The FA Cup of snooker: How does the British Open work and full tournament preview

The Cheltenham Racecourse plays host to world class snooker action this week with the 2025 British Open running between Monday to Sunday.

In times gone by, the professional snooker season wouldn’t really get going until the nights started drawing in, but we’ve already enjoyed a serious summer schedule, and five champions have been crowned on the circuit.

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Stephen Maguire won the relatively low-key season opener at the Championship League before a huge triple-header in Asia with Kyren Wilson (Shanghai Masters), Neil Robertson (Saudi Arabia Masters) and Xiao Guodong (Wuhan Open) all lifting trophies.

At last week’s English Open in Brentwood – that actually spilled into this week due to a dramatic post-midnight final finish from Sunday – Mark Allen returned to the winner’s club.

From those opening five tournaments, there were five different champions, and 10 different finalists; perhaps a sign for the rest of the campaign?

The FA Cup of Snooker; British Open draw and format explained

It’s important to talk about the format for the £502,000 British Open as it’s pretty much like no other event on the World Snooker Tour.

A straight knockout competition starting off with 128 players, every round is randomly drawn – like the FA Cup in football – meaning there is no ranking or seeding protection for the top players, and they can face each other from round one. There are several very tasty fixtures on the opening day in Gloucestershire.

Matches are relatively short, too, with best of sevens in play up to and including the last 16, although there is more breathing space in the latter rounds.

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Despite the slightly chaotic format, since the British Open’s resurrection on the circuit in 2021, The Clive Everton Trophy has always been won by an already established champion. Mark Williams (2021, 2023) and Ryan Day (2022) have taken honours, while four-time World Champion Mark Selby was victorious last year.

However, we have seen lower ranked cueists get to the latter stages, but that’s not uncommon these days given the strength and depth of the professional player roster.

The majority of round one ties were already played a few months ago in Leicester, although fixtures involving the world’s top 16 have been held over to Cheltenham in front of the ITV 4 cameras, which equates to a magnificent Monday. 

From the top echelons of the sport, only Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will not be present; Ding didn’t enter, while O’Sullivan withdrew last week due to medical reasons.

Judd Trump favourite for British Open glory

World number one Judd Trump is unsurprisingly the pre-tournament favourite (4/1), but his price feels very short, especially in this format.

Trump – by his very high standards – is going through somewhat of a barren spell having not won a title in 2025, and he has only featured in one final during that time too.

‘The Ace in the Pack’ doesn’t have a great record in this competition either; he reached the quarter-finals for the first time last year, and he has a tricky opening round assignment this time out against the in-form Aaron Hill who made the last eight of last week’s English Open.

World Champion Zhao Xintong goes off as second favourite (5/1 Ladbrokes), but since his historic Crucible triumph in May, the Chinese star has returned fairly disappointing results, albeit with flashes of brilliance mixed in.

Defending champion Mark Selby (8/1 Ladbrokes) has a very rich record in this tournament having also made the final in 2023, and quarter-finals in 2022. But Selby went deep in Brentwood last week, and it’s very difficult for players to go back-to-back, hence why I’d be swerving both he and Mark Allen (12/1 Ladbrokes) this week in Cheltenham.

In terms of the premier names, I’d be edging towards either Neil Robertson (8/1 Coral) or Kyren Wilson (10/1 Ladbrokes) - two players who went out early at the English Open and therefore have had a few more days off to prepare.

Robertson is red hot after his success in Saudi, and he should be recovered from the jet lag – after visiting his native Australia – that may have hampered his chances in Brentwood last week. ‘The Thunder from Down Under’ faces amateur player Alfie Davies in round one, so he might be able to ease his way into this tournament.

In contrast, Wilson – who was a winning machine last season and has continued that with success in Shanghai – faces fellow top 16 exponent Chris Wakelin first up; an example of how brutal this random draw can be.

Carter and Craigie both worth punts at bigger prices

Several other top 16 stars can be found further down the pre-tournament ratings, including six-time ranking event champion Ali Carter at 28/1 (Betway).

Carter enjoyed a brilliant run to the final of the Shanghai Masters last month, only missing out on the title by a couple of frames.

Since then, Carter has run into some in-form opponents, but he still appears to be in good nick himself, as he showed last week with the fourth maximum 147 break of his professional career.

Another decorated champion who often goes under the radar but can take this title is Barry Hawkins (20/1 Ladbrokes).

So much could depend on the subsequent draws in Cheltenham, but several ‘surprise packages’ have made it through to the last four of the British Open in recent years: Elliot Slessor (2021), Robbie Williams (2022) and Oliver Lines (2024).

READ: How to bet on snooker, the rules, what to look out for and analysis

If you fancy sticking a pin on a longshot name this week for a deep run, Sam Craigie (125/1 Ladbrokes) would be a fair shout – he is already through to round two where he will be favourite against Iulian Boiko.

Craigie is a former ranking event semi-finalist but has had a torrid time away from the baize in recent years with a neck injury that required surgery and resulted in a long recovery process away from competitive action.

However, Craigie is back this season, and he has already posted a plethora of wins. A very classy player when he gets going, the former world under-21 champion is deserving of good fortune this term.

Zak Surety (80/1 Ladbrokes) and Louis Heathcote (150/1 Betway) are other three-figure punts who could also be worth each-way considerations.

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Odds correct at the time of writing.