The 2026/27 snooker season continues this week with the 2026 Wuhan Open qualifiers taking place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
Just a day after the conclusion of the China Open qualifiers, players will immediately turn their attention toward another ranking event on the calendar.
The Wuhan Open returns in August with a lucrative prize fund on offer, while Xiao Guodong will be the reigning champion after the Chinese cueist successfully defended his crown a year ago.
The Wuhan Open is also adopting a revised qualifying format for the 2026 edition, with a tiered entry system replacing the flat draw that had become commonplace in recent seasons.
More tournaments are moving toward this structure again, with the China Open having already introduced a seeded system at the start of the campaign.
When are the 2026 Wuhan Open qualifiers?
The Wuhan Open qualifiers run for four days – starting on Monday, June 15 and ending on Thursday, June 18.
The venue stages of the 2026 Wuhan Open will then take place from August 23 to 29.
Who is in the draw?
The Wuhan Open qualifiers will be contested through a tiered entry system, with players entering the competition at different stages based on their rankings.
The top 16 seeds have all been placed in the round of 64, but their opening matches will be held over to the venue stages in Wuhan.
Players ranked from 17 to 32 also enter at the last-64 stage, although they will be required to contest their opening matches in Leicester.
That means competitors such as Jack Lisowski, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham, David Gilbert, and Stephen Maguire will all be in action during the qualifying phase.
In 2025, the Wuhan Open carried a total prize fund of £700,000, with the champion receiving a top prize of £140,000.
Wuhan Open prize money
Champion: £140,000
Runner-up: £63,000
Semi-Finals: £30,000
Quarter-Finals: £16,000
Last 16: £12,000
Last 32: £8,000
Last 64: £4,500
Highest Break: £5,000
Total: £700,000
The draw also features several wildcard positions that will be filled ahead of the venue stages in Wuhan.
World champion Wu Yize, Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, and Zhao Xintong are among the elite stars whose opening matches have been held over to the main arena.
Meanwhile, several established professionals and emerging talents will have to negotiate the qualifying rounds in Leicester before they can dream of a trip to Wuhan later in the summer.
2026 Wuhan Open qualifiers: full draw
Round 1: Last 130 (bo9)
1. Mykhailo Larkov v Antoni Kowalski (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
2. Duane Jones v Deng Haohui (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
Round 2: Last 128 (bo9)
3. Liam Graham v Wang Xinbo (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
4. Liam Highfield v Gong Chenzhi (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
5. Jordan Brown v Craig Steadman (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
6.Steven Hallworth v Panchaya Channoi (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
7. Fergal Quinn v Sahil Nayyar (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
8. Leone Crowley v Liu Yang (Mon 15 Jun, 10:00 BST)
9. Michal Szubarczyk v Winner of Match 1 (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
10. Liu Wenwei v Jamie Clarke (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
11. Gao Yang v Bai Yulu (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
12. Lan Yuhao v Andrew Higginson (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
13. Lyu Haotian v Hammad Miah (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
14. Iulian Boiko v Mitchell Mann (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
15. Jamie Jones v Luo Zetao (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
16. Liam Pullen v Liam Davies (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
17. Zhao Hanyang v Stuart Carrington (Mon 15 Jun, 14:30 BST)
18. Ben Mertens v Ashley Hugill (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
19. David Grace v Florian Nuessle (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
20. Louis Heathcote v Paul Norris (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
21. Jiang Jun v Jimmy White (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
22. Dylan Emery v Ng On Yee (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
23. Sam Craigie v Julien Leclercq (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
24. Alexander Ursenbacher v Huang Jiahao (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
25. Chatchapong Nasa v Phil O’Kane (Mon 15 Jun, 19:00 BST)
26. Oliver Brown v Winner of Match 2 (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
27. Connor Benzey v Alfie Burden (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
28. Ross Muir v Oliver Sykes (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
29. Marco Fu v Anton Kazakov (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
30. Mateusz Baranowski v Sean O’Sullivan (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
31. Yao Pengcheng v Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
32. Ian Burns v Ashley Carty (Tue 16 Jun, 10:00 BST)
33. Xu Yichen v Mahmoud El Hareedy (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
34. Reanne Evans v Artemijs Zizins (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
Round 3: Last 96 (bo9)
35. Scott Donaldson v Winner of Match 3 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
36. Page v Winner of Match 4 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
37. Oliver Lines v Winner of Match 5 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
38. Luca Brecel v Winner of Match 6 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
39. Daniel Wells v Winner of Match 7 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
40. Michael Holt v Winner of Match 8 (Tue 16 Jun, 14:30 BST)
41. Noppon Saengkham v Winner of Match 9 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
42. Robbie Williams v Winner of Match 10 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
43. Wildcard Player v Winner of Match 11 (Held over to main arena)
44. Matthew Selt v Winner of Match 12 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
45. Wildcard Player v Winner of Match 13 (Held over to main arena)
46. Ryan Day v Winner of Match 14 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
47. Aaron Hill v Winner of Match 15 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
48. Martin O’Donnell v Winner of Match 16 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
49. Ben Woollaston v Winner of Match 17 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
50. Wildcard Player v Winner of Match 18 (Held over to main arena)
51. Ricky Walden v Winner of Match 19 (Tue 16 Jun, 19:00 BST)
52. Anthony McGill v Winner of Match 20 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
53. Wildcard Player v Winner of Match 21 (Held over to main arena)
54. Xu Si v Winner of Match 22 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
55. Tom Ford v Winner of Match 23 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
56. Ishpreet Singh Chadha v Winner of Match 24 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
57. Chang Bingyu v Winner of Match 25 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
58. Liu Hongyu v Winner of Match 26 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
59. Long Zehuang v Winner of Match 27 (Wed 17 Jun, 10:00 BST)
60. Zak Surety v Winner of Match 28 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
61. Fan Zhengyi v Winner of Match 29 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
62. He Guoqiang v Winner of Match 30 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
63. Jimmy Robertson v Winner of Match 31 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
64. Matthew Stevens v Winner of Match 32 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
65. Stan Moody v Winner of Match 33 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
66. David Lilley v Winner of Match 34 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
Round 4: Last 64 (bo9)
67. Xiao Guodong v Winner of Match 35 (Held over to main arena)
68. Lei Peifan v Winner of Match 36 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
69. Chris Wakelin v Winner of Match 37 (Held over to main arena)
70. Zhang Anda v Winner of Match 38 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
71. Stuart Bingham v Winner of Match 39 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
72. Mark Allen v Winner of Match 40 (Held over to main arena)
73. David Gilbert v Winner of Match 41 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
74. Mark Williams v Winner of Match 42 (Held over to main arena)
75. Zhao Xintong v Winner of Match 43 (Held over to main arena)
76. Jak Jones v Winner of Match 44 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
77. Barry Hawkins v Winner of Match 45 (Held over to main arena)
78. Elliot Slessor v Winner of Match 46 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
79. Gary Wilson v Winner of Match 47 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
80. Ding Junhui v Winner of Match 48 (Held over to main arena)
81. Hossein Vafaei v Winner of Match 49 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
82. Neil Robertson v Winner of Match 50 (Held over to main arena)
83. Judd Trump v Winner of Match 51 (Held over to main arena)
84. Yuan Sijun v Winner of Match 52 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
85. Si Jiahui v Winner of Match 53 (Held over to main arena)
86. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Winner of Match 54 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
87. Ali Carter v Winner of Match 55 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
88. Kyren Wilson v Winner of Match 56 (Held over to main arena)
89. Joe O’Connor v Winner of Match 57 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
90. John Higgins v Winner of Match 58 (Held over to main arena)
91. Shaun Murphy v Winner of Match 59 (Held over to main arena)
92. Pang Junxu v Winner of Match 60 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
93. Mark Selby v Winner of Match 61 (Held over to main arena)
94. Zhou Yuelong v Winner of Match 62 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
95. Jack Lisowski v Winner of Match 63 (Thu 18 Jun, 10:00 BST)
96. Ronnie O’Sullivan v Winner of Match 64 (Held over to main arena)
97. Stephen Maguire v Winner of Match 65 (Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 BST)
98. Wu Yize v Winner of Match 66 (Held over to main arena)
How to watch the Wuhan Open qualifiers
The Wuhan Open qualifiers will be broadcast live worldwide (excluding China) on WST Play.
Featured photo credit: WST
