Format change for the World Grand Prix, race to Hong Kong ends in Edinburgh
The upcoming edition of the World Grand Prix will look and feel slightly different to previous years with longer matches and the addition of two more tables for the opening two rounds.
Held every season since 2015, the World Grand Prix features the top 32 ranked players from the one-year list and is currently the opening Players Series event of the term with the Players Championship (16 players) and Tour Championship (12 players) following it in subsequent weeks.
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The 2026 World Grand Prix will take place at the impressive Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong, held across six days between February 3-8. The new venue hosted the competition for the first time in 2025, over 35 years from the last time Hong Kong held a world ranking event in 1989.
Along with the change of venue in 2025 came a huge increase in prize money, with the overall fund rising from £380,000 to £700,000, and the winner's purse boosted from £100,000 to £180,000.
Neil Robertson is the reigning champion, the Australian whitewashed Stuart Bingham 10-0 in the 2025 final. Bingham had been dealing with the deaths of his uncle, and long-time coach.
Following feedback from players, the World Snooker Tour has decided to expand the opening two rounds of the 2026 edition from the best of seven frames to the best of nine frames.
In order to accommodate this extension, four tables - instead of two - will be used for rounds one (last 32) and two (last 16).
The latter rounds will remain the same with the quarter-finals being the best of nine, semi-finals the best of 11, and the two-session final being the best of 19.
Who will be playing at the 2026 World Grand Prix in Hong Kong?
As mentioned earlier, only the top 32 players from the one-year ranking list will be invited to the event.
This one-year list consists of the cumulative amount of prize money players have earned from ranking events across this season only.
As it stands, a blockbuster field is set to qualify for the prestigious tournament, with all of the world's top 16 (from the official two-year list) comfortably on course to receive invitations for it. Robertson - who collected £500,000 for winning the Saudi Arabia Masters in August - is currently top of this seasonal list.
After the ongoing UK Championship, there are just two more qualifying events for the World Grand Prix - the Shoot Out, and the Scottish Open, both of which are held in December.
Following the conclusion of the 2025 Scottish Open in Edinburgh, the top 32 on the one-year list will be in. A lot can change from now until then, with £50,000 going to the Shoot Out champion, and £100,000 allocated to the Scottish Open victor.
The draw for the World Grand Prix is seeded with 1 v 32, 2 v 31, 3 v 30 etc.
Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan have each won the World Grand Prix three times, with two-time winner Robertson being the other multiple-time champion.
Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, and Mark Allen have each won the title once.
Before Hong Kong came in to stage the tournament, the World Grand Prix was held in several different locations: Llandudno, Preston, Cheltenham, Milton Keynes, Coventry, and Leicester.