The 14th ranking event of the season takes place this week with the 2026 Players Championship back at the Telford International Centre.
This time, the top 16 from the one-year snooker rankings will be participating, each hoping to get their hands on the £150,000 top prize.
The 2026 Players Championship comes just a week or so after the conclusion of the World Grand Prix, which was won by Zhao Xintong in Hong Kong.
2026 Players Championship prize money
Champion: £150,000
Runner-up: £70,000
Semi-final: £35,000
Quarter-final: £25,000
Last 16: £15,000
Highest Break: £10,000
Total: £500,000
When is the 2026 Players Championship?
The 2026 Players Championship commences on Tuesday, February 17th with the final to be played over 19 frames on Sunday, February 22nd.
Who are the former champions?
Kyren Wilson is the reigning champion, but the Warrior won’t be able to defend his title after failing to qualify this year.
Since the tournament transitioned to this format in 2017 with qualification based off the one-year rankings, there have been seven different winners including Wilson.
Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan are both two-time champions, dominating proceedings during its first four editions.
John Higgins prevailed in 2021 before Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Allen also etched their names onto the trophy.
World number one Trump is the favourite in the outright betting market this year, and there’s a list of available offers for all the major sportsbooks at Oddspedia.
How does the format work?
The recent World Grand Prix represented the last opportunity to gain ranking points and secure a top 16 – or what turned out to be top 17 – spot from the one-year rankings list.
As mentioned, Wilson isn’t in the draw after leaving Hong Kong with a one-year status of number 22.
Despite being as high as number eight in the standings, O’Sullivan additionally won’t be involved after opting out of entering the week’s action.
That was fortunate for John Higgins, who therefore managed to claim the last ticket to Telford in 17th place.
Chinese duo Zhao Xintong and Zhang Anda, meanwhile, were both chasing spots in the draw prior to the World Grand Prix, but runs to the final at the Kai Tak Arena have seen them both leapfrog their way into contention.
The format for the draw is very simple, with the top seed taking on the bottom seed, the second facing the 15th, and so on.
Every round will be played over the best-of-11 frames until the final, which is set to be contested across a possible 19 frames.
As expected, there are plenty of mouthwatering showdowns in the opening round with number one seed Neil Robertson’s outing against Higgins arguably the pick of the lot.
2026 Players Championship draw
Neil Robertson vs John Higgins
(Tues, 13:00 GMT)
Chris Wakelin vs Xiao Guodong
(Tues, 19:00 GMT)
Judd Trump vs Zhou Yuelong
(Wed, 13:00 GMT)
Mark Williams vs Barry Hawkins
(Wed, 19:00 GMT)
Shaun Murphy vs Zhang Anda
(Wed, 13:00 GMT)
Zhao Xintong vs Elliot Slessor
(Wed, 19:00 GMT)
Wu Yize vs Mark Allen
(Tues, 13:00 GMT)
Mark Selby vs Jack Lisowski
(Tues, 19:00 GMT)
How to watch the 2026 Players Championship
There are several options available to watch the upcoming snooker live, depending on your location.
Many of the popular betting sites provide live streaming of snooker events through signing up on their websites or apps.
Below is a full list of official options, as published on the World Snooker Tour website:
UK & Ireland: Channel 5
Mainland Europe: Eurosport; discovery+ (Germany, Italy, Austria); HBO Max (all other markets)
China: Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy (WeChat & Douyin)
Hong Kong China: Now TV
Malaysia & Brunei: Astro Supersport
Taiwan: Sportcast
Thailand: True Sport
Philippines: TAP Sports
Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya: SportyTV
All Other Territories: WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
