TNT Sports
British Open recap - Judd Trump crushes Aaron Hill after wins for Mark Williams, Mark Selby and Zhao Xintong
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Updated 22/09/2025 at 22:52 GMT+1
Welcome to TNT Sports' live text coverage of the British Open, as the tournament proper kicks off. Following June's qualifiers in Leicester, the sport's elite are in Cheltenham for the next seven days. Mark Selby, John Higgins, Zhao Xintong and Neil Robertson all made winning starts on day one. Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson will look to join them in round two.
‘I think I’ve given value for money this week!’ – Allen jokes after five straight deciders
Video credit: TNT Sports
Warrior wins
Kyren Wilson is also over the line after a 4-1 win over Chris Wakelin.
It was a statement victory for the Warrior, who hit breaks of 105 and 141 on the way to sweeping aside the world number 14.
Result: Trump 4-0 Hill
Judd Trump cruises through to the next round after completing a comprehensive whitewash of Aaron Hill in just 53 minutes!
Back-to-back centuries!
Trump swiftly follows that with 101 to move to the brink of victory at 3-0 up.
They've only been playing 41 minutes!
Century! Trump 2-0 Hill
One visit does the trick for the Ace, who doubles his lead with a brilliant break of 103.
Trump 1-0 Hill (22-0)
A stunning long red to the yellow pocket gives Trump the first opportunity of the second frame.
The balls are nicely positioned, and you would expect him to put it to bed in this visit.
Trump 1-0 Hill
The world number one strikes first against last week's maximum man.
Around the tables
Kyren Wilson 2-1 Chris Wakelin
Gary Wilson 2-1 Hossein Vafaei
Xiao Guodong 1-0 Haydon Pinhey
Trump takes centre stage
Following Williams' impressive total clearance in securing victory over Si, attention turns to Judd Trump, who takes on Aaron Hill.
Stay tuned for our coverage.
Result: Williams 4-2 Si
The three-time British Open champion produces a sublime total clearance of 127 to wrap up victory from 2-1 down.
He will play Sanderson Lam in the next round.
Century
Kyren Wilson is quick out of the blocks against Chris Wakelin, taking the opening frame with a wonderful break of 105.
Williams 3-2 Si
A run of 56 puts the three-time world champion ahead for the first time in this match.
Williams 2-2 Si
Despite battling his way back in the frame, Si then leaves the yellow over the top-left corner.
After a superb positional shot to get on the green, the Welshman clears to the pink to square things up once more.
Williams 1-2 Si (40-52)
The former Crucible semi-finalist has recovered from 40-0 down with a break of 52 to edge his nose ahead in this frame.
He is forced into a safety shot, but has control.
Result: Murphy 4-1 Muir
After losing the opening frame, the Magician reels off the next four to seal a commanding victory.
Murphy 3-1 Muir
Runs of 57 and 71 put the former world champion in command and on the brink of a place in the next round.
Williams 1-2 Si
A much swifter third frame follows, with the Chinese regaining his advantage with a nice break of 90.
Williams 1-1 Si
A 38-minute-long second frame eventually goes the way of the Welshman, who levels.
Murphy 1-1 Muir
The Scotsman opens with a break of 123, but the Magician takes a close second frame on the pink to level.
Williams 0-1 Si (57-1)
Williams responds with a half-century, but cannot convert the frame after missing a dead-weight pink to the right corner.
Williams 0-1 Si
A chance eventually falls for the two-time ranking finalist, who subsequently clears to the pink to draw first blood.
Williams 0-0 Si (47-46)
The three-time world champion has overturned an early deficit to lead in this opening frame.
We are down to the final red as the safety battle commences.
Welcome back
We're back under way in Cheltenham.
First up on the main table, Mark Williams goes head to head with Si Jiahui in an all top-16 battle.
Join us then
Go and grab a quick drink and bite to eat and we'll be back in just under an hour's time for more action from Cheltenham.
Still to come
7pm
- Zak Surety v Ashley Carty
- Mark Williams v Si Jiahui
- Sanderson Lam v Daniel Womersley
- Ross Muir v Shaun Murphy
8pm
- Judd Trump v Aaron Hill
- Gary Wilson v Hossein Vafaei
- Xiao Guodong v Haydon Pinhey
- Kyren Wilson v Chris Wakelin
That's all for this afternoon
The first eight matches of the day are done, but don't go too far away!
We have another eight coming up from 7pm BST this evening.
Result: Zhao 4-3 Hugill
It was a hard day's graft for Zhao Xintong, but he eventually scrapes past good friend Ashley Hugill with a narrow 4-3 victory.
Zhao 3-3 Hugill (39-12)
Zhao sees another chance go begging after missing a black to the right corner with the cue-ball tight on the side rail.
However, Hugill immediately rattles a red to the opposite corner, and the world champion is back at the table.
Zhao 3-3 Hugill (8-11)
Both players miss an early opportunity in the decider.
Nerves and tension are evident, though they can be forgiven for that in all fairness.
Decider! Zhao 3-3 Hugill
The amateur controls the sixth frame to lead by 42 points with 35 remaining.
Whilst attempting a snooker, Zhao leaves the last red over the left centre, and swiftly nods his head to signal the end of frame.
Can the world champion avoid an early exit?
Century
The 997th of Neil Robertson's career is more than enough to secure a 4-0 whitewash of Liam Davies.
Results
Zhang Anda prevailed in that deciding frame against Duane Jones, while Ali Carter was a 4-2 winner over Patrick Whelan.
Neil Robertson is also going well against Alfie Davies, who he leads 3-0.
Century! Zhao 3-2 Hugill
That was the world champion at his brilliant best.
A timely break of 101 swiftly puts him on the brink of victory.
Decider
They are going to the wire on table three, where Zhang Anda and Duane Jones are locked at 3-3.
Zhao 2-2 Hugill
A fluke on the penultimate red eventually proves enough to seal the frame for the Cyclone, who is back on level terms.
Zhao 1-2 Hugill (44-15)
Zhao takes control of the fourth frame, but cannot seal the frame in one visit.
Around the tables
Neil Robertson 0-0 Alfie Davies
Ali Carter 1-2 Patrick Whelan
Zhang Anda 2-2 Duane Jones
Zhao 1-2 Hugill
That's better from the world champion!
He dominates the third frame with a wonderful clearance of 88 to halve his deficit.
Steal! Zhao 0-2 Hugill
Zhao misses frame-ball red after rattling it in the jaws of the right corner.
His opponent steps in to clear and snatch the second frame on the black.
The world champion is halfway towards defeat here.
Zhao 0-1 Hugill (41-30)
The amatuer manages to edge his nose in front, but both players are missing relatively easy balls.
Zhao has another opportunity here to potentially level.
Comeback King
John Higgins produces a trademark fightback against Mark Davis, the four-time British Open champion recovering from 3-1 down to prevail a 4-3 winner.
Zhao 0-1 Hugill (23-0)
The Cyclone has the first opportunity of the second frame, but misses a fairly routine red to the right corner.
He is yet to truly settle in this contest.
Zhao 0-1 Hugill
The former Crucible qualifier needs no second invitation, clearing the colours to draw first blood.
Zhao 0-0 Hugill (44-61)
The world champion threatens to steal, but misses the yellow while attempting to achieve position on the green near the pink spot.
His opponent only needs a couple of pots to secure the opening frame.
Decider
They are going the distance on table two, where Higgins has recovered from 3-1 down to force a seventh and final frame against Davis.
Zhao 0-0 Hugill (5-57)
The underdog makes a solid start with a half-century putting him in control of the opening frame.
Next up
The world champion takes centre stage now on table one, with Zhao Xintong playing good friend Ashley Hugill.
A showdown with Stuart Bingham awaits the winner.
Higgins 2-3 Davis
The Wizard takes frame five on the pink to keep his hopes alive.
Can he turn things around?
Result: Selby 4-1 Grace
He may not have been at his free-flowing best, but the reigning champion makes a winning start to his title defence.
Higgins 1-3 Davis
Not such good news for the four-time world champion, who is staring down the barrel of another early exit.
Selby 3-1 Grace
A run of 54 moves the Jester to the brink of victory.
Whitewashes
Barry Hawkins completes a comprehensive 4-0 rout of Daniel Wells.
Wu Yize also reels off four frames without reply against Pang Junxu, hitting a top break of 104 along the way.
Selby 2-1 Grace
Another tight frame ensues on table one.
The reigning champion takes this one on the pink to edge his nose back in front.
Hawkins 3-0 Wells
The Hawk follows up his 128 in the opening frame with further breaks of 81 and 96.
His opponent has scored just one point in three frames!
Selby 1-1 Grace
The second frame also comes down to the black.
This time, though, it's the former UK semi-finalist who takes it to level.
Selby 1-0 Grace (62-35)
The Jester takes control of the second frame with a run of 54, but breaks down after missing a tricky red along the rail.
His opponent reduces his deficit, before laying a tricky snooker behind the blue in baulk.
Higgins 0-1 Davis
Over on table two, the former World Seniors champion takes the opener on the pink.
Selby 1-0 Grace
The Leeds cueman sees three different chances go begging, missing the brown then the pink twice.
It proves costly as, despite missing a blue earlier on, Selby snatches the opening frame on the black.
CENTURY
Across the arena, Barry Hawkins is quick out of the blocks.
The four-time ranking event winner opens with a break of 128 against fellow left-hander Daniel Wells.
Selby 0-0 Grace (50-34)
The Jester has a decent opportunity in the opening frame, but he breaks down on 50 after a split doesn't quite work out as intended.
His opponent then picks out a nice plant to the right centre to generate a good chance of his own.
Here we go again
Just over 12 hours after Mark Allen lifted the Steve Davis trophy at the English Open, the main stages of the next ranking event commence at The Centaur in Cheltenham.
Selby is the reigning champion after defeating Higgins in last year's final.
The two players begin their 2025 British Open campaigns against former UK Championship semi-finalists in David Grace and Mark Davis respectively.
Following that, we will be following the progress of world champion Zhao Xintong, who takes on Ashley Hugill.
Hello and welcome
TNT Sports' live text coverage for the British Open kicks off this afternoon, with John Higgins and Mark Selby both in the first batch of matches.
1pm
- Pang Junxu v Wu Yize
- John Higgins v Mark Davis
- David Grace v Mark Selby
- Barry Hawkins v Daniel Wells
2pm
- Alfie Davies v Neil Robertson
- Patrick Whelan v Ali Carter
- Zhang Anda v Duane Jones
- Ashley Hugill v Zhao Xintong
- - -
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Xi'an Grand Prix, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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