Wuhan Open snooker qualifiers 2026: Event information, draw, results, schedule, how to watch

The Wuhan Open professional snooker ranking event returns for a fourth annual edition in 2026, although before the televised stages in China, there is qualifying to determine who will feature in the main draw.

The qualifying rounds for the 2026 Wuhan Open take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester between June 15th to 18th, with those involved trying to book a berth for the main venue stages in the Far East that are scheduled for August 23rd to 29th.

Judd Trump won the inaugural edition in 2023, although since then it has been the Xiao Guodong show with the Chinese home hero claiming his maiden ranking event crown in 2024, and then successfully defending the accolade 12 months later.

How does the Wuhan Open snooker draw work? What is the format?

The Wuhan Open in 2026 features a new tournament format, with organisers opting for a tiered draw system. This means that players enter the tournament at different rounds, depending on their world ranking/seeding position.

In total, there are eight rounds across the competition - although to accommodate local amateur wildcards, there is also a preliminary round consisting of only two matches.

Simply put, the world’s top 16 players do not need to attend qualification in June, with their round three matches (the last 64 stage) held over to the main venue in Wuhan. The four round two fixtures involving the invited wildcards will also be staged in the Far East, but all the other ties across rounds one to three will be completed in Leicester.

Round one (32 matches) features the lowest ranked seeds, with the winners moving through to round two when the next band of players higher up in the standings enter the fray. Round three (last 64) is when the top 32 seeds begin their campaigns.

All matches across the qualifiers/opening rounds are the best of nine frames.

All of the world’s top 16 have entered the 2026 Wuhan Open, including title holder Xiao, world number one Judd Trump, new world champion Wu Yize, and seven-times world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan. The tournament is part of a larger ‘Asian swing’ on this season’s World Snooker Tour with the Shanghai Masters (July 27th to August 2nd) and China Open (August 8th to 16th) events held shortly before it.

Prize money pay-outs have yet to be publicly released, although the winner’s purse has previously been £140,000.