In the opening round of the 2025 UK Championship, Chinese players Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong defeat their respective opponents to reach to the last 16 on Monday. Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan of the UK is set to take on China's Zhou Yuelong in the first round of the main draw on Tuesday evening, with a spot in the last 16 for grabs. Photo: Xinhua

In the opening round of the 2025 UK Championship, Chinese players Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong defeat their respective opponents to reach to the last 16 on Monday. Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan of the UK is set to take on China's Zhou Yuelong in the first round of the main draw on Tuesday evening, with a spot in the last 16 for grabs.

As of Tuesday morning, after the ninth to twelfth matches of the first round were completed on Day 3 of the 2025 UK Championship, all results were in — and the Chinese contingent matched its record performance, with six players reaching the last 16.

In Zhao's match, he dominated the first session with a 4-0 lead. The fifth frame grew tense, but Zhao eventually seized the chance with a 59 break to move to match point. His component Long Zehuang, also a Chinese player, responded with a 60 break and a fluke pink to win the sixth frame. Zhao then produced a decisive 72 break in the seventh to seal a 6-1 victory and move into the next round.

Ding Junhui led 3-1 in the first session. After the interval, Chinese player Xu Si capitalized on his chances to pull level at 3-3. Ding responded with breaks of 92 and 109 to reach match point. Xu made a 96 break to take the ninth frame, but Ding closed out the match in the tenth with multiple scoring visits, completing a 6-4 win to advance.

O'Sullivan's match against Zhou has been scheduled for 9 pm local time. The two have met three times in professional competitions, with O'Sullivan leading the head-to-head 2-1.

"In their most recent encounter at the 2024 Masters, Zhou edged O'Sullivan 6-5. Whether Zhou can replicate that success and disrupt O'Sullivan's title-defending rhythm at the UK Championship is the key question this time," Guo Ai, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old O'Sullivan previously made headlines for saying he would hang up his cue if not for tournaments in China and Saudi Arabia, as he prepares to play in the UK for the first time this season. According to Metro Daily, he has not competed on UK soil since reaching the semi-finals of the World Championship in May, partly because it is no longer truly "home soil." Now based in Dubai, he has chosen to play only in professional events held in China and Saudi Arabia so far this season.

Commenting on O'Sullivan's remarks, Guo noted that in recent years, Chinese snooker players have shown steady improvement in the qualifying stages, with performances rising year by year.

"In 2024, four Chinese players reached the main draw. This year the number climbed to seven, and with five seeded Chinese players automatically qualifying, a total of 12 entered the main draw — a clear sign of the significant rise in China's overall competitiveness in snooker," Guo added.