Snooker's Asian swing continues as revived China Open offers record-breaking riches

Following two batches of qualifying rounds and the Championship League Ranking Event - which were all held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester behind-closed-doors earlier this summer - the first big-stage, televised competition of the 2026/27 World Snooker Tour campaign was won last weekend by Judd Trump at the Shanghai Masters.

Trump defeated outgoing title holder Kyren Wilson, 11-6, in the final to claim the prestigious invitational title for the second time in his career, and collect the winner's purse of £210,000.

But there isn't much time for Trump to celebrate as he and the rest of the world's top 16 players all make their way to a new city on the professional calendar, with the returning and revamped China Open taking place in Taiyuan between Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th August.

The 2026 China Open ranking tournament is set to be the most lucrative, and perhaps biggest snooker event ever held in the Far East, with a top prize of £250,000 - the richest green baize amount ever offered in that part of the world.

A very welcome addition to this year's competition roster, the China Open has a very significant history attached to it.

First held in December 1999 - the last professional event of the millennium - Ronnie O'Sullivan won the inaugural crown and successfully defended the accolade the following year.

In 2005, the China Open moved to Beijing where a young Ding Junhui - who turned 18-years-old during the tournament - changed the course of snooker history as he won his first professional title after defeating seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry in the final that was watched by an estimated 110 million people on China’s national sports channel of CCTV-5.

The first cueist from mainland China to get anywhere near landing a professional title, Ding sparked the Chinese snooker boom and become a national hero, inspiration, and trailblazer all rolled into one.

Beijing continued to host the China Open on an annual basis up to and including the 2019 edition which saw Neil Robertson lift the trophy. However, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the China Open was cancelled, and did not return until this season, with Taiyuan now becoming its new home.

What is the format and draw for the 2026 China Open snooker?

With its revival, the China Open features a boosted prize fund and a new format.

Consisting of a tiered draw, the world's top 16 players - all of whom entered and are expected to compete - went straight through to the last 32 main draw in Taiyuan.

The other entrants had to attend the qualifiers held in Leicester in June, from which there were four rounds and 16 tickets to join the seeds in the Far East. Final round qualifying reports can be read here and here.

The prize money structure, best of 11s up to and including the semi-finals before a best of 19 final, and held across nine days, the event is almost identical to that of the current UK Championship. Although, there is a wildcard round in Taiyuan, starring two Chinese amateur players who will face Hossein Vafaei and Anthony McGill.

Despite it being over seven years since the last staging, Australian Robertson is the defending champion and will be the number one seed at the top of the draw. But the world number two hasn't been given any favours as the title holder, as he faces Chang Bingyu - one of the hottest young properties in the sport right now - in a blockbuster first round clash.

New Shanghai Masters champion Trump made his big career breakthrough at the 2011 China Open, defeating Mark Selby in the final to record his maiden ranking title success.

With £576,000 set to be removed from his rolling ranking total this month, Trump faces an uphill task to retain his world number one status over the coming weeks, with several players - mainly Zhao Xintong, Robertson, and Wu Yize - in contention to take top spot off him. 'The Ace in the Pack' meets Noppon Saengkham in round one.

World Champion Wu is up against the lowest ranked professional in the field, Yao Pengcheng, meanwhile Zhao also plays a Chinese compatriot in Zhang Anda.

O’Sullivan - whose last Chinese ranking title came in 2017 - shares the table with Welsh youngster Jackson Page in another standout opening round tie.

Following the conclusion of the China Open, the Asian snooker roadshow continues with the Wuhan Open (August 23-29) before action returns to UK shores as the British Open in Cheltenham is held (August 31 to September 6).