Chris Wakelin and Xiao Guodong have both climbed into the top 16 of the Johnstone's Paint World Rankings for the first time, earning a place in the final stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship.
Wakelin was runner-up to Ding Junhui at the International Championship in China, earning a career high pay-day of £75,000, which boosted him six places in the rankings from 21st to 15th. Xiao reached the semi-finals before a narrow 9-8 defeat against Wakelin, but the £33,000 prize was enough to move him from 18th to 16th.
The top 16 seeds head to the York Barbican for the final stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, running from November 23rd to December 1st. They are:
1. Ronnie O’Sullivan
2. Kyren Wilson
3. Judd Trump
4. Mark Allen
5. Mark Selby
6. Mark Williams
7. Luca Brecel
8. Ding Junhui
9. Shaun Murphy
10. Gary Wilson
11. Zhang Anda
12. Ali Carter
13. Si Jiahui
14. John Higgins
15. Chris Wakelin
16. Xiao Guodong
All players outside the top 16, including three-time UK Champion Neil Robertson and Crucible runner-up Jak Jones, will head for the qualifying rounds which run from November 16-21 in Leicester. The draw for the qualifiers will be announced this week, and the draw for the last 32 in York will be made during our Judgement Day production on Thursday November 21st.
The Victorian Plumbing UK Championship will be the final counting event in the Race to the Johnstone's Paint Masters, with the top 16 in the rankings as it stand on December 2nd to earn a place at Alexandra Palace in January.
Wakelin is up to 15th, with a lead of £18,800 over 16th-placed Xiao. Robertson is 17th, just £2,450 behind Xiao, so if he wins his first qualifying match he will move, at least temporarily, back to 16th. Jones and Barry Hawkins are also close behind so we could see an intriguing sub-plot in York.
Victorian Plumbing UK Championship prize money
Winner £250,000
Runner-up £100,000
Semi-finalist £50,000
Quarter-finalist £25,000
Last 16 £15,000
Last 32 £10,000
Last 48 £7,500
Last 80 £5,000
Last 112 £2,500
High Break £15,000
Total £1,205,000
Ding's triumph in Nanjing, his first ranking title in five years, earned a massive £175,000 and moved him from ninth to eighth. The Chinese ace, who beat Wakelin 10-7 in the final, enjoys a much bigger move on the Johnstone's Paint One-Year List, leaping from 90th to seventh, and is now on track to qualify for all three events in the 2025 Players Series. Wakelin jumps from 15th to ninth, while Xiao remains fourth, behind Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams. Xu Si reached the semi-finals of a ranking event for the second time in his career, and he's up from 32nd to 19th.
As usual, the top 32 will qualify for the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, then the top 16 will head to the Players Championship in Telford and the top 12 will progress to the Tour Championship in Manchester.
The line up for the Grosvenor Casinos Champion of Champions is now complete, as Ding's becomes the 14th tournament winner in the draw, with the field made up to 16 by the next two highest players in the rankings - Luca Brecel and Shaun Murphy. Ding goes into Group Two and will meet Trump in his opening match on Wednesday - for all details on that event click here.
As well as the race to the Masters, York will also be the setting of the final leg of the Race to Riyadh, as the top ten players on the two-year list at the end of the UK Championship will qualify for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, to take place in Saudi Arabia in December. Ding is up to ninth and has a lead of £67,600 over tenth-placed Gary Wilson. Zhang Anda is £12,150 behind Wilson, with Ali Carter a further £7,350 behind Zhang.
Trump still heads the 2024/25 century breaks tally but made only one last week so his total is 34, ahead of Kyren Wilson on 27. The first player to reach 100 centuries this season will earn a £100,000 bonus.