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‘The Rocket’ will begin his campaign to win a record-extending ninth UK Championship title against Zhou Yuelong
Luke BakerMonday 01 December 2025 17:25 GMTComments
open image in galleryRonnie O’Sullivan is trying to win a record-extending ninth UK Championship title (Getty Images)
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Ronnie O’Sullivan is back on British soil as he goes to York for the UK Championship, one of snooker’s triple crown events.
O’Sullivan sold his Essex home earlier this year and headed for a new life in Dubai but returns to the Barbican Centre looking to add to his record tally of eight UK Championship titles – the most recent of which he claimed in 2023, becoming the oldest winner of the event at 47 years and 363 days. He was already the youngest winner of the tournament, a mark he set as a 17-year-old way back in 1993.
The Rocket will turn 50 on quarter-final day of this year’s UK Championship and is still in the top five in the world, although he hasn’t won a ranking event since the World Grand Prix in January 2024, even though 11 different men have won the 11 professional snooker tournaments played this season.
However, he still has an aura surrounding him on the baize and will be heavy favourite to beat China’s Zhou Yuelong in his first match in York on Tuesday afternoon, with old foe Mark Selby a potential opponent in the last 16.
Here’s everything you need to know:
When does Ronnie O’Sullivan play next?
The UK Championship began on Saturday 29 November at the Barbican Centre in York, and the final will be played on Sunday 7 December. Ronnie O’Sullivan will start his campaign in the last against Zhou Yuelong in a best-of-11 match on Tuesday 2 December, from 1pm GMT.
open image in galleryRonnie O’Sullivan starts his UK Championship campaign on Tuesday (Getty Images)How to watch
The championship will be live on the BBC, with BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC red button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website showing every match across the nine days. The tournament is also broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK and subscribers can stream the match online via the Discovery+ app.
Full UK Championship snooker schedule
(All times GMT)
Monday 1 December
Last 32
19:00
Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson
Gary Wilson v Zhang Anda
Tuesday 2 December
Last 32
13:00
Mark Selby v Lei Peifan
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Zhou Yuelong
19:00
Kyren Wilson v Elliot Slessor
Barry Hawkins v David Lilley
Wednesday 3 December
13:00
Last 16 matches x2
19:00
Last 16 matches x2
Thursday 4 December
13:00
Last 16 matches x2
19:00
Last 16 matches x2
Friday 5 December
13:00
Quarter-finals x2
19:00
Quarter-finals x2
Saturday 6 December
13:00
Semi-final
19:00
Semi-final
Sunday 7 December
13:00
Final - session 1
19:00
Final - session 2
Results so far
Last 32
Judd Trump 6-4 Stephen Maguire
Si Jiahui 6-0 Ryan Day
Mark Williams 6-4 David Gilbert
Pang Junxu 6-2 Xiao Guodong
Wu Yize 6-4 Michael Holt
Neil Robertson 6-2 Julien Leclercq
John Higgins 6-2 Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy 6-2 Lyu Haotian
Zhao Xintong 6-1 Long Zehuang
Ding Junhui 6-4 Xu Si
What is the prize money?
Winner: £250,000
Runner-up: £100,000
Semi-finalists: £50,000
Quarter-finalists: £25,000
Last 16: £15,000
Last 32: £10,000
Last 48: £7,500
Last 80: £5,000
Last 112: £2,500
Highest break: £15,000
Total prize pot: £1,205,000
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