The 2026 Shanghai Masters commences on Monday with most of the top 16 players from the world rankings in the draw in China.
Now well established as one of the most prestigious invitational events on the calendar, the tournament provides the new season’s biggest prize on offer so far.
The Shanghai Masters was launched as a ranking event back in 2007 and continued to be open to the entire tour like that up until 2017.
From 2018, however, the event shifted to its current non-ranking guise with just 24 players in the field for each edition.
When is the 2026 Shanghai Masters?
The 2026 Shanghai Masters runs from Monday, July 27 until Sunday, August 2 at the Luwan Gymnasium in Shanghai, China.
It marks the first time this season that there will be snooker staged away from the Mattioli Arena in Leicester and with fans in attendance.
Shanghai Masters prize money
Champion: £210,000
Runner-up: £105,000
Semi-final: £70,000
Quarter-final: £35,000
Last 16: £17,500
Last 24: £10,000
Highest break: £10,000
Total: £825,000
Who are the former champions?
Ronnie O’Sullivan is a record five-time winner of the event – twice when it was previously staged as a ranking event and three times since its transition to invitational status.
Dominic Dale was the first Shanghai Masters winner back in 2007, while Ali Carter, Stuart Bingham, and Ricky Walden are other prior champions who won’t be involved in 2026.
Along with O’Sullivan, fellow ex-winners John Higgins, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump, and reigning champion Kyren Wilson are all in the 2026 Shanghai Masters draw.
Who is in the 2026 Shanghai Masters draw?
As it’s a 24-player field, the top eight seeds have been awarded byes through to the last 16 of the competition.
That includes top seed Wilson, who beat Carter in last year’s final, and world champion Wu Yize.
Trump, Neil Robertson, Zhao Xintong, Higgins, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Williams have also bypassed the opening hurdle of the competition.
The remaining contenders enter at the round-of-24 stage, including the likes of O’Sullivan, Selby, and Ding.
The only member from the current crop of top 16 players not involved is Mark Allen, who for the second year in a row has opted to skip the Shanghai Masters entirely.
Allen’s spot in the lineup has been taken by world no.17 Jack Lisowski, who will be hoping to find some form after a poor start to the 2026/27 campaign.
The other eight positions in the lineup are filled by Chinese players – the four highest ranked cueists from China who are not in the top 16 plus an additional four amateur wildcards.
2026 Shanghai Masters draw
Round of 24 (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Wildcard
Monday, July 27th – 12:30pm
Chris Wakelin vs Wildcard
Monday, July 27th – 2:30am
Ding Junhui vs Wildcard
Monday, July 27th – 7:00am
Xiao Guodong vs Wildcard
Monday, July 27th – 2:30am
Barry Hawkins vs Lei Peifan
Monday, July 27th – 7:00am
Jack Lisowski vs Zhang Anda
Tuesday, July 28th – 2:30am
Mark Selby vs Zhou Yuelong
Monday, July 27th – 12:30pm
Si Jiahui vs Pang Junxu
Tuesday, July 28th – 2:30am
Round of 16 (bo11)
Kyren Wilson vs O’Sullivan/Wildcard
Tuesday, July 28th – 12:30pm
Mark Williams vs Wakelin/Wildcard
Tuesday, July 28th – 7:00am
Zhao Xintong vs Ding/Wildcard
Wednesday, July 29th – 12:30pm
Neil Robertson vs Xiao/Wildcard
Tuesday, July 28th – 7:00am
Judd Trump vs Hawkins/Lei
Tuesday, July 28th – 12:30pm
John Higgins vs Lisowski/Zhang
Wednesday, July 29th – 7:00am
Shaun Murphy vs Selby/Zhou
Wednesday, July 29th – 7:00am
Wu Yize vs Si/Pang
Wednesday, July 29th – 12:30pm
The quarter-finals (bo11) will be played on Thursday, July 30th.
The semi-finals (bo19) will be played on Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st.
The final (bo21) will be played on Sunday, August 2nd.
How to watch the 2026 Shanghai Masters?
There are several options available to watch the Shanghai Masters snooker invitational live, depending on your location.
UK and Ireland
TNT Sports and HBO Max
Mainland Europe and Selected Countries
Eurosport and HBO Max
China
CCTV5
SMG
Huya
Migu
CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel (pay-per-view)
CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
Hong Kong China
Now Sports
Malaysia
Astro Supersport
Thailand
True Sport
All other territories
WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
