The race to qualify for the 2025 Johnstone's Paint Masters will be settled over the next few days, with only the top 16 seeds at the end of this week's Victorian Plumbing UK Championship to earn a spot at Alexandra Palace in January.
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Chris Wakelin is 15th and his first round victory over Matthew Selt in York boosted his hopes of an Alexandra Palace debut. Wakelin is not quite safe yet but he has a buffer of £26,400 over Jak Jones in 17th so looks well placed.
Neil Robertson's defeat against Judd Trump on Tuesday leaves the door open for the chasing pack. Two-time Masters king Robertson remains 16th but leads Jones by just £150 and Barry Hawkins by £9,000. That means that Jones and Hawkins can both go ahead of Robertson by reaching the quarter-finals. Hawkins meets David Gilbert on Wednesday afternoon, then Jones faces Michael Holt on Thursday evening.
Gilbert and Jack Lisowski are also in the mix although both need to reach the final in York to have a chance, while Stuart Bingham and Wu Yize could leap into the top 16 by winning the title.
Victorian Plumbing UK Championship prize money
Winner £250,000
Runner-up £100,000
Semi-finalist £50,000
Quarter-finalist £25,000
Last 16 £15,000
Last 32 £10,000
Last 48 £7,500
Last 80 £5,000
Last 112 £2,500
High Break £15,000
Total £1,205,000
The draw for the Johnstone's Paint Masters will be done this Sunday (December 1st) with the format to be announced soon afterwards, so stay tuned to this website for that news. Make sure you book tickets before they sell out, for the unique Alexandra Palace experience. For details click here.