UK Championship 2026 Seeds Confirmed as Snooker's Top 16 Stars Secure Direct Passage to York

Following quarter-final defeats for Ding Junhui and Hossein Vafaei at the 2026 International Championship, we now know who will be the 16 seeds in York.

The first Triple Crown event of the season, the main draw, televised stages of the 2026 UK Championship take place at the Barbican Centre between November 28-December 5, although a qualifying event will be held shortly before at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester between November 21-26.

The top 16 in the updated world snooker rankings after the ongoing 2026 International Championship is completed will be the seed players. These cueists all go straight through to the final rounds at the Barbican and will avoid the rigmarole of qualifying.

They will line up in round one proper (last 32) and be randomly drawn against one of the 16 qualifiers.

Who are the seed players for the 2026 UK Snooker Championship?

It’s important to state that the below list is dependant on all the players entering the competition. Should anyone elect not to, whoever is 17th in the world rankings will become a seed.

As the reigning and defending champion, Mark Selby will be the number one seed at the top of the draw, with current world champion Wu Yize seed number two at the bottom.

Nine of the 16 seeds have won the UK Championship before; the list includes the most decorated player in the tournament’s history, eight-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Chang Bingyu (who at the time of writing is through to the semi-finals in Nanjing) will enter the world’s top 16 for the first time in his career after the International Championship. Chang claimed his maiden ranking crown at the Wuhan Open in August.

Mark Allen is continuing to recover from his documented mental health issues, but did suggest on social media that he may play.

Who will have to qualify for York?

A winner of two ranking titles this season, and a runner-up in another ranked event, Jak Jones finishes 17th in the race to the Barbican.

Jones went out in the last 64 in Nanjing, and Chang leapfrogged him with his deep run. Players ranked between 17th to 48th (again, if they all enter) will need to navigate two matches at the qualifiers to feature in the main draw.

Three-time UK Champion Ding Junhui will also have to face the preliminaries in Leicester, as he drops places despite a quarter-final finish at the International.

Zhou Yuelong, Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Zhang Anda and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are other players who were just below the cut-off line.

In total, 128 players will be in the qualifying draw that consists of four rounds. The lowest ranked, and invited amateur contestants start at the first hurdle.