Taom UK Women’s Snooker Championship 2025 | Tournament Preview
The 2025/26 World Women’s Snooker Tour gets underway this Friday (29 August) with the staging of the Taom UK Women’s Snooker Championship at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, England.
Second only to the World Championship in terms of history, the prestigious event has been boosted by an increased prize fund and has once again attracted a strong international field which includes eight of the world’s top nine ranked players, including four former champions.
All 32 players will begin in the group stages, with the top two from each group set to progress to the last 16 on Saturday evening.
The event will see the resumption of the battle for the world number one ranking, with Mink Nutcharut currently holding a lead of 4,750 points to closest chaser Ng On Yee following the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.
With points from the 2023 US Open and UK Championship events due to expire following this weekend’s season-opener, Mink’s lead will provisionally be cut to 3,625 points, meaning that she must reach the final to guarantee remaining at the head of the world rankings if Ng were to lift the title.
Alongside the main tournament there will also be side-tournaments held for Under-21 and Seniors players with Ellise Scott and Tessa Davidson both looking to defend their titles, as well as a Challenge Cup on Sunday for players who do not reach the quarter-finals.
To the group stage draw…
Group A
Three-time winner Tessa Davidson is set to make her ninth appearance at the UK Championship and will be looking to improve upon three consecutive last 16 runs at the Northern Snooker Centre since 2022.
The world number eight is joined by compatriot Zoe Killington, Iran’s Zeinab Shahi and Corina Maracine, who makes her first appearance on the WWS Tour in six years since she competed at the 2019 Festival.
Group B
Defending champion Bai Yulu heads up Group B as she looks to maintain a strong record in Leeds which has seen her reach the final on her previous two appearances at the UK Championship.
The 22-year-old will face all-English opposition in the form of Laura Killington, Sophie Drozd and Elizabeth Black, who will all be looking to progress to the knockout rounds.
Group C
England’s Rebecca Kenna is a two-time UK Championship runner-up and will be targeting one better in 2025 as she begins her campaign in Group C.
Daisy May Oliver and Emma Brown will be making their fourth and sixth appearances respectively at the event, while Singapore’s Audrey Chua is set to compete in the UK for the first time, having made her Tour debut at the recent World Championship in China back in May.
Group D
India’s Anupama Ramachandran returns to the UK Championship for her third appearance having reached back-to-back quarter-finals in 2023 and 2024, losing to eventual champions Reanne Evans and Bai Yulu respectively.
The 23-year-old is featured in a cosmopolitan group which also includes fellow two-time quarter-finalist Yee Ki Ho of Hong Kong China, Selina Dean of England, and Latvia’s Anna Prisjažņuka, who is ready to play her first Tour event since she reached the last 16 of the World Championship in 2015.
Group E
One of the most successful players in UK Championship history, four-time champion Ng On Yee will be aiming for a five-star performance in Leeds as she makes her ninth appearance in the competition since 2013.
Also set to contest a multinational group, she will take on China’s Lynn Shi, as well as 14-year-old duo Ellise Scott and Phakwalan Kongkaew, with the latter set to compete in Europe for the first time in her career.
Group F
Former world champion Baipat Siripaporn is set to make her fourth appearance at the UK Championship and will be aiming to improve upon her semi-final result of 2023 with a run to the title this weekend.
The Thai player will take on Scotland’s Deborah Fladgate – fresh from her first WWS Seniors trophy at the British Open in March – as well as English duo Nat Howard and Louise Jordan who return to the Northern Snooker Centre once again.
Group G
Record 12-time UK Champion Reanne Evans returns to a venue at which she has enjoyed great success as she looks to become the first player to win a title on 13 separate occasions on the WWS Tour this weekend.
The world number four, who has enjoyed an impressive start to the professional World Snooker Tour season in recent weeks, will be looking to avenge defeat to Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul at the British Open earlier this year as the pair meet again in the group stages, while also taking on Scotland’s Mhairi Mackay and England’s Rose Nicholson this weekend.
Group H
World number one Mink Nutcharut returns to Leeds aiming to break her duck at the UK Championship, an event at which she is yet to reach the final from four previous appearances.
The Thai star will begin her latest campaign against So Man Yan of Hong Kong China, Diana Schuler of Germany and Singapore’s Charlene Chai, who will compete in the UK for the first time in eight years following her return to the Tour at the recent World Championship in China.
Under-21 / Seniors
Defending champion Ellise Scott heads the draw in the Under-21 competition which will feature players from England and Thailand over the coming weekend.
She will await the winner of a match between Phakwalan Kongkaew and Laura Killington in the top half of the draw, while Zoe Killington and Daisy Oliver will face off for the right to play against Narucha Phoemphul in the bottom section.
In the Seniors competition, Tessa Davidson will be looking to extend a winning streak which dates back to the 2023 UK Championship and lift what would be a 17th title since her first in 2022.
Second seeded Diana Schuler is the only other former Seniors event champion among the eight-player field set to contest the title, with players from England, Scotland and Singapore completing the field.
All the action gets underway on Friday from 12:00pm BST, with the latest match results and standings available via WPBSA SnookerScores.
