Belgian Women’s Open 2025 | Tournament Preview
The World Women’s Snooker Tour returns to Bruges this Friday for the sixth event of the 2024/25 season at The Trickshot, Bruges, Belgium.
The fifth staging of the competition is set to welcome a bumper field which will see world number one Mink Nutcharut bid to win for the third consecutive year in Bruges, while former champions Reanne Evans (2019) and Ng On Yee (2020) will also be among those targeting glory on Sunday evening.
With an impressive 37 entries received – including 18 from mainland Europe – the event is set to be one of the biggest ever women’s snooker tournaments staged in the country with an estimated 93 matches to be completed during the three-day event.
The top five seeds have each been seeded through to the last 16 stage, with England’s Rebecca Kenna and India’s Anupama Ramachandran joining the three former Belgian champions in the knockout rounds.
The remaining 32 players have been drawn into eight groups of four, with the top two players from each group to progress to the knockout stages. The best six group winners will advance straight to the last 16, with the remaining 10 qualifiers to contest five preliminary round matches.
Alongside the main tournament there will also be side-tournaments held for Under-21 and Seniors players, as well as a Challenge Cup on Sunday for players who do not reach the quarter-finals.
Group A
Hong Kong China’s Yee Ki Ho makes her first appearance of the season on the World Women’s Snooker Tour as she hopes to improve upon her run to the last 16 stage of the competition a year ago.
Also the Challenge Cup winner in 2024 – during which she notably compiled an impressive break of 70 from the 75 points available – Ki will line up in a group which includes former World Championship quarter-finalist Anja Vandenbussche, who also reached the last 16 last year.
The group is completed by two players who will be making their WWS Tour debuts, with Belgian Kamila Khodjaeva joined by Theresa Henkel of Germany.
Group B
So Man Yan makes her return to The Trickshot for the first time since her run to the quarter-finals in 2020 as the Hong Kong China player look to continue her rise back up the world rankings having returned to the top 20 last year.
Awaiting her will be home player Caty Dehaene, who has reached the last 16 three times in Belgium and talented English junior Ellise Scott, who will compete in her first event outside of the UK.
Germany’s Melanie Irle-Morgenroth will also make her maiden appearance on the WWS Tour in Group B.
Group C
Three-time UK Championship winner Tessa Davidson will make her first appearance of 2025 in Group C with mixed memories of last year in Bruges having won the Seniors tournament but lost narrowly to Ng On Yee 3-2 at the quarter-final stage of the main competition.
This year she will begin her campaign in a group which features improving junior Laura Killington, former Australian Open quarter-finalist Yuk Fan Lau and home player Emilie Demeester, who makes her third appearance at the event.
Group D
Germany’s Diana Schuler maintains her ever-present record at the Belgian Open since its return to the calendar in 2019 having twice reached the knockout rounds in 2019 and 2023.
Among her opponents will be 20-year-old Chan Wai Lam who made her Tour debut at last year’s World Championship, Poland’s Paulina Delega who returns for the first time since the 2024 British Open and Belgian debutant Diana Khodjaeva.
Group E
Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul is the top seed in Group E as the 19-year-old looks to continue her rise up the world ranking list which saw her achieve a new career-best 14th position following the WSF Women’s Championship last month.
She will line-up in a group which includes England’s Connie Stephens and Belgian duo Justine Abrassart and Martine Ketels, who both made their first appearances last year.
Group F
Scotland’s Sophie Nix is set to make her first appearance in Belgium and will be looking to carry on the scoring form which saw her hit a personal best 56 against Bai Yulu at the recent WSF Women’s Championship in Morocco.
The 16-year-old will line up against Guernsey’s Kate Le Gallez – who reached the last 16 stage two years ago – as well as junior number two Zoe Killington and home player Tamara Huyghe, who returns to the event for a second year.
Group G
Belgian number one Wendy Jans headlines Group G with the goal of going one better than her run to the final back in 2023 which saw her lose out to Mink Nutcharut in the title match.
The 14-time European Women’s Snooker Championship winner will take on compatriot Elke Hoebeke, the returning Hannah Graaf who plays at the competition for the first time since 2019, and German debutant Edith Sirch.
Group H
The final group is led by India’s Amee Kamani, who will be looking to progress from the group stages for the first time having lost out in a notably tough group a year ago.
The former Australian Open finalist will take on experienced Hong Konger Jaique Ip Wan In, home player Elise Boon and Poland’s Dalia Alska in 2025.
Under-21 / Seniors
The Belgian Open will host an Under-21 competition for the first time since 2020 with a bumper field of seven players set to contest this year’s title.
With five of the top six seeds in the draw, a high-quality field has been assembled with Chan Wai Lam and Edith Sirch also looking to go deep in the competition.
In the Seniors competition, England’s Tessa Davidson is one of nine players in the draw and will be looking to complete a hat-trick of titles in Brues following wins in 2023 and 2024.
Germany’s Diana Schuler – who can count a win against Davidson at the 2022 Scottish Open – will be the top seed in the opposite half of the draw, as one of an impressive eight players from mainland Europe in the draw.
All the action gets underway on Friday from 10:00am CET, with the latest match results and standings available via WPBSA SnookerScores.
