Overview
The tournament originated as the German Open, a ranking event that was staged for three consecutive editions from 1995 to 1997. The inaugural champion was John Higgins, who defeated Ken Doherty 9–3 in the 1995 final. [2] After being staged as the non-ranking German Masters in 1998, the tournament dropped off the calendar until it was restored in 2011, once again as a ranking event. [3] [4] The first winner of the tournament after its revival was Mark Williams, who defeated Mark Selby 9–7 in the 2011 final. [5]
The 2026 edition of the tournament—its 16th consecutive staging since its revival in 2011—will take place from 26 January to 1 February at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany. [6] Qualifying is taking place from 5 to 8 January at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. [6] [7] It will be the 12th ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2025 Scottish Open and preceding the 2026 World Grand Prix. [8] Kyren Wilson will be the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 10–9 in the 2025 final to win his second German Masters title. [9]
Qualifying is taking place over three rounds, with higher ranked players in the snooker world rankings given byes to later rounds. In qualifying round one, players seeded 65–96 face those seeded 97–128. In qualifying round two, the 32 first-round winners play those seeded 33–64. In qualifying round three, the 32 second-round winners play the top 32 seeds. Third-round qualifying matches featuring players seeded 17–32 will be played in Sheffield. Third-round qualifying matches featuring the top 16 seeds will be held over and played at the main venue in Berlin. [10] [11]
All matches up to and including the quarter‑finals are played as best of nine frames . The semi‑finals will be the best of 11, and the final will be a best‑of‑19 frame match played over two sessions . [12]
Broadcasters
The qualifying rounds are being broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. They are being broadcast in mainland China by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin, Huya Live and Migu [ zh ]. In all other territories (including Ireland) they are being streamed by WST Play. [13]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below: [14]
- Winner: £100,000
- Runner-up: £45,000
- Semi-final: £21,000
- Quarter-final: £13,200
- Last 16: £9,000
- Last 32: £5,400
- Last 64: £3,600
- Last 96: £1,000
- Highest break: £5,000
- Total: £550,400
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Kyren Wilson (ENG)
