2026 Champion of Champions snooker draw revealed as Ronnie O'Sullivan set for home soil return

One of the most unique events on the professional calendar, the Champion of Champions invites title winners from the world of snooker across the past 12 months.

This year’s edition takes place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester between November 9-15. The host broadcaster in the United Kingdom is ITV4.

Always a 16-player affair, the format is essentially a straight knockout, although on each of the opening four days of the tournament a quarter of the draw is completed, with two best-of-seven frames round one matches in the afternoon, and then the winners returning in the evening to face each other in a best-of-11 quarter-final.

These four ‘group’ winners then return later in the week for the semi-finals which are also first to six, with the two-session best of 19 final on Sunday. The winner of this year’s event will again collect £150,000.

The first round draw for the Champion of Champions, what are the matches?

Mark Selby is the reigning and defending champion having won this title for the first time last year; a memorable victory in his home city where he compiled four century breaks in defeating Judd Trump, 10-5, in the final.

Selby will help break off the competition on Monday afternoon when he faces Shoot Out champion Alfie Burden who is in this event for a second successive year.

Welsh Open and Scottish Open title holders respectively, Barry Hawkins meets Chris Wakelin later in the session.

On Tuesday, two-time winner of this crown Neil Robertson plays reigning World Women's Snooker Champion Panchaya Channoi of Thailand. Channoi is one of three debutants this year.

Robertson was the last player to receive an invite, qualifying via his world ranking position. He doesn't currently hold a professional title, but due to several players winning multiple times over the last year, there was a space for him.

German Masters champion Judd Trump - who has been to the Champion of Champions final six times before, with one triumph in 2021 - plays Jak Jones in this same section.

Jones has enjoyed a career-changing season already, winning his maiden pro title at the Championship League before doubling up just weeks later at the British Open.

Ronnie O’Sullivan aiming for record-extending fifth Champion of Champions crown

The most decorated player in Champion of Champions snooker history is Ronnie O'Sullivan, and the four-time victor is back having skipped the tournament last year, scheduled to star on Wednesday.

O'Sullivan played just three professional matches on English soil last season, but the seven-times World Champion looks set to feature in Leicester as he tries to play more on the circuit. Last month he competed at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, although lost his opening match to Ka Wai Cheung.

The 50-year-old has not won a top-flight snooker title in over two-and-a-year years, but qualifies here by claiming the World Seniors Championship last May at the Crucible Theatre.

'The Rocket' is in a brutal quarter of the draw; he plays Shaun Murphy first, with the winner to face either reigning World Champion Wu Yize or current Wuhan Open champion Chang Bingyu. Both Wu and Chang are making their bows in this tournament.

The final section, on Thursday, features world number one Zhao Xintong - who like Selby, won four titles during the qualification cycle - against World Open winner Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

The last two players to get their campaigns underway are Masters champion Kyren Wilson - runner-up in 2018 - and English Open champion Ali Carter.

Note: The winner of the ongoing 2026 International Championship in Nanjing, China is understood to earn an invite for the 2027 Champion of Champions.