Why have so many players withdrawn from the World Open snooker in China?

We are on the final stretch of the 2025/26 World Snooker Tour with only three tournaments left to go. Following the World Open - the final event to be held in Asia this season, taking place between March 16th to 22nd - it’s the 12-player Tour Championship in Manchester, and then the sport’s blue riband extravaganza, the World Championship in Sheffield.

In its current guise, the World Open was first added to the top flight snooker calendar in 2012 when Mark Allen claimed his maiden ranking event crown after defeating Stephen Lee 10-1 in the final held in Haikou.

Since 2016, the tournament has been staged in Yushan which is known as a ‘World Billiards City’, housing the 4,000-seater Yushan Sports Center, International Billiards Academy, World Billiards Museum and Hall of Fame.

Located in eastern China, in a county in the northeast of the Jiangxi province, Yushan is a very long-haul trip for players travelling from the United Kingdom.

Winner of this title in 2014 (when held in Hainan), Shaun Murphy recently posted on social media about his journey to Yushan which took 52 hours when you include a layover in Dubai and a brief hotel stay in Shanghai.

Back in 2018, the World Snooker Tour produced a vlog about their journey to Yushan from the other side of the planet:

Which players have pulled out of the World Open?

An event open to all professional players, the majority of round one matches in the tournament were actually played in Barnsley, England a few weeks ago. The winners of those fixtures booked berths for the trip to the Far East.

World number three Neil Robertson originally entered the event but withdrew before his qualifying match in the UK and was replaced by amateur top-up player Umut Dikme.

Over the past several days, a spate of cueists have pulled out of the £825,000 competition.

One of this season’s star performers, reigning UK Champion Mark Selby won his qualifying match - a 5-4 victory over Haydon Pinhey - but will not be in China after withdrawing on medical grounds.

The World Snooker Tour’s latest champion, Welsh Open winner Barry Hawkins, will also not be on the plane because of medical reasons, too. Hawkins had been suffering with a back injury prior to this triumph in Llandudno a fortnight ago.

Another top 16 player, Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin, will also be missing from the main venue stages, although the reason for his withdrawal is unknown.

Jak Jones, David Gilbert, Ishpreet Singh Chadha and Stephen Maguire had also won qualifying ties in Barnsley, but will not take their places in the last 64 draw after also pulling out in recent days for reasons unknown.

The scheduled opponents for all those mentioned above now receive byes into the last 32. Chris Totten has also recently withdrawn, but as he was due to play world number one Judd Trump in a held over round one match, he has been replaced by amateur player Mark Lloyd from the Q School top-up list.

The non-appearances of Selby and Hawkins in China are down to medical reasons, but the distance involved in getting to the event could well be a likely factor in their decisions to withdraw.

As for the other withdrawals, as well as the lengthy journey, the ongoing war in the Middle East may be another reason to feel uncomfortable travelling at this time.

Players who qualified for the last 64 were guaranteed £5,000 each - an amount that also goes on to their world ranking - but an opening match defeat in China would likely mean little profit, or none at all, another possible factor.

The World Open is the final qualifying event for the Tour Championship that begins later this month in Manchester. After Yushan, the top 12 players from the one-year/seasonal ranking list will make the cut for that final Players Series leg of the season. Selby and Hawkins are both assured of their places in Manchester, while ninth-placed Wakelin is very likely to make the grade, although this is not guaranteed.

Jones - who has been recovering from a broken hand in recent months - will now definitely have to qualify for the World Championship. Runner-up in Sheffield two years ago, Jones was a top 16 seed at the Crucible last year, but this time he will have to attend the preliminaries elsewhere in the steel city just before the main venue, televised stages break off.

Gilbert and Maguire - who could have each gotten back into the world’s elite top 16 with the World Open title - will also need to attend the World Championship qualifiers.

Whatever the reasons for withdrawals from this year’s World Open, it is becoming a reoccurring theme for the event with four players pulling out in 2024, and five in 2025.

EDIT: Amateur player Umut Dikme also withdrew from the competition as he was unable to make to Yushan in time following his semi-final finish at the European Amateur Snooker Championship in Spain.

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