China Open snooker qualifiers 2026: Event information, draw, results, schedule, how to watch
The new professional snooker season breaks off at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester for the qualifying rounds of the 2026 China Open which take place between June 10th to 14th.
The China Open is one of the most important tournaments in snooker history, and it makes a welcome return to the top-flight calendar after an absence of over seven years. Neil Robertson won the last edition staged in 2019 in Beijing before the event was cancelled the following year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Now back on the professional circuit at a new home in Taiyuan, the 2026 China Open is set to be the most lucrative snooker event ever held in the Far East, with a total prize fund of over £1.2 million and a winner’s purse carrying £250,000.
How does the China Open snooker draw work? What is the format?
The revived China Open features a format very similar to that of the UK Championship with a tiered draw and best of 11 frames matches throughout most of the event.
In total, there are set to be 146 players involved, with a group of amateur players having earned invites/wildcards to play alongside the professional tour card holders who were all permitted to enter.
There are two distinctive phases to the 2026 China Open: the qualifying rounds in Leicester in June, and the main draw, televised stages in Taiyuan held between August 8-16.
The world’s top 16 ranked players all go straight through to the final rounds in the Far East, and they will be joined in the main draw by the 16 qualifiers who emerge from the Mattioli.
However, there will also be a wildcard round in China featuring two local amateurs; two of the qualifiers will be drawn out at random to face these wildcards. In 2005, home hero Ding Junhui famously won the China Open as a wildcard.
There are four rounds of qualifying in Leicester with the lowest seeded players having to start at the opening hurdle. Those seeded 49 to 80 enter the fray in the second qualifying round, while cueists seeded 17 to 48 come in at the penultimate round.
The final qualifying round consists of 32 players with the winners of those 16 matches booking berths for the big party several weeks’ later.
Who is playing at the 2026 China Open qualifiers?
A host of rookie professionals will be playing their debut top-flight matches in the competition - including newly-minted world women’s champion Panchaya Channoi, meanwhile snooker legend Jimmy White is set for a record-equalling 47th consecutive professional term.
Amongst those featuring from the penultimate round are reigning Northern Ireland Open champion Jack Lisowski - the highest ranked player at these qualifiers - and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who was the winner of the last ranking event to be held in China, the World Open last March.
Former World Champions Stuart Bingham and Luca Brecel are also in the mix - they would play each other in the final qualifying round should they both navigate their opening assignments - as too is 2008 champion, Stephen Maguire.
Other ranking event winners in the draw for these preliminaries are Gary Wilson, Hossein Vafaei, Ryan Day, Tom Ford, Zhang Anda, Anthony McGill, Matthew Selt, Ali Carter, Lei Peifan, David Gilbert, Matthew Stevens, Jordan Brown, Fan Zhengyi, Marco Fu, Michael Holt, Ricky Walden, Alfie Burden, and Robert Milkins.
How to watch 2026 China Open qualifying:
- Global (except China): Table one with live commentary will be on WST Play
- UK and Europe: HBO Max
- China: Migu, Huya, Douyin, WeChat