The 2026 World Open is an upcoming professional snooker tournament that will take place from 16 to 22 March 2026 in Yushan, China. Qualifiers took place from 10 to 12 February at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England. The 11th edition of the tournament since it was rebranded as the World Open in 2010, it will be the 16th ranking event of the 2025–26 snooker season, following the 2026 Welsh Open and preceding the 2026 Tour Championship. The winner will receive £175,000 from a total prize fund of £825,000.
The World Open originated as the Professional Players Tournament, which was first held in 1982. Ray Reardon won the inaugural edition, defeating Jimmy White 10–5 in the final.[1] Staged as the Grand Prix from 1984 to 2000, the LG Cup from 2001 to 2003, and the Grand Prix from 2004 to 2009, the tournament was rebranded as the World Open in 2010. Until 2004, the tournament was played in England, and from 2005 to 2010, it was held in Scotland.[2][3] No edition was held in 2011, and in 2012 the tournament was moved to China. Editions from 2012 to 2014 were staged in Haikou, but the tournament was not held in 2015 after the contract with the promoter was not renewed.[4] In 2016, the World Open moved to Yushan. Cancelled from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it returned to the calendar for the 2024 edition.[5]
All matches are played as the best of nine frames up to and including the quarter-finals. The semi-finals will be the best of 11 frames and the final will be a best of 19-frame match played over two sessions .
Broadcasters
The qualifying matches played in Barnsley 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.[10]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[11]
Winner: £175,000
Runner-up: £75,000
Semi-final: £33,000
Quarter-final: £22,000
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,000
Last 64: £5,000
Highest break: £5,000
Total: £825,000
Summary
Qualifying round
The 12th seed Ding Junhui(pictured in 2025) was the highest-ranked player to lose in the Barnsley qualifiers. Marco Fu defeated him 5–2.
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. An (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour.[17][18]
Qualifiers were held from 10 to 12 February 2026 at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England. Qualifying matches involving the defending champion John Higgins, the reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong, the world number one Judd Trump, the seven-time World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, the next two highest-ranked Chinese players (Xiao Guodong and Zhang Anda), and four Chinese wildcards were held over to be played at the main venue in Yushan.[19] Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, and players in bold denote match winners. An (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour.
Pre-qualifying
The following match is a pre-qualifier and will be played at the main venue in Yushan:[17][18]
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John Higgins (SCO)
