Star names overcome sticky situations on day one of the 2026 British Open snooker

Big stage snooker action returned to UK shores on Monday as the main venue, televised phases of the 2026 British Open began.

The last time a professional event was played in front of a live audience on English soil was at the World Championship near the start of May, and the winner of that Crucible crown, Wu Yize, was back on the baize.

The 22-year-old from China appeared to be sailing through to the next round as breaks of 63 and 57 helped him to a 3-0 lead over compatriot Liu Hongyu.

However, the reigning World Champion couldn't put the contest to bed, and world number 55 Liu clung in, taking three very close frames in-a-row to force an unlikely decider.

Wu - albeit not in one visit - managed to eventually get across the line and avoid back-to-back opening round defeats after his surprise loss to Artemijs Zizins in the Wuhan Open last week.

Next up for Wu in this ‘FA Cup-style’ random draw event is 2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson who defeated Austria’s Florian Nuessle, 4-1.

Playing his first match in over two years without the world number one status, Judd Trump was merely a spectator early on in his encounter with Dylan Emery.

Welsh youngster Emery started like a train, compiling breaks of 107 and 125 in consecutive frames to go 2-0 up.

But perhaps experience on the main feature table began to show later in the evening as Trump strung together four frames along with runs of 66, 111, and 60 to set up a round of 64 date with Ricky Walden.

The British Open has been a source of frustration for 31-time ranking event winner Trump, who has only one quarter-final appearance in five attempts to his name.

In a match that didn't finish until past half midnight - although it didn't start until 10pm - reigning UK and China Open champion Mark Selby bookended a 4-3 win over David Lilley with efforts of 132 and 126.

Trio of seeds eliminated in round one in Cheltenham

Not all the top 16 seeds survived day one, though, with two former World Champions exiting.

Mark Williams - who reportedly only arrived in the UK from the Far East the night before - scored just 31 points as he was crushed 4-0 by David Gilbert. The result was baize revenge for Gilbert who was defeated by Williams in Wuhan last week.

The highest ranked star to be eliminated was Neil Robertson in a late night finale with Pang Junxu.

Robertson crafted a 129 to level the tie, but WST Classic runner-up Pang pieced together three frames on the spin for a 4-1 success.

Ashley Carty recovered from 3-1 down to oust number 16 seed Si Jiahui, 4-3, on the final pink.

Title defence up and running for reigning champion Shaun Murphy

There were no such concerns for reigning and defending British Open champion Shaun Murphy (breaks of 63 and 87) who whitewashed 12-times world women's champion Reanne Evans, 4-0. Murphy meets Gilbert in round two.

Barry Hawkins (76, 58, 73) also progressed without reply against Deng Haohui, meanwhile Ding Junhui recorded a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Anton Kazakov, during which he racked up sequences of 75, 127, 57, and 72.

Mark Joyce - Ronnie O'Sullivan's replacement in the draw - fashioned 100 and 113 in consecutive frames during a 4-1 win. Teenage Chinese rookie Wang Xinbo also advanced by the same margin.

Chris Wakelin struck a 108 to level up at one apiece, but had to win three frames in-a-row from 3-1 behind to deny 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel, 4-3.

A semi-finalist at the Wuhan Open on Saturday afternoon - where his incredible 18-match winning streak in that competition was ended - Xiao Guodong faced a tight turnaround travelling to the opposite side of the world, but he scored a trio of half-centuries in a 4-2 win over Jiang Jun.

Record-equalling four-time British Open champion John Higgins recovered from a frame down, making breaks of 78 and 92 in a 4-1 win against Hossein Vafaei.

To accommodate Wuhan Open runner-up Zhao Xintong having his round one match pushed back to Tuesday, there was one second round tie played on Monday, with Ukrainian youngster Iulian Boiko being the first cueist through to the last 32 after dispatching Xu Yichen, 4-2.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 British Open snooker, visit our tournament information centre here.