Draw and results for the 2026 World Open Snooker: Tournament information from Yushan

A world ranking event open to all professional players and with a top prize of £175,000, the World Open has been a familiar fixture on snooker’s top flight circuit for well over a decade.

John Higgins is the reigning and defending champion having defeated Joe O’Connor in the 2025 title match to win his first ranking crown in four years.

How does the draw work and what is the World Open format?

The World Open currently uses a ‘flat draw’ straight knockout format, meaning all players start out in the opening round (last 128) - regardless of their world ranking/seeding position.

(However, due to the addition of four local wildcard players, there is actually a field of 129 entrants, therefore one preliminary round tie needs to be played)

The vast majority of round one matches have already been completed before the Far East phase, though. These fixtures were played as ‘qualifiers’ in Barnsley, England in February. For information on those qualifiers, visit here.

Several opening round matches have been held over to the main venue, televised stages in Yushan. This list of games includes title holder Higgins, reigning world champion Zhao Xintong, world number one Judd Trump, and seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Matches up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of nine frames. The semi-finals are the best of 11, with the two-session final being the best of 19.

Who is playing at the 2026 World Open snooker?

A plethora of the world’s top players are set to be in action for the third-to-last tournament of the season. Current champion Higgins - who has made the Masters and Players Championship finals in recent weeks - faces Liam Highfield.

Two-time winner of this particular crown Trump meets amateur cueman Mark Lloyd, while Crucible king Zhao - the only player this term to have won multiple ranking event titles - is up against a local wildcard.

Arguably the greatest player of all-time O’Sullivan is trying to rediscover some consistent form; the 50-year-old is expected to play Ross Muir in round one.

Despite qualifying, several players have since withdrawn from the long-haul competition including UK Champion Mark Selby, recent Welsh Open winner Barry Hawkins, and Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin. World number three Neil Robertson elected to pull out before his UK-based qualifying match.

However, plenty of other top 16 stars are still in the mix including Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Allen, all of whom are former winners of this accolade.

World Open daily tournament schedule:

• Monday 16th March: Held over and round of 64 matches
• Tuesday 17th March: Round of 64 matches
• Wednesday 18th March: Round of 32 matches
• Thursday 19th March: Round of 16 matches
• Friday 20th March: Quarter-finals
• Saturday 21st March: Semi-finals
• Sunday 22nd March: Final

For the daily match schedule, visit the World Snooker Tour website here

Prize money breakdown, how much does the champion earn?

• Champion: £175,000
• Runner-up: £75,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £33,000 (each)
• Losing quarter-finalists: £22,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 16: £14,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 32: £9,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 64: £5,000 (each)
• Highest break of the event: £5,000
• Total prize fund: £825,000

How to watch the World Open Snooker on TV and online:

• UK & Ireland: TNT Sports and discovery+
• Mainland Europe: Eurosport and locally relevant streaming platforms (discovery+ in Germany, Italy and Austria and HBO Max in all other markets)
• China: Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• Hong Kong China: Now TV
• Malaysia & Brunei: Astro Supersport
• Taiwan: Sportcast
• Thailand: True Sport
• Philippines: TAP Sports
• Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya: SportyTV
• Singapore: Star Hub
• All other territories: WST Play