Xiao Guodong will attempt to join some of snooker’s greatest names when the 2026 Wuhan Open begins on Sunday.
The 37-year-old is a two-time defending champion and can become only the fifth player to win the same ranking event three years in a row.
Xiao has already made the Wuhan Open his own, with both of his ranking titles coming at the tournament in the last couple of campaigns.
He beat fellow Chinese player Si Jiahui 10-7 in the 2024 final before edging Gary Wilson 10-9 in a dramatic contest 12 months later.
Now ranked 10th in the world, Xiao begins his latest title defence against Wang Xinbo in the last 64.
A third successive Wuhan Open title would put him alongside four players who have previously achieved the three-in-a-row feat at ranking events.
Ray Reardon was the first, winning the World Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Those were the first three World Championships to (retrospectively) carry ranking status.
Steve Davis subsequently won the UK Championship four times in succession from 1984 to 1987 and the World Championship three years running from 1987 to 1989.
Stephen Hendry also managed the feat at both events. The Scot won five consecutive World Championships between 1992 and 1996 as well as three successive UK Championships from 1994 to 1996.
Judd Trump is the most recent example, winning the Northern Ireland Open in 2018, 2019, and 2020 where he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final on each occasion.
There have been several other instances of hat-tricks in events without ranking status.
Hendry won five consecutive editions of the Masters from 1989 to 1993, while O’Sullivan won five successive Premier League titles between 2005 and 2008.
O’Sullivan also won three editions of the Shanghai Masters in succession – in 2018, 2019, and 2023 – while Mark Selby has won the Championship League three years running from 2024 to 2026.
In a tournament where he is on a 14-game winning streak, it would be foolish to write off Xiao’s chances, albeit he won’t be considered among the favourites for glory again.
Trump, the 2023 Wuhan Open champion, begins his campaign against Austria’s Florian Nuessle, while recent China Open champion Selby faces Fan Zhengyi.
World champion Wu Yize has been drawn against Artemijs Zizins, while pre-tournament favourite Zhao Xintong will meet either Gao Yang or Guan Zhen.
Trump, Selby, Wu, Zhao, and Neil Robertson could all end the 2026 Wuhan Open as the world number one in what is another fascinating subplot to this year’s edition.
Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, meanwhile, starts against Ashley Carty with the winner in Wuhan collecting £175,000 from a substantial prize-money pot.
Xiao would love to pocket the champion’s cheque again, but history also beckons as he bids to become only the fifth player to win the same ranking event three times in a row, and the first since Trump’s Northern Ireland Open hat-trick was completed back in 2020.
Featured photo credit: WST
