Latest World Snooker Federation Championships break off in Bulgaria with pro tour cards up for grabs
Arguably the sport's most prestigious amateur event these days, the 2026 World Snooker Federation Championships are underway.
This year's Championships are being held at The Hotel Marinela in Sofia, Bulgaria between January 19 to February 1.
Three competitions will be staged over the coming days: the WSF Junior and Open Championships, and the WSF Women's Championship - a ranking event on the World Women's Snooker Tour.
Both the Junior and Open tournaments offer a two-year professional snooker tour card to the winner.
A brief history of the World Snooker Federation Championships
Following political differences between the World Professional Billiards Snooker and Billiards Association (WPBSA) and the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, the WPBSA created the World Snooker Federation in 2017.
The new body held its first Championships in 2018 in Malta, with China's Luo Honghao winning the main event and earning promotion to snooker's top flight.
Returning to Malta for its second edition in 2020, the Championships added a junior category that was won by Gao Yang. Current top 16 star Wu Yize was a semi-finalist at that under-17 event.
Having been subsequently relegated from the World Snooker Tour, Gao re-earned a pro ticket by winning the main WSF title in 2025, becoming the first player to have claimed both WSF accolades.
Since being staged in Malta, the Championships have been played in England, Australia, Albania, Morocco, and now Bulgaria.
In the main 'Open' event, four of the six champions have been from China. This includes current world number 16 Si Jiahui who triumphed in Sheffield in 2022. Little over 14 months later, Si reached the last four of the world professional championship at the Crucible.
The roll of honour for the Junior competition - which is now for under-19 aged cueists - is more diverse. From its five completed editions to date, players from five different countries have lifted the trophy. On this list is 2023 champion Stan Moody who defeated fellow Englishman Liam Pullen in the final in Sydney, Australia.
A look ahead to the 2026 WSF Championships in Sofia
This year's WSF Junior and Women's Championships takes place between January 19-23, with the open category to follow between January 24 to February 1.
A total of 80 players representing 20 different nations are set to feature in the junior division. These contestants have been split into round robin groups of five, with the top two from each pool qualifying for the knockout rounds.
On the opening day of the competition, 16-year-old Chen Qien made a 140 in the first frame of his first match.
The women's event features professional tour card holders Bai Yulu, Mink Nutcharut and Ng On Yee. Reigning world women's snooker champion Bai goes into the tournament on an incredible 31-match winning streak on the women's circuit.
The entry list for the main WSF Championship is yet to be released.
How to follow the 2026 WSF Championship
The draw, results, and live scoring of all three WSF tournaments can be viewed on snookerscores.net here.
The World Snooker Federation will also be posting updates on its social media channels, and livestream coverage of the events - with two tables set to be shown - will be on the WPBSA YouTube channel.