Saudi Arabia Masters Snooker: Everything You Need to Know
The 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters: Big money, big points and three big-priced fancies.
Set to face rivals he recently beat, Kyren Wilson appears a fair bet on his 6/1 odds. © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- The £2.3 million 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters takes place this week.
- Judd Trump, the defending champion, trades as the marginal betting favourite.
- 2025 Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson is the form horse.
- The £500,000 to-the-winner competition will be broadcast live in the UK.
The 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters gets underway on Friday, 8th August. Its £700,000 final is scheduled for Saturday, 16th August. This is the second ranking event of snooker’s 2025/26 season, and as the ranking points system in the sport is prize money-based, it is a massively important competition.
Despite being in just its second year, and because of its handsome prize-pool – £500,000 goes to the winner – The Saudi Arabia Masters is regarded as one of the ‘big four’ events on snooker’s calendar.
The others are The World Championship, The UK Championship and The Masters.
What Is the Saudi Arabia Masters Snooker Format?
Players ranked 81 or lower, plus those with amateur status and wildcard players, will contest one of the 32 Saudi Arabia Masters opening round matches.
Success will see a player progress to round two, where they will meet a rival world-ranked 49-80.
Round three consists of players who have progressed from the previous round and will each meet a rival world-ranked 17-48.
Like previous rounds, the format is ‘best of 7 frames’. Round four has no seeds parachuted into it, only round three winners, and this ‘last 48’ stage is played as the ‘best of 9 frames’ matches.
The prize here is a place in the ‘last 32’ stage and a meeting with one of the world’s top-16 players who will enter the fray at this juncture. It is the point where five consecutive match wins are required to become the champion.
Subsequent rounds, round 6, the quarter and semi-finals, are all ‘best of 11 frames’ matches.
The final was won in dramatic fashion last year by Mark Williams, who made a 62 break, only for Judd Trump to respond with a 72 clearance to win the match 10-9 on the final black. The current format will again be the ‘best of 19’ frames.
Who Are the Saudi Masters Betting Favourites?
Judd Trump is the current world number one and the reigning Saudi Arabia Masters champion. With 30 ranking titles and almost 1,100 century breaks on his CV, he deserves his mantle as the competition’s 7/2 favourite.
However, a new sheriff in town and the UK’s online betting sites, acutely aware of his demolition of the 2025 World Championship field, are keen to keep Zhao Xintong on their side. The Chinese star trades on 4/1 odds.
What Is the Saudi Arabia Masters Snooker Prize Money?
World Snooker is predicting record prize money levels this season. The total prize fund for this event is £2,302,000. Its payout structure is identical to the World Championship for ‘last 32’ finishing positions and better.
- Winner: £500,000
- Runner-up: £200,000
- Semi-finalists: £100,000
- Quarter-finalists: £50,000
- Last 16: £30,000
- Last 32: £20,000
- Last 48: £11,000
One hundred and forty-four players, including all professionals on the World Snooker Tour, have received invites to the Saudi Arabia Masters.
They will receive a minimum prize of £2,000. There is an additional £50,000 prize for a 147 break.
What Are the Best Bets for the Competition?
2024 World Champion, Kyren Wilson, is the form horse. He may have fallen at the first flight in his title defence.
Still, his 2024/25 season was otherwise exceptional with four ranking victories and final appearances in The Masters and Championship League.
Last weekend, Wilson collected £210,000 for winning the Shanghai Masters. En route to the final he beat Si Jiahui, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Zhao Xintong (by an impressive 10-5 scoreline). He posted five centuries when defeating Ali Carter 11-9 in the decider.
Wilson is fancied to outplay his 6/1 Saudi Arabia Masters odds – primarily because he could face Si Jiahui in his second match and Ronnie O’Sullivan in his third – and he is our principal selection.
Alternatives include Ali Carter, who may be an infrequent winner, but, with his Shanghai Masters final appearance fresh in the memory, could make a mockery of the 33/1 odds offered by the UK’s leading online bookmakers.
The rapidly improving Joe O’Connor (50/1) and the unpredictable but, when on song, brilliant Mark Allen (16/1) are others to consider as each-way possibles.
How Can I Watch Snooker’s Saudi Arabia Masters?
The competition will be broadcast live in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports and via Discovery+. The best online betting sites will also stream live action of games played on the feature table.
