The 2026 Welsh Open is down to its last four contenders, with two victories separating the remaining players from claiming the Ray Reardon Trophy.
It’s a high-quality semi-final lineup with a quartet of proven ranking event winners still in the hunt for the £100,000 top prize at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno.
The 2026 Welsh Open represents the 15th ranking tournament of the ongoing 2025/26 snooker season, and it’s the last event of four from the Home Nations Series.
Let’s take a look at the two upcoming semi-final ties on Saturday.
Wu Yize vs Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins reached his first ranking event semi-final of the campaign with a 5-3 defeat of Neil Robertson on Friday.
The Hawk qualified for last week’s 16-strong Players Championship off the one-year list, but that was achieved through a period of mediocre consistency rather than any special outings on the tour.
This week, however, Hawkins is proving that he still has what it takes to challenge towards the real business end of a competition.
A career-haul of just four ranking titles probably doesn’t do justice to Hawkins, but there’s an opportunity for the 46 year-old here to improve on that.
Next up is a formidable young prospect in Wu Yize, the 22 year-old on course to land a second piece of silverware from this term.
It had looked unlikely at one point during his quarter-final encounter with fellow Chinese competitor Jiang Jun, with Wu trailing 4-1 before launching a dramatic fight back to pinch victory in a deciding frame.
While the recent plaudits have understandably gone to world champion Zhao Xintong, Wu remains arguably the brightest of the emerging talents coming out of China.
Wu and Hawkins, who has been suffering from back pain recently, share an even head-to-head record from the prior fixtures in all competitions, winning two games apiece.
Their last match, though, saw Wu destroy Hawkins 6-0 en route to glory at the International Championship in November.
When is it? Saturday, 13:00 GMT
John Higgins vs Jack Lisowski
What more can be said of the resolve of John Higgins, and his repeated doggedness to get back up off the canvas after experiencing a knockout down of disappointment?
Having lost in three big finals across the last few months, including at last week’s Players Championship, Higgins would have been forgiven for feeling a touch dejected.
If he did, or does, he isn’t showing many obvious signs of it as he mounts yet another challenge to claim success for the first time this season.
Higgins had too much tactical nous for Zhou Yuelong in the last eight, a 5-0 victory taking him two wins away from a record-extending sixth Welsh Open.
Standing in his way in the last four is Jack Lisowski, who extended his stay in the tournament with a 5-2 defeat of Stuart Bingham in the last round.
For Lisowski, this week could turn out to be an extremely lucrative one as he hunts down Mark Allen at the top of the Home Nations Series rankings.
In fact, the player known as ‘Jackpot’ would pocket the £150,000, eh, jackpot if he were to reach Sunday’s final and guarantee himself the runner-up prize for the tournament.
Beyond that, Lisowski will of course be hoping to prove that his triumph at the Northern Ireland Open was no flash in the pan and that he can finally translate his incredible talent into sustained success.
That being said, the 34 year-old has beaten Higgins only three times from their 11 prior battles, memorably losing to the Scot 13-12 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Championship.
When is it? Saturday, 19:00 GMT
How to watch the 2026 Welsh Open
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: BBC Wales, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website, and Red Button
UK & Ireland: TNT Sports and discovery+
Mainland Europe: Eurosport; discovery+ (Germany, Italy, Austria); HBO Max (other markets)
China: CCTV5, Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, and CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
Hong Kong China: Now TV
Malaysia & Brunei: Astro Supersport
Taiwan: Sportcast
Thailand: True Sport
Philippines: TAP Sports
Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, & Kenya: SportyTV
All Other Territories: WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
