2026 Wuhan Open qualifiers confirmed after Leicester preliminaries

Off the back of the 2026 China Open preliminaries which were staged there last week to break off the new 2026/27 World Snooker Tour season, the Mattioli Arena in Leicester hosted four days of Wuhan Open qualifying action to determine the line-up for the main draw, televised stages which are set for China between August 23-29.

Featuring a new format this year - changing from a flat draw to a tiered draw - the Wuhan Open is a bit of a complicated picture despite qualifying having been completed.

The top 32 seeds all went straight through to round three (last 64), bypassing the two previous rounds (and a preliminary round consisting of two matches). Half of these ties were played in Leicester, with the world’s top 16 - all of whom have entered the tournament - having their opening assignments held over to the Far East.

There are also local amateur wildcards in the tournament; they enter at round two. These matches are also reversed for the main venue, meaning there are some players still in round two, some in round three, and others in round four (last 32).

Tournament winners miss Wuhan Open qualification cut

The five highest ranked players at these qualifying rounds all lost, including world number 17 and reigning World Open champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

Thailand’s top cueist went 2-0 up in his match before Welshman Dylan Emery took five of the next six frames - highlighting a break of 104 - to record a 5-3 win.

Since defeating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final in Yushan to claim the biggest title of his career to date, Un-Nooh has lost all four of his matches on the professional circuit.

Reigning Northern Ireland Open champion Jack Lisowski was whitewashed 5-0 by Yao Pengcheng who continued his sizzling start to the new term.

China’s Yao - who ended last season as the world number 101 - hit breaks of 108, 52, 53, 57 and 106 in his clean sweep win. The 29-year-old has now won six out of six matches over the past few days, coming through three qualifying rounds in both the China and Wuhan Opens.

Ryan Day eliminated Elliot Slessor 5-1, while Steven Hallworth ousted Zhang Anda, 5-4, on the final black. Hallworth - who defeated new world women’s champion Panchaya Channoi and former world champion Luca Brecel in the previous rounds - crafted a century (100) in the opening frame.

Another former Crucible king who won’t be making travel plans for Wuhan this year is Stuart Bingham; he was sent packing by Daniel Wells in a 5-1 result. Welshman Wells top scored with a 117.

Wilson gains baize revenge in a thriller

Last year’s Wuhan Open runner-up Gary Wilson kept his hopes alive in this current edition after qualifying by the finest of margins.

Wilson pipped the Republic of Ireland’s number one Aaron Hill 5-4 on the final black after clearing up with a 65 in the deciding frame.

A few days earlier, Hill came back from 4-0 down to deny Wilson 6-5 in the final qualifying round for the China Open. Having made a 100 in frame eight to take their latest contest all the way, Hill looked set for another victory over the three-time ranking event champion, as he faced a black off its spot whilst on a run of 62 to leave his opponent needing penalty points.

However, Hill missed it, and a few minutes later Englishman Wilson got in and counter-cleared to pinch it on the final ball.

A quarter-finalist at the World Championship earlier this year, Hossein Vafaei has continued that momentum into the new season.

Iran’s top cueist dropped just four frames in two matches to qualify for the China Open last week, and in his latest baize outing he dispatched Ben Woollaston, 5-1, to reach Wuhan.

Multiple-time ranking event champions Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire are both through to the last 32.

Pang Junxu totted up two centuries as he secured qualification, Jak Jones, David Gilbert, and Yuan Sijun also hit three figures as they progressed.

One of the hottest young properties on the snooker scene right now is Chang Bingyu, and the Chinese cueist won again on Thursday, stringing together five consecutive frames from 2-0 down - starting with a 108 - to see off Joe O’Connor, 5-2.

Players who will face top 16 opposition in Wuhan in the round of 64 include teenage rookie Wang Xinbo will who meet reigning champion Xiao Guodong. Xiao is going for a three-peat having also lifted this trophy in 2024.

Austria’s Florian Nuessle defeated Ricky Walden to set up a tie with world number one Judd Trump, and Ash Carty has a date with seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Latvian youngster Artemijs Zizins is through to face new world champion Wu Yize under the television lights. The 20-year-old produced an effort of 145 in the final frame of his opening qualifying round win over Reanne Evans - the highest break of the event, so far.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Wuhan Open qualifiers, visit our tournament information centre here.