Wuhan Open opens with Xiao Guodong defending; O'Sullivan withdraws

The Wuhan Open 2025 opened on Sunday with a field led by defending champion Xiao Guodong and world champion Zhao Xintong, as the World Snooker Tour returned to China for the third ranking event of the season. The 700,000-pound prize fund features a 140,000-pound winner’s cheque, with top players such as Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, and Ding Junhui in action as the tournament progresses through the last 16. The event also marks the return of major international snooker after the Shanghai Masters, with some high-profile withdrawals altering the landscape of the draw, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, who pulled out for medical reasons and was replaced in the lineup.

Xiao Guodong began his title defense in emphatic fashion, delivering a 50-0 demolition of Mink Nutcharut and securing a maximum break en route to the second round. His confidence was underlined by a post-match reflection on achieving the maximum break on home soil: “To make a 147 here today and my first ever maximum break in China was really special.” Zhao Xintong, the reigning world champion, also advanced, though he missed a straightforward final pink while closing in on a 147 against Iulian Boiko, eventually winning 5-3....