2026 British Open Snooker: Draw, results, schedule, prize money, how to watch

A world ranking event with a total prize fund of just over half-a-million pounds, competitors are aiming to lift The Clive Everton Trophy - named in honour of the legendary snooker journalist and commentator who passed away in 2024.

The reigning champion is Shaun Murphy, who defeated Anthony McGill in last year’s final.

The 2026 British Open will award the fourth ranking title of the 2026/27 professional season, and is the first big stage, televised snooker action to be held in the UK since the World Championship title was won by Wu Yize near the beginning of May.

Having been an annual fixture on snooker’s top flight between 1985 to 2004, the British Open spent 17 years away before being resurrected in 2021.

How does the 2026 British Open draw work and what is the format?

A total of 128 players started out in this year’s competition, although not all of them will be in Cheltenham, as we explain below.

Open to all professional tour card holders, the British Open is a straight knockout event with a flat draw, meaning all players start out in the opening round, regardless of world ranking.

Unlike almost all the other tournaments on the World Snooker Tour, the British Open uses an FA Cup-style random draw for each and every round of the event. There is no seeding and no protection for the top ranked stars - anyone can draw anyone at any stage.

The majority of round one matches in the 2026 British Open were played as 'qualifiers' which were held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester in June. The winners of those ties are already in the last 64 and scheduled to be in Cheltenham.

All the round one matches featuring top 16 ranked players, though, have been held over to Cheltenham, where they will be played in front of an audience and television cameras.

None of the top 16 players drew each other in round one.

Matches are the best of seven frames up to and including the last 16. The quarter-finals are the best of nine, semi-finals are the best of 11, and the two-session final is the best of 19.

Who is playing in the 2026 British Open?

All of the world's top 16 ranked stars entered the competition, although Mark Allen (personal reasons) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (medical reasons) have since withdrawn.

Defending champion Murphy is aiming to become the first player in British Open history to win back-to-back titles, and he starts his campaign against 12-time world women’s champion Reanne Evans.

Crucible king Wu and new snooker world number one Zhao Xintong are also in the draw, as are ‘Class of 92’ members John Higgins and Mark Williams. Higgins has claimed this title a record-equalling four times (level with Stephen Hendry), meanwhile Williams has a hat-trick to his name, two coming in recent years (2021, 2023).

Shanghai Masters champion Judd Trump and China Open champion Mark Selby - who both won those accolades during the recent roadshow in the Far East - are also in the mix.

Cheltenham cueman Jack Lisowski has qualified for his home professional tournament.

Professional snooker’s newest ranking event champion, Wuhan Open winner Chang Bingyu is also expected to be at The Centaur.

What is the 2026 British Open tournament schedule?

• Monday 31st August: Round One (held over matches)
• Tuesday 1st September: Round Two
• Wednesday 2nd September: Round Two/Round Three
• Thursday 3rd September: Round Three/Round Four
• Friday 4th September: Quarter-Finals
• Saturday 5th September: Semi-Finals
• Sunday 6th September: Final

For the daily match schedules, visit the World Snooker Tour website here.

What is the prize money, how much does the winner get?

• Champion: £100,000
• Runner-up: £45,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £20,000 (each)
• Losing quarter-finalists: £12,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 16: £9,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 32: £6,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 64: £3,000 (each)
• Highest break: £5,000 *
• Total prize fund: £502,000

* The highest break of the tournament, so far, is from Liam Highfield who made a maximum 147 break during his qualifying match against Stephen Maguire.

How to watch the 2026 British Open

• UK: Channel 5
• Mainland Europe And Selected Countries*: Eurosport and HBO Max
• China: Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• Hong Kong China: Now Sports
• Malaysia: Astro Supersport
• Thailand: True Sport
• Taiwan: Sportcast
• New Zealand: Sky Sports
• All other territories including Republic of Ireland: WST Play

*The countries which receive this coverage are: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C.I.S. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Vatican State.