Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Stephen Maguire 9–6 in the 2025 final, but he lost 3–4 to Jiang Jun in the last 64. While playing Shaun Murphy in the last 64, Chang Bingyu became the ninth player to make four consecutive century breaks in a professional match and the third player to do so in a best-of-seven encounter.
The tournament uses a tiered format first implemented for the Home Nations Series in the 2024–25 snooker season.[13] In the first qualifying round, players seeded 65–96 faced those seeded 97 and under, including selected amateurs. In the second qualifying round, the 32 winners from the first qualifying round faced players seeded 33–64. At the last-64 stage, the 32 winners from the second qualifying round faced the top 32 seeds.
All matches are played as the best of seven frames until the quarter‑finals, which are the best of nine. The semi‑finals are the best of 11, and the final is a best‑of‑17-frame match played over two sessions .
Broadcasters
The qualifying rounds were broadcast in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Austria by Discovery+ and in other European territories by HBO Max. They were 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 were streamed by WST Play.[14]
The main stage is being broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Wales and BBC Red Button, and streamed on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. It is also being broadcast in the UK and Ireland by TNT Sports and Discovery+. It is being broadcast in mainland Europe by Eurosport, with streaming coverage on Discovery+ in Germany, Italy, and Austria and on HBO Max in other European territories. It is being broadcast in mainland China by the same broadcasters as the qualifying rounds, in Hong Kong by Now TV, in Malaysia and Brunei by Astro SuperSport, in Thailand by TrueSports, in Taiwan by Sportcast, in the Philippines by TAP Sports, and in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya by SportyTV. In territories where no other coverage is available, the tournament is being streamed by WST Play.[15]
Prize fund
The prize fund for the tournament is detailed below.[3] In addition, the player who wins the most cumulative prize money across the season's four Home Nations Series events will receive a bonus of £150,000.[16]
The defending champion Mark Selby(pictured in 2025) lost to the world number 81 Jiang Jun in the last 64.
The defending champion Mark Selby made century breaks of 123 and 137 as he took a 3–1 lead over the world number 81 Jiang Jun. However, Jiang then won three consecutive frames to secure a 4–3 victory. It was the third time in five years that Selby had lost at the last-64 stage of the tournament. "I was 3–1 behind in no time," Jiang said afterwards. "At that point I honestly didn’t think about making a comeback, but I didn’t give up either. When it got to the decider, I started to believe I had a chance. The pressure became very strong and my heart was racing." Mark Williams made breaks including 58, 56, and 64 as he secured a 4–2 victory over Michael Holt. "I played solid all the way through, until a few twitches towards the end," said Williams afterwards. "Then I potted a really good pink to win the match. I am still not practising between tournaments but at the venues I probably practise more than any other player, three or four hours a day, and that seems to work for me." Jak Jones, who had broken bones in his right hand by punching a table during a practice session the previous December, defeated Liam Highfield 4–1. Dylan Emery defeated Lei Peifan, Yuan Sijun beat Julian Leclercq, and Barry Hawkins defeated Lilley, all in deciding frames.[19][20]
Neil Robertson defeated Szubarczyk 4–1 but said his 15-year-old opponent had "huge potential" and "great poise around the table." Wu Yize made breaks including 79, 120, and 128 as he whitewashed Ben Mertens, and the previous year's runner-up Stephen Maguire recovered from 1–3 behind to beat Ricky Walden in a decider. The eighth seed Mark Allen lost 2–4 to David Grace, who recovered from 1–2 behind to win the last three frames, making breaks of 59, 55, and 67. "I haven't had many wins over top-16 players so it has to be one of my best ever," Grace said afterwards. Anthony McGill defeated the 18th seed Ali Carter in a deciding frame.[21][20]
Chang Bingyu made four consecutive century breaks and had a 100% pot success rate as he whitewashed Shaun Murphy, who scored only one point in the match. Chang made back-to-back total clearances of 130 and 136, followed by a century of 119 and a further total clearance of 130. He became the ninth player to make four consecutive centuries in a professional match and only the third, after Neil Robertson and Allen, to do so in a best-of-seven match. Chang said: "I honestly didn’t expect to play that well today. Before the match, my mindset was more about learning from [Murphy]. After finishing the match, I felt really happy. It was probably the first time I’ve played at this level in a best-of-seven. Earlier this season I had quite a few matches where I played well and made some good breaks, but making four centuries in a best-of-seven is definitely a first for me." Murphy called it “the best performance in a best-of-seven match I’ve ever seen.”[22][23]
The reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong made breaks including 65, 132, and 111 as he took a 3–1 lead over Fan Zhengyi. Fan recovered to tie the scores at 3–3, but Zhao won the decider with a 71 break. Gary Wilson made breaks of 93, 135, 118, and 119 as he whitewashed Amir Sarkhosh, while Jackson Page, Stan Moody, and Zhou Yuelong also advanced with whitewash victories, over Luca Brecel, Jimmy Robertson, and Alexander Ursenbacher respectively. Jack Lisowski defeated Louis Heathcote 4–2, and Révész defeated Ryan Day in a decider.[24]Kyren Wilson produced breaks of 65, 65, 100, and 75 as he defeated Liu Hongyu 4–1, and John Higgins made breaks including 56, 51, and 59 as he beat Liu Wenwei by the same score. Pullen produced two centuries of 100 and 107 against the 11th seed Chris Wakelin. The match went to a deciding frame, which Pullen won on the colours after Wakelin had successfully obtained a snooker. Sam Craigie made breaks including 99 and 110 against the 17th seed Elliot Slessor and also won the match in a deciding frame.[25]
Main draw
The results of the main draw are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeds, and players in bold denote match winners.[26][27]
The results of the early rounds are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[28]
↑Turner, Chris. "Welsh Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
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