he’s soon immediately offered another opportunity, sinks the starter, and is he on the black? Sort, of, a delicate cut-back from close to it … it’s frame-ball … and he refuses it.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (12-47)

Away goes Scott, but there are four balls on cushions, three on the side and one on the top. He plays to the baulk rail and once again, we may be here some time.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (12-25)

A red across the table to middle … and with a drop-off anticpated, it holds its line. Chance for Mark, again, and though he’s played poorly so far, there are few as good at rescuing difficilt situations. The year he won this competition, he trailed Ding 6-1 in the final … but he’s not rescuing himself here, because he’s missed a pink to middle.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (4-17)

A poor positional shot means a delicate cut-back black … nope, nowhere near. Can Mark punish? He cannot, and Scott dispatches a mid-ranger, a decent blue next. He’s working his way into a very good position, in frame and match.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (4-10)

Scott has a look at a long one to left corner and flows home a beauty … only to land on nowt … then misses the nominated brown. It costs him nothing more than the foul, but just as I’m wondering if this is going to be another grapple, he conjures a beauty, thrumming through a tight gap to corner. A decent contribution here and he’s in total control.

Allen 1-4 Donaldson (0-0)

Very quickly, we get to a prodding stage, but just as a re-rack looks possible, the ball goes down the table. There are a fair few reds open, so subsequent safety will have to be precise.

On table two

Gary Wilson 5-3 Zhang Anda

Allen 1-4 Donaldson

…again, Scott gets out of it … and bumps the blue into middle. He’s two away, and will take some beating.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (48-64)

Scott hasn’t shown much sign of nerves so far … and he cracks home a beauty but isn’t on the blue; Mark needs a snooker. He gets one, then another when it’s escaped…

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (48-64)

Finally, Mark gets a dart at a long one, having landed 1/10 tonight; he smokes it home! Alright, can he get at the green? Yes he can, knowing it’ll have to be a safety off the brown … and it’s a snooker, white on the and blocked off the the blue. Scott hits, Mark plays a dog, and suddenly the frame is within a shot of ending!

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (43-64)

It’s another hefty frame, and with the yellow and green on the side, brown not far from the other side, it doesn’t feel nearly finished.

‘A beautiful moment’ – Donaldson emotional as he walks out to face Allen at the UK Championship

Video credit: TNT Sports

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (39-64)

OK, Scott can’t fiid a safety, so it’s a brute to the green bag … and he pumps it intae the hole. That’s a brilliant pot, and if he can see away the green, Mark’d need a snooker … but he cannot. Then he’s immediately in one, trapped between brown and cushion … the escape is very nice.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (39-63)

The chase for it is long and arduous.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (39-63)

Scott plays to get a double on that red, can’t, and the chase for it is on.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (39-63)

A red to middle … throw off. But it’s not a kick, says Uncle Joe, because those you miss thick, not thin. Scott will now extend his lead, but there’s a red on the side that might decide the frame.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (25-48)

Not so; he leaves the white well short of the baulk line, Mark gets in and, if he can dish here, he might fancy himself a turning point – 3-2 is a very different to 4-1. So quickly can things change.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (0-48)

Scott accumulates, and even if he breaks down, is playing well enough so that it’ll be hard to beat him. And an unintended kiss does take him out of position; he plays safe, and will fancy himself to win the safety and also be the first to sink a long pot.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (0-19)

A cut-back red, across the table, stays out but over; Mark, though, can’t send another on to it. “I can’t believe he’s missed that,” marvels Uncle Joe. So Scott tidies, and when he goes down and up the table off the blue, has a great chance for 4-1.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (0-12)

Mark fancies a long pot and he’s 1/8 so far tonight … he goes … and it doesn’t go. Will Scott take on one to right corner? You bet he will, and it’s there. The last frame was the first he’d lost in 10 played – he’s still in nick – and carefully, he starts building.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson (0-0)

It’s a tactical start to the frame: again, this has the feel of an epic. When Mark won the British Open earlier this year, he came from behind to win deciders in every match going into the final – apart from when he beat Scott.

We go again

On table two

Gary Wilson 3-2 Zhang Anda

That’s the mid-sesh

We’ll be back in 15.

Allen 1-3 Donaldson

Mark had to win that frame and did. This has the feel of an epic.

Allen 0-3 Donaldson (58-7)

This much better from Mark. He calmly removes balls like he’s been potting them all evening, and when he runs out of position, Scott needs three snookers to tie.

Allen 0-3 Donaldson (9-7)

Scott is playing the better safety so it’s no surprise when he gets the next go at a pot … and he sinks a nice one, only for a cannon to keep him away from position. The black is tied up, everything else is in baulk. Oh, but Mark rams one into corner, he’s just about on the pink, and if he can sink this, getting it back on its spot, he could win the frame.

Allen 0-3 Donaldson (1-6)

Scott knocks a red over right corner and though he doesn’t leave it, he might’ve changed the nature of this frame. Or not: Mark tries to play one into it, and instead takes it away from the bag, doing well to leave nowt.

Allen 0-3 Donaldson (1-5)

Mark is more than capable of retrieving this deficit, but he can’t really be losing the next; for what it’s worth, the turf accounts have Scott odds-on. And it’s a terrible start to the frame for El Pistolero: he misses a starter and goes in-off. He’s not punished though, allowed back in … only to run out of position.

On table two

Gary Wilson 2-2 Zhang Anda

Allen 0-3 Donaldson

Mark immediately fouls, and he’s in trouble here, second best in every aspect of the game. He’s very good at putting disappointment away, but losing a frame of that length is going to sting anyone.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (44-63)

Down they each go but, but unable to sink the blue, this isn’t dead; Mark needs all the balls and a snooker to tie.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (44-54)

Scott’s safety game is very good and in very good working order; he sneaks the white in between black and top rail, Mark escapes but is then put in a second difficult position … and this time he leaves the yellow. Scott needs it, the green and the brown for 3-0. Pressure, at the end of almost an hour.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (44-54)

…until he misses broon to the green bag. We’ve been going well over 50 minutes in this frame, Mark lays a snooker … and Scott escapes. So he’s put in another, misses once, then hits, but it’s on to the green bag … it’s on, but it’s no in. That allows our underdog to compose, then tidy … if he can … and it’s there. This is almost 3-0 and this frame is almost over.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (40-54)

After 63 hours without a ball being potted, Scott sees away the third-to-last red … to land on nowt. All that, for one point. But his safety game is good, he puts away the disappointment, and when Mark misses a thin contact, leaving a free ball, he might just have sealed his fate in the frame. The pink goes once, then again, and can Scott get from it to the penultimate red? He can, and this looks to be the decisive move…

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (40-41)

My system crashes, returning to see we’ve not missed much. The three remaining reds are now on or near the baulk cushion; we’ve been going 44 minutes in this frame now, and on table two, they’re at the mid-sesh.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (34-37)

Scott forges in front then plays safe; Mark lands on his chosen red, last roll. Then, having not potted in nearly half an hour, he decides to take on a longun to left corner … and creams it into the heart of the pocket. A pink follows, then another ed, but he’ll now have to develop one of the three that remain, all on or just above black cush.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (26-29)

Will Scott take on a minging pink to corner? Yes he will … and down it goes. He’s running out of easy balls, but he’s the better player at the moment.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (26-12)

Scott’s lost a bittae momentum and leaves a toughie to middle … which Mark misses. And he then gets away hissel, liberates the pink, and will look to pick off the few reds still loose.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (26-1)

Mark leaves one but Scott can’t send it down then, shortly afterwards, Scott clacks down a plant with no apparent plan for what happens next; the white goes into a red on the top rail and all he can do next is jab into the adjacent black. There are 12 reds remaining and this frame has been going four hours.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (26-0)

Reds are moving towards cushions, and this is getting attritional.

Allen 0-2 Donaldson (22-0)

Scott leaves the white in mid-table, allowing a starter to left corner, and when Mark runs out of position he pulls the white back to baulk, landing behind the yellow; the escape works second go.

On table two

Gary Wilson 1-1 Zhang Anda

Allen 0-2 Donaldson

Scott eases red to middle and he’s enjoying this. He clears to the pink and, as Angles predicted earlier, the 2022 champ is in a match.

Allen 0-1 Donaldson (8-63)

Scott pots frame ball and perhaps takes his eye off the next one, bodging a pink; Mark needs a snooker and all the reds with blacks to tie – which feels unlikely, but you never know.

Allen 0-1 Donaldson (0-50)

Scott breaks the pack, it works out lovelily, and this should be another tae him.

Allen 0-1 Donaldson (0-26)

Eeee, Mark plays what looks a decent safety but is there a ball on to middle? There is you know, and Scott sends it down, a lovely kiss then keeps the run going, and for now at least, the snooker gods are on his side.

Allen 0-1 Donaldson (0-11)

It’s Scott in again at the start of frame two, but taking on one from the side after a poor pot on the black, he misses thick, doing well to leave nothing easier than one needing slid along the top rail. Still, it looks in … then stays out, the corner bags here extremely unforgiving, but Scott soon misses and we’re back playing safety.

On table two

Gary Wilson 1-0 Zhang Anda

Allen 0-1 Donaldson

We said Scott would probably have to win from the front and that’s where he is.

Allen 0-0 Donaldson (8-76)

A lovely red rocketed to middle tells us Scott is feeling good about himself and he hits the front with a break of real authority. Mark will be rueing the in-off, but he played a poor frame thereafter.

Allen 0-0 Donaldson (8-47)

Mistake from Mark and Scott has a chance to score, opening the pack nicely … but is he on one? He is not. No matter: another error offers him another opportunity, and this should be one to him.

Allen 0-0 Donaldson (8-4)

Mark will feel he can’t lose this match from the front – if Scott wants to beat him, he’ll have to get away well. And he’s in quickly, sliding to middle when offered the white in mid-table; quickly, he opens the pack, takes on a pot bridging awkwardly, sinks it nicely … and watches the white go in-off into middle. Scott, though, can’t sink his starter, but nor can Mark.

We’re ready to go again

Out come our players … and Scott is visibly moved. He used to come to York with his dad.

Hello again

Allen headlines evening session

After impressive wins for Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui, the focus shifts to the evening session in York.

Mark Allen takes on Scott Donaldson, while Gary Wilson is in action against Zhang Anda.

We will have coverage right here from 18:45 UK time.

Zhao crushes Long to get campaign under way

Often, qualifiers present a tricky test for higher-ranked players, in form having won a succession of matches to reach the main competition. But Long Zehuang simply did not turn up offering little resistance until the match was as good as over, as Zhao Xintong recorded an easy 6-1 victory in the first round of the UK Championship.

The world champion began with a century and though the next three frames were scrappier, he claimed them all as Long struggled to string together any meaningful contribution.

And at 5-0 down with Zhao at the table, he looked out of the match, only for a missed black offered him the chance to steal and though he could not take it, he did soon snatch back a frame. But all that did was spur the 2021 winner to up his level, the match finished quickly and clinically thereafter; next for Zhao comes Gary Wilson or Zhang Anda. They, and the rest of the field, will have to play well to beat him.

Zhao Xintong beats Long Zehuang 6-1

The 2021 champ is in nick and will take some stopping this week. Next for him: Gary Wilson or Zhang Anda.

Zhao 5-1 Long (71-0)

Yup, Zhao secures the match, and can very clearly play better than this afternoon.

Zhao 5-1 Long (40-0)

There’s something poetic about watching Zhao play and he’s taking these beautifully, hitting a new stride in response to his opponent’s effrontery in winning a frame.

Zhao 5-1 Long (13-0)

Zhao wasn’t impressed with his losing that frame, and he quickly sends a fine starter to the yellow pocket, adds a good blue, opens the pack off a second, and will once again try to finish the match.

On table two

Ding Junhui 3-2 Xu Si

Zhao 5-1 Long

Ahahahaha! Playing safe, Long removes the pink from the right cushion … and it drops into left-middle. Thusly is the whitewash evaded.

Zhao 5-0 Long (52-60)

Gosh, he cues right across the pink and misses it by so much he doesn’t even hit the jaw; pressure. So Zhao, needing both remaining balls, goes hard at the first to the green bag … no dice. The chase is on.

Zhao 5-0 Long (52-55)

Long is pretty straight on the black, so needs the extension for the yellow; good shot. But he makes blue and pink harder than they need to be…

Zhao 5-0 Long (52-16)

There are no demons on this table. Everything is there.

Zhao 5-0 Long (52-1)

An excellent red to corner keeps the run going, but takes the white down the table; does he roll up behind the green to cut-back the brown? Yeah, Zhao wants this over with, taking on the tightest of skinny ones to middle, it creeps and it creeps … and it’s there. Beautiful. But then he misses the black off its spot; I don’t think anyone saw that coming. Can Long counter? This is a pretty decent chance, all the more so when he quickly promotes two balls on the side.

Zhao 5-0 Long (17-0)

Zhao sinks another starter, snuggles up to the yellow, and when Long’s escape leaves one, you fear for him. But looking to zip into the pack, the world champ lands in it, forced to play safe. No matter: immediately, he’s offered another opportunity and, though there’s work to do, this could be curtains.

On table two

Ding Junhui 3-1 Xu Si

Zhao 5-0 Long

Fifty-nine and the frame; Zhao is one away from a whitewash and a second-round match against Gary Wilson or Zhang Anda.

Zhao 4-0 Long (58-0)

Zhao soon brings the black into play, in total control of the white – and himself. It’s a total no-shot from Long, I’m afraid.

Zhao 4-0 Long (31-0)

Eeeesh, Long again goes in-off but this time, Zhao misses long; he feared he might, playing back to the baulk rail, and it proves to be a decent call, you can probably guess why. Yup, Long soon errs, a terrible shot leaving an opener with claret all over, and 5-0 looks imminent.

Zhao 4-0 Long (19-0)

Long goes in-off, leaving a snick to middle, but there’s work to do to turn a few points into something more telling, and Zhao soon plays safe having run out of position.

Zhao 4-0 Long (7-0)

Long goes at one to left corner, it stops out, Zhao clips to left-centre … but shortly afterwards, an infelicitous kiss on the black forces him to play safe. I hate to say it, but I doubt it makes any difference whatsoever.

We go again…

Zhao 4-0 Long

The match has got messy, but I’m afraid Long just can’t sustain any run long enough to take a frame. He’s got a lot of thinking to do at the interval.

Zhao 3-0 Long (52-47)

Long steers a fine starter to left corner, his best shot of the match, adds black to middle, and must now force a red down the side … but it jams in the jaws, shoots over the other side of the table, and it’s there for Zhao. I fear this is 4-0.

Zhao 3-0 Long (51-39)

Long misses a nudge, looking to promote one of three reds on the side, but he goes again off the blue, screwing back hard to dislodge one that also opens another. He might now be favourite for this frame, but of course as I type, he decelerates through a shot, meaning he must sink a long yellow and land on a tight cut to middle; he cannot.

Zhao 3-0 Long (51-24)

Ooooh, playing off the side rail, Zhao undercuts to right corner, but can Long punish him? Often, qualifiers are nasty because they’re in stroke, having won a succession of matches to reach the main stages and though, so far, this hasn’t been that, the form is in there somewhere.

Zhao 3-0 Long (46-0)

Zhao pots balls. Long is not long for this match.

Zhao 3-0 Long (17-0)

Another fine long pot, rolled to left corner, sets Zhao away, he quickly opens the pack, and though the split is far from perfect, it’s good enough.

On table two

Ding Junhui 3-1 Xu Si

Zhao 3-0 Long

Long must win the next to stand even a semblance of a chance. There’s no sense he’s going to.

Zhao 2-0 Long (47-25)

The thing about Zhao is however poorly he’s playing, he’s always got the long potting, and he takes the green from left side to right corner, this beauty a touch-shot, and Long is in deep trouble.

Zhao 2-0 Long (44-25)

In terms of quality, this frame has been absolutely miserable; we’ve not had a pot in over 15 minutes.

‘The best of the lot’ – Zhao’s potting exhibition continues

Video credit: TNT Sports

Zhao 2-0 Long (44-25)

Oooh, out of nowhere, Zhao botches green to middle; you get the sense he’s lost a bit of concentration, unable to fathom a way he can lose this match

Zhao 2-0 Long (38-25)

Zhao lays a snooker behind the black, the escape leaves a snick to the green bag, and this looks like the frame.

Zhao 2-0 Long (37-25)

Zhao gets in again, then creams black into the green bag – his mid-to-long-range potting is almost a cheat code – but with the final red on the side rail, the frame remains in the balance.

Zhao 2-0 Long (27-25)

It’s Long in next, but he makes a mess of a blue, overcutting to middle, and when he misses a red, soon after, you fear for him, his pot success now down to 76%. Not because the table is open, it isn’t, but because you can’t get close to the world champ playing like this.

Zhao 2-0 Long (14-12)

A wild safety from Zhao opens balls and leaves a starter, but Long soon misses a black to corner. And against a player this good, you just can’t do that; another glorious starter, rammed into left corner, sees the world champ away again … but he soon runs out of position, tries a plant, doesn’t get close, and this frame is getting messy.

‘Absolutely tremendous’ – Zhao sinks stunning long red

Video credit: TNT Sports

Zhao 2-0 Long (6-4)

I’m hate to say it, but this match has got big on Long. A nondescript safety leaves a cut to middle, Zhao gets away … and then, looking to tuck in behind the yellow a few shots later, doesn’t hit the white quite hard enough to reach it. We’ve all done it!

On table two

Ding Junhui 1-1 Xu Si

Zhao 2-0 Long

Long knocks the blue in off the green and leaves a free ball; he doesn’t concede immediately, but he does shortly afterwards, and I’m afraid he’s not turned up. He has time, but not much – it’s hard to see him coming from three down to win a race to six.

Zhao 1-0 Long (70-42)

Frame gone, Zhao slams red to right corner … to see the white go into left-middle. You get the sense Long doesn’t really want to come back to the table really, but a 14-point swing means he only needs one snooker, so he has to, pink and green still there to help him.

‘Poetry in motion’ – Zhao opens UK challenge with century break

Video credit: TNT Sports

Zhao 1-0 Long (61-33)

Zhao is so definitive around the table; when he’s in the balls, it never feels like he’s going to miss, and his potting so far today has been much better than his syoot, a very strange shade of brown.

Zhao 1-0 Long (21-33)

It won’t be easy for Zhao to get everything safe and he can’t, but can Long clip to right corner? He misses by a fortnight, an oversight brought into sharper focus when, a few shots later, the world champ smokes an awesome opener into right corner. The way the balls are, that could prove costly.

Zhao 1-0 Long (2-33)

Zhao manages a red and no more then, bridging awkwardly, prods home another. Again, he doesn’t have a straightforward colour available, but plays a telling safety using the pink and green to block off much of the table; Long’s riposte isn’t especially well executed, but it works out well, leaving nothing but a problem for the world champ.

Zhao 1-0 Long (0-33)

It soon breaks down, pink running down to green and sticking to it no help at all … but this game being this game, Long soon lands the white behind them. And when Zhao misses with his escape, he opts to take on a pot to middle … only to hit the jaw. The lead is useful, but not definitive.

Zhao 1-0 Long (0-21)

Long’s break offers a thin cut to middle, but Zhao misses the object ball entirely, leaving a chance. This feels like a big visit if we’re to see a proper contest here.

Zhao 1-0 Long

A 107 and Zhao hits the front.

Zhao 0-0 Long (86-0)

Long played one shot, it wasn’t a bad one, and the frame has still been confiscated from him. There’s a ton in the offing here, and Zhao is in the mood. Pre-match, readmitted to feeling nervous, but you’d never know; “What a delightful break,” rhapsodises Fouldsy.

Zhao 0-0 Long (48-0)

Just when it looks a really good chance, Zhao lands on almost the only place on the table that prevents him getting from red to black, but the frame is disappearing fast.

Zhao 0-0 Long (32-0)

Long ran Zhao close in World Championship qualifying, losing 10-8 and getting closer than anyone did in Sheffield. But the favourite gets away immediately with a nice starter to left corner, adds the black, opens the pack, and am I wondering if it’s on? It might be you know, because the balls are open and nicely spread.

Off we go…

And out they come

It’s a Monday afternoon and look at us.

Our players are ready

So Rob Walker is on the mic; this is the first time we’ve had four Chinese players playing a session of a triple crown event.

Afternoon all

We begin today with our world champion, Zhao Xintong, who of course sprung to fame winning this title in 2021. Was it really that long ago? He doesn’t look a day older – despite all the subsequent stress – and Long will have to play brilliantly to beat him.