2026 Shenzhen Open Snooker: Draw, results, schedule, prize money, how to watch

Following an 11-day stint of qualifying action held in the UK for three other events, big stage snooker returns with the 2026 Shenzhen Open.

The sixth ranking tournament set to be completed on the 2026/27 World Snooker Tour season, contestants are aiming to collect the £177,000 first prize on offer in the Far East. Ali Carter won the circuit’s last ranking event at the 2026 English Open.

The Shenzhen Open is a new competition on the top-flight snooker scene, although it has essentially replaced the Xi'an Grand Prix that was held in each of the last two seasons. Therefore, Mark Williams - who defeated Shaun Murphy in last year's Xi'an final to become snooker's oldest-ever ranking event winner - is the defending champion and number one seed.

How does the format work and who is playing?

As is the case for several of this season's Chinese events, the Shenzhen Open uses a tiered system. A tiered system means the rounds are staggered, with players higher up the world rankings not starting until a later round and needing to win fewer matches than the lowest ranked players to win the title.

The top 32 seeds in this year’s competition all went straight through to the last 64, and from those, all the fixtures involving top 16 stars have been held over to the main venue, televised phases in the Far East.

Apart from four matches involving Chinese amateur wildcards, rounds one and two of the 2026 Wuhan Open were played as qualifiers at the Mattioli Arena in July, as well as the round three (last 64) games featuring seeds 17 to 32.

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

A star-studded line-up is expected in Shenzhen with all of the world’s top 16 having entered, although Mark Allen - who has yet to play this season - has since withdrawn.

It’s a huge week for recently-installed world number one Zhao Xintong who is playing in his home city.

What is the Shenzhen Open 2026 tournament schedule?

• Remaining Last 96 matches: Monday 28th September
• Remaining Last 64 matches: Monday 28th & Tuesday 29th September
• Last 32: Tuesday 29th & Wednesday 30th September
• Last 16: Thursday 1st October
• Quarter-Finals: Friday 2nd October
• Semi-Finals: Saturday 3rd October
• Final: Sunday 4th October

For the daily match schedule/order of play, visit the WST website here.

What is the prize money, how much does the winner get?

• Champion: £177,000
• Runner-up: £76,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £34,500 (each)
• Losing quarter-finalists: £22,350 (each)
• Last 16 losers: £12,500 (each)
• Last 32 losers: £8,250 (each)
• Last 64 losers: £4,700 (each)
• Last 96 losers: £1,600 (each)
• Highest break: £5,000
• Total prize fund: £850,000

The highest break prize is valid across both the qualifying and main venue stages. Chang Bingyu made a 147 during qualifying and is currently in pole position for the bonus. Should that break be matched, the prize would be shared equally.

How to watch the 2026 Shenzhen Open

• UK and Ireland: TNT Sports and HBO Max
• Mainland Europe And Selected Countries*: Eurosport and HBO Max
• China: CCTV5, Huya, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel (pay-per-view), CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• Hong Kong China: Now Sports
• Malaysia: Astro Supersport
• Thailand: True Sport
• Taiwan: Sportcast
• All other territories: WST Play

* The countries which receive this coverage are: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C.I.S. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Vatican State.