Snooker from the main tour will return next week with the 2026 World Open, but the lucrative tournament has already suffered from a depleted field.
A qualifying stage for the season’s 16th ranking event was held last month in February, which essentially completed most of the round-of-64 lineup for Yushan.
Among those who safely negotiated their initial hurdle in the competition were former champions Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, and Ali Carter.
However, a lot of other high-profile names who qualified have since decided to withdraw from action at the Yushan Sports Centre, which commences on Monday.
In fact, five out of the top 25 seeds are to skip the campaign’s third-last ranking event where a top prize worth £175,000 is up for grabs.
That includes UK champion Mark Selby who was due to face Michael Holt, with the Hitman instead receiving a handy bye straight through to the last 32.
Recent Welsh Open champion Barry Hawkins, who had been suffering from some back issues prior to his trip to Llandudno, has also pulled out.
Chris Wakelin, Stephen Maguire, and David Gilbert are three other notable competitors who have chosen to withdraw from the campaign’s last event in China.
That is good news for Ian Burns, Artemijs Zizins, Xu Si, and Matthew Selt who, like Holt, will be rewarded with byes into the last 32 and a guaranteed prize of £9,000.
That could be absolutely huge for Zizins, the Latvian currently in a big scrap for tour survival as he approaches the end of his debut two-year stint as a professional.
Zizins is provisionally outside the world’s top 64 on the end-of-season ranking list, but a strong run at the World Open will bolster his chances of renewing his card through the one-year list.
As usual, the top four players on the one-year rankings, who are outside the top 64 on the official two-year standings, will be offered a lifeline and a fresh two-year card.
Wakelin, meanwhile, had qualified for the 2026 World Open with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of Mink Nutcharut in the qualifiers.
The reigning Scottish Open champion has taken a bit of a risk with pulling out, as he isn’t yet guaranteed to feature at the Tour Championship in Manchester.
The penultimate ranking event of the season will boast just the top 12 from the one-year rankings, and although Wakelin sits in ninth as things stand, it isn’t inconceivable that he could lose positions on the rung of the ladder.
John Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Mark Allen are just behind Wakelin in the pecking order with Xiao Guodong, Jack Lisowksi, and Elliot Slessor also within striking distance.
With a total prize fund of £825,000 and a whopping champion’s cheque on offer, the impact on the various ranking lists could be huge.
The World Open will additionally represent the last opportunity for most players to better their seeding position for the campaign-concluding World Championship.
Ding Junhui currently occupies the 16th and last automatic ticket to the Crucible Theatre this year, but both Stuart Bingham and Jack Lisowski are pushing to send the Chinese legend to the dreaded qualifiers in Sheffield instead.
So even though the World Open has been negatively affected by the string of withdrawals, there is still plenty at stake.
The draw continues to contain a lot of firepower with the likes of reigning champion John Higgins, world champion Zhao Xintong, world number one Judd Trump, and all-time great Ronnie O’Sullivan set to participate.
Featured photo credit: WST
