2015 UK Championship

2015 Betway UK Championship
Tournament information
Dates24 November – 6 December 2015 (2015-11-24 – 2015-12-06)
VenueBarbican Centre
CityYork
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£732,000
Winner's share£150,000
Highest break Neil Robertson (AUS) (147)
Final
Champion Neil Robertson (AUS)
Runner-up Liang Wenbo (CHN)
Score10–5
2014
2016

The 2015 UK Championship (officially the 2015 Betway UK Championship) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 November and 6 December 2015 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.[1]

The 2014 champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had not played in professional competition since April, decided not to defend his title.[2] He made his debut as a pundit during the tournament, providing in-studio expert analysis for Eurosport alongside Jimmy White.[3]

On the opening day of the tournament, amateur player Adam Duffy defeated world number 9 and two-time UK Champion Ding Junhui 6–2, a result that was described as "one of the biggest upsets in UK Championship history".[4] In the sixth frame of his third-round match against Neil Robertson, Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh came close to achieving his first maximum break in professional competition, but missed the final black off the spot.[5]

The final between Australia's Neil Robertson and China's Liang Wenbo marked the first time that a British player did not compete in the UK Championship final.[6] In the sixth frame, Robertson made the 115th official maximum break in professional competition, and the first 147 break ever attained in a Triple Crown snooker final, for which he earned £44,000 (a rolling prize of £40,000 for a 147 break, plus the tournament's £4,000 highest break prize).[7] It was the fourth time in a row, that a maximum was made in a UK Championship. Robertson went on to defeat Liang 10–5 to claim his second UK Championship title, and the 11th ranking title of his career.[8]

A record 104 centuries were made during the tournament, including nine from Robertson and eight from Liang.[7]

  1. ^ "Calendar 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan will not defend UK Snooker Championship". BBC Sport. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan to make full punditry debut live on Eurosport for UK Championship". EuroSport. 29 October 2015.
  4. ^ "UK Championship: Ding Junhui beaten by amateur Adam Duffy". BBC Sport. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Thepchaiya Un-Nooh misses black off spot for a 147". The Irish Times. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Robertson sets up final date with Liang at UK Championship". RTÉ Sport. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Robertson Wins UK and Makes 147". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. ^ "UK Championship final: Neil Robertson makes 147 and wins title". BBC Sport. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.