The 16 players battling for huge BetVictor Bonus at Welsh Open

The BetVictor Series comes to an end at the Welsh Open next week, with 16 players still capable of finishing top of the rankings and landing the £150,000 bonus. The four Home Nations events make up the BetVictor series and as no one has dominated those tournaments, plenty of players are still in with a shout of the bonus. Neil Robertson tops the rankings, mainly thanks to his English Open win, while Kyren Wilson is firmly in contention after becoming Northern Ireland Open champ.

However, shock Scottish Open champion Lei Peifan has not qualified for the Welsh, so his hopes of landing the £150,000 are over. Judd Trump has also not entered the event, so he will not be winning the bonus that he has claimed in three of the five years it has been handed out so far. The other two players to land the bonus were John Higgins in 2022 and memorably Rob Milkins in ’23 when he beat Shaun Murphy to win the Welsh Open and pocket the substantial cheque.

The clear frontrunners to win the bonus this time round are Robertson and Wilson as the rest of the field will need a brilliant week to pocket the cash. Wu Yize could win the bonus with a run to the final but everyone else in the running will need to lift the trophy to win the added prize. Neil Robertson – £118,600. Kyren Wilson – £114,400. Wu Yize – £90,000. Mark Allen – £39,600. Chris Wakelin – £39,600.

Barry Hawkins – £31,200. Ishpreet Singh Chadha – £30,000. Pang Junxu – £30,000. Xiao Guodong – £24,600. Luca Brecel – £24,000. Shaun Murphy – £24,000. Elliot Slessor – £21,000. John Higgins – £19,800. Tom Ford – £18,600. Noppon Saengkham – £18,600. Mark Selby – £18,600. Winner: £100,000. Runner-up: £45,000. Semi-final: £21,000. Quarter-final: £13,200. Last 16: £9,000. Last 32: £5,400. Last 64: £3,600.

Last 96: £1,000. Robertson is obviously aware of the windfall on offer, but he will be concentrating on winning the tournament, as he does every event he enters and the cash will take care of itself. ‘It’s going to be a talking point throughout next week and obviously I’ll hope that other results go my way,’ said Robertson. ‘But it doesn’t add pressure for me. There are always a few nerves before a match, but for me it’s the same in the first round as it would be in a big final. I’ve played deciding frames in tournaments with a lot of money on the line, but at that stage it’s never about the money, the competitive side of you just wants to win.

‘I’m sure the likes of Kyren are the same. So the money doesn’t mean as much as it would to someone like Robert Milkins who won the bonus a couple of years ago. ‘I might go out in the first round and still win the bonus, or I might get to the final and not win it. My number one focus is to win the tournament because that’s what I try to do every week.’. Qualifying for the Welsh Open comes to a close on Thursday with the main event beginning in Llandudno on Monday.