Cosmopolitan last sixteen line-up set at World Open as star names advance in Yushan

The entire round of 32 was played and completed on Wednesday at the Yushan Sports Centre, with seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan being the first player to progress as he top scored with a 138 during a 5-0 whitewash win over Matthew Selt.

O’Sullivan will meet Shaun Murphy next in a very tasty tie after ‘The Magician’ registered runs of 117 and 120 in a 5-1 victory over Xu Si.

World number two Kyren Wilson (101 break) - who has yet to reach a ranking event semi-final this season - dismissed Lyu Haotian, 5-1.

Despite winning the Shanghai Masters and Masters invitational events this term, Wilson is struggling on the one-year list, and needs to win this tournament in order to qualify for the Tour Championship later this month.

Mark Allen (122) extracted a small slice of revenge on Jack Lisowski - who ousted him to the £150,000 Home Nations Series bonus prize a few weeks ago - with a 5-1 win. World number 11 Wu Yize ousted Stuart Bingham, 5-4.

Defeats for both Bingham and Lisowski almost certainly end their bids to break back into the world's top 16 before the upcoming World Championship, meaning they will need to attend the qualifiers in order to make the Crucible.

Judd Trump and Zhao Xintong progress in bottom half of draw

World number one Judd Trump fashioned century breaks (118, 101) either side of the mid-session interval in getting the better of Jackson Page, 5-2.

Trump, who has dropped only four frames in three matches this week, so far, extends his 100% winning record over Page to six out of six.

Current Crucible king Zhao Xintong has won 14 of his last 15 matches on the World Snooker Tour. His latest engagement saw him start with a 100, and end with a 118 in a 5-1 success over Sam Craigie. Next for Zhao will be Gary Wilson.

Latvian teenager Artemijs Zizins wrapped up a 5-1 victory over 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel with an effort of 104. The 19-year-old is through to the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, and the £14,000 he is guaranteed - the highest of his career, so far - puts him in a good position to maintain his professional tour card for next season.

Runner-up in this tournament in 2019, Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh compiled contributions of 110 and 121, and had an average shot time of less than 16 seconds, en route to defeating Michael Holt, 5-1.

Vafaei and Fu back at the business end

Iran's Hossein Vafaei is through to the last 16 of an event for the first time since the Crucible last spring, while Hong Kong ace Marco Fu will appear at this stage on tour for the first time in over two years.

Vafaei (127) eliminated Mark Williams, 5-2, and Fu ended the challenge of Martin O'Donnell, 5-3.

Williams wasn't the only top 16 star to exit the £825,000 world ranking competition on day three, though, as world number 10 Xiao Guodong was defeated by Chinese compatriot Zhang Anda 5-2. Zhang - who can still make the Tour Championship and be a seed for the Crucible - constructed a 138.

Zhou Yuelong (138), Ryan Day, and Robbie Williams (136) - who was the last player to advance following a deciding frame win over Daniel Wells - were Wednesday’s other victors.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Open, visit here.