2026/27 snooker season calendar released by WST

The 2026/27 World Snooker Tour calendar has been released, outlining another packed campaign featuring the sport’s biggest events.

The schedule, which remains subject to change, confirms the dates for the Triple Crown events and several other high-profile tournaments across the upcoming season. 

Defending world champion Wu Yize will begin the defence of his crown at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on April 17th with the final to be contested on May 3rd, 2027.

Before that, the World Championship qualifiers will once again take place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield between April 5th and 14th. 

The 2026 UK Championship, where Mark Selby will return as the reigning champion, is scheduled for November 28th to December 6th at the York Barbican.

Qualifying for the season’s first Triple Crown event will be staged in Selby’s hometown of Leicester from November 21st to 26th. 

Meanwhile, Kyren Wilson will defend the Masters title at Alexandra Palace in London from January 10th to 17th, 2027. 

One of the standout aspects of the calendar is the continued dominance of tournaments in the United Kingdom and China.

There are five ranking events scheduled for mainland China next season, with the Shanghai Masters invitational also returning in late July.

Perhaps the most notable development is the return of the China Open for the first time since 2019, news that was announced in April during the recent World Championship.

The ranking event is set to be held in Taiyuan City from August 8th to 16th after disappearing from the calendar during the pandemic years. 

The Wuhan Open, who twice in a row by Xiao Guodong, is in August while the Xi’an Grand Prix and the International Championship are also back.

The World Open is scheduled for March in Yushan, ensuring another strong presence for snooker in a market that has been boosted by back-to-back Chinese successes at the Crucible.

In addition, Hong Kong retains a notable ranking event with the World Grand Prix taking place at the Kai Tak Arena in February. 

Back in the UK, all four Home Nations events return in addition to the British Open.

The heavy concentration of events in the UK and China again highlights where the tour’s commercial priorities currently lie, with the German Masters representing the most obvious exception.

No events in Saudi Arabia currently appear on the provisional schedule, meanwhile.

It had already been announced that the Saudi Arabia Masters ranking event would be discontinued after just two editions despite originally being unveiled as part of a reported 10-year agreement.

There is also no mention yet of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship invitational event, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t return later in the campaign.

Coinciding with the dates for that event last season, there is a three-day gap in November that is currently listed only as “Potential Event TBC”.

Elsewhere, the Championship League Snooker tournaments once again occupy a significant portion of the season calendar, with the ranking event in June and July and the invitational version in December and January.

The season begins with Q School events in Thailand and Leicester during May before the first ranking event qualifiers are held in June. 

Among the other tournaments, the Champion of Champions is in Leicester in November, the Shoot Out stays at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, and the Tour Championship will return to Manchester at the end of March.

As always with these releases, further amendments are possible. But excitement can now start to build ahead of another busy schedule on the baize.

2026/27 Snooker Season Calendar

Dates and other information are provisional and subject to change

Featured photo credit: WST