The 2024/2025 season's eighth event of the snooker, the Northern Ireland Open, concluded on October 28th, Beijing time. The post-90s top player, Kyren Wilson, defeated world number one Judd Trump 9:3 to claim the championship. This is also the second ranking event title for Wilson this season, notably with both finals against Trump, achieving a double kill. Following the conclusion of the Northern Ireland Open, the next event, the Nanjing National Championship, will commence on November 3rd.
The Nanjing National Championship is the ninth event of the season and is a top-ranking event under the WST World Snooker Tour, second only in prestige to the three major snooker events. The champion's prize is £175,000, the runner-up receives £75,000, and the total prize money amounts to £825,000. Players earn corresponding points for their world rankings based on their winnings. The competition will be held in Nanjing, China, for eight days, attracting 128 players from around the world. None of the top 16 players in the world are absent, including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, and Ding Junhui, among others. The defending champion is Chinese player Zhang Anda.
The National Championship was first established in 2012 and was suspended due to the pandemic in 2019 until it was restarted in Tianjin, China, in 2023. In the nine editions held, seven champions have emerged. Notably, Judd Trump and Mark Selby each won two consecutive titles, while Mark Allen reached the final three times, securing one title and two runners-up, making him the player with the most finals appearances so far. Two Chinese champions were born in this event: Ding Junhui, who defeated Marco Fu 10:9 in 2013, and Zhang Anda, who defeated Tom Ford 10:6 last year. The list of past champions and runners-up is shown below:
The competition is divided into qualifying rounds and the main event. All 128 participating players must compete in the qualifying rounds, which were held in Sheffield, UK, from September 30th to October 2nd. The main event begins on November 3rd and ends on November 10th in Nanjing, China. Led by Ding Junhui, all professional Chinese players are participating in this event. Additionally, due to the event being held in China, four players with wild cards are participating, totaling 29 players in the competition. Among them, four wildcard players, Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, and Si Jiahui, the three highest-ranked Chinese players, along with Ronnie O'Sullivan and the newly crowned World Champion, had their qualifying rounds postponed to the main event stage to enhance the event's influence and viewing experience for fans. A total of 11 Chinese players successfully advanced through the qualifying rounds that have already concluded, with the detailed draw shown below.
From the draw, it is clear that Ding Junhui has drawn a favorable opponent, female player Reanne Evans. Despite Ding Junhui's subpar form this season, the obvious difference in competitive levels between male and female players makes a smooth passage likely. Ronnie O'Sullivan missed the previous two events, the Wuhan Open and the Northern Ireland Open, due to medical reasons, and his current condition is of great concern to fans. Both Ding Junhui and O'Sullivan will appear in Nanjing, China, on November 3rd to participate in the postponed qualifying rounds. At that time, many stars will vie for the championship, and we look forward to seeing who will emerge victorious. Go, Team China!
