The 2026/27 snooker season continues this week with the 2026 British Open taking place at the Centaur in Cheltenham.
It is the fourth ranking event of the campaign and one of only a couple of tournaments on the snooker calendar that utilises a random-draw element for each round.
A qualifying stage was held in July, with most of the first-round matches from the last 128 already taking place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
The fixtures involving the top 16 seeds were deferred to the venue stages, meaning the tournament’s leading players will now enter the action in Cheltenham.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy returns to begin his title defence against 12-time women’s world champion Reanne Evans, while new world number one Zhao Xintong faces Oliver Brown.
When is the 2026 British Open?
The 2026 British Open runs from Monday, August 31 to Sunday, September 6 at the Centaur in Cheltenham.
Matches up to and including the last 16 will be contested over the best of seven frames, with the quarter-finals played over the best of nine, the semi-finals over the best of 11, and the final over the best of 19.
British Open prize money
Winner: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £12,000
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £6,000
Last 64: £3,000
Highest break: £5,000
Total: £502,000
Former champions
The British Open was first staged in 1985 and remained on the snooker calendar until 2004 before returning in 2021.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy is among the former winners involved this year, alongside Mark Selby, who lifted the trophy in 2024, four-time champion John Higgins, and three-time champion Mark Williams.
Jimmy White and Ryan Day, meanwhile, both lost during the preliminary phase. Ronnie O’Sullivan, champion in 1994, has withdrawn.
Who is in the draw?
A qualifying competition was held in July, with most of the opening-round matches taking place in Leicester before the tournament moves to Cheltenham.
The British Open is one of only two tournaments to use a random draw for each round – the other being the Shoot Out – making it one of the more unpredictable events on the World Snooker Tour.
The top 16 seeds have had their opening-round matches deferred to the venue stages, with defending champion Murphy facing Evans in one of the standout ties.
Zhao begins his first tournament as the world number one against Oliver Brown, while world snooker champion Wu Yize takes on fellow Chinese player Liu Hongyu.
Other eye-catching ties include Mark Williams against David Gilbert, John Higgins against Hossein Vafaei, and Chris Wakelin against Luca Brecel.
In addition to O’Sullivan, 2022 runner-up Mark Allen is another familiar face who is absent from the field having also withdrawn.
Chang Bingyu, champion for the first time in his career at last week’s Wuhan Open, safely negotiated his opening test in the preliminary phase and will face Chatchapong Nasa in the last 64.
2026 British Open draw
Round of 128 (bo7)
Ashley Carty 4-3 Si Jiahui
Liam Graham 4-3 Martin O’Donnell
Anthony McGill 4-3 Joe O’Connor
Wu Yize 4-3 Liu Hongyu
Matthew Stevens 4-2 Antoni Kowalski
Artemijs Zizins 4-0 Michael Larkov
Ding Junhui 4-1 Anton Kazakov
Jackson Page 4-1 Fergal Quinn
Iulian Boiko 4-3 Luo Zetao
Xiao Guodong 4-2 Jiang Jun
Mark Selby 4-3 David Lilley
Judd Trump 4-2 Dylan Emery
Zhang Anda 4-2 Alfie Burden
Joshua Thomond 4-3 Sam Craigie
Pang Junxu 1-4 Neil Robertson
Ricky Walden 4-1 Gary Wilson
Yao Pengcheng 4-2 Ng On Yee
Jordan Brown 4-1 Liu Wenwei
Shaun Murphy 4-0 Reanne Evans
Mahmoud El Hareedy 4-1 Lan Yuhao
Steven Hallworth 4-2 Marco Fu
Long Zehuang 4-1 Leone Crowley
Oliver Brown 1-4 Zhao Xintong
Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 4-0 Gao Yang
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4-3 Allan Taylor
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Scott Donaldson
Chatchapong Nasa 4-3 Ryan Day
Daniel Wells 4-2 Liam Pullen
Fan Zhengyi 4-1 Ben Woollaston
Florian Nüßle 1-4 Kyren Wilson
Zak Surety 4-1 Huang Jiahao
Jamie Jones 4-1 Oliver Sykes
Xu Yichen 4-3 Oliver Lines
Jimmy Robertson 4-3 Zhou Yuelong
Phil O’Kane 4-2 Connor Benzey
Ben Mertens 4-1 Zhao Hanyang
David Grace 4-1 Michal Szubarczyk
Gong Chenzhi 4-3 Xu Si
Jak Jones 4-3 Matthew Selt
Duane Jones 4-0 Alexander Ursenbacher
Aaron Hill 4-2 Panchaya Channoi
Chang Bingyu 4-0 Stuart Bingham
Stan Moody 4-0 Paul Norris
Michael Holt 4-3 Cheung Ka Wai
Lyu Haotian 4-2 Yuan Sijun
Elliot Slessor 4-1 Julien Leclercq
Jamie Clarke 4-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ross Muir w/o Tom Ford
Mark Williams 0-4 David Gilbert
John Higgins 4-1 Hossein Vafaei
Noppon Saengkham 4-2 Ashley Hugill
Bai Yulu 4-1 Sahil Nayyar
Barry Hawkins 4-0 Deng Haohui
Mitchell Mann 4-3 Louis Heathcote
Liu Yang 4-1 Andrew Higginson
Liam Highfield 4-1 Stephen Maguire
Liam Davies 4-2 Craig Steadman
He Guoqiang 4-0 Robbie Williams
Sean O’Sullivan 4-1 Jimmy White
Mark Joyce 4-1 Mateusz Baranowski
Chris Wakelin 4-3 Luca Brecel
Wang Xinbo 4-1 Patrick Whelan
Lei Peifan 4-1 Hammad Miah
Ali Carter 4-0 Stuart Carrington
Round of 64 (bo7)
Jak Jones 4-0 Anthony McGill
Jamie Jones 4-3 Wang Xinbo
Gong Chenzhi 2-4 He Guoqiang
Mitchell Mann 3-4 Jack Lisowski
Jackson Page 4-1 Jimmy Robertson
Phil O’Kane 0-4 Michael Holt
Joshua Thomond 2-4 Artemijs Zizins
Chatchapong Nasa 1-4 Chang Bingyu
Lyu Haotian 4-2 Xiao Guodong
Pang Junxu 4-2 Liam Graham
Stan Moody 4-1 Yao Pengcheng
Liam Davies 4-2 Barry Hawkins
Noppon Saengkham 3-4 John Higgins
Iulian Boiko 4-2 Xu Yichen
Sean O’Sullivan 0-4 Ding Junhui
Mark Joyce 4-0 Jordan Brown
Liu Yang 2-4 Duane Jones
Zhao Xintong 4-2 Daniel Wells
Ali Carter 3-4 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
Matthew Stevens 3-4 Fan Zhengyi
Steven Hallworth 2-4 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Elliot Slessor 4-1 Jamie Clarke
Bai Yulu 3-4 Ross Muir
Mahmoud El Hareedy 2-4 Liam Highfield
David Gilbert 4-2 Shaun Murphy
Judd Trump 4-2 Ricky Walden
Lei Peifan 3-4 Mark Selby
Aaron Hill 4-2 Ben Mertens
Wu Yize 1-4 Kyren Wilson
Zhang Anda 4-3 Chris Wakelin
Long Zehuang 4-2 Ashley Carty
David Grace 4-1 Zak Surety
Round of 32 (bo7)
He Guoqiang 4-1 Artemijs Zizins
Lyu Haotian 4-3 Duane Jones
Aaron Hill 4-2 Wang Xinbo
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 3-4 Jack Lisowski
Stan Moody 4-3 Zhang Anda
Ross Muir 2-4 Fan Zhengyi
Zhao Xintong 4-0 Michael Holt
Kyren Wilson 1-4 Liam Highfield
John Higgins 4-3 Thanawat Tirapoongpaiboon
Liam Davies 3-4 David Gilbert
Mark Selby 4-3 Jackson Page
Jak Jones 4-1 Chang Bingyu
Iulian Boiko 4-1 Ding Junhui
Pang Junxu 0-4 Mark Joyce
David Grace 0-4 Long Zehuang
Elliot Slessor 0-4 Judd Trump
Round of 16 (bo7)
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Lyu Haotian
Judd Trump 4-0 David Gilbert
Iulian Boiko 2-4 Mark Selby
Stan Moody 4-2 John Higgins
Aaron Hill 4-0 Fan Zhengyi
Zhao Xintong 4-2 Mark Joyce
Jak Jones 4-2 Artemijs Zizins
Liam Highfield 4-1 Long Zehuang
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Mark Selby 5-0 Jack Lisowski
Liam Highfield 5-2 Stan Moody
Aaron Hill 4-5 Jak Jones
Judd Trump 5-1 Zhao Xintong
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Mark Selby 6-3 Liam Highfield
Jak Jones 6-3 Judd Trump
Final (bo19)
Mark Selby 6-10 Jak Jones
How to watch the 2026 British Open
There are several options available to watch the British Open live, depending on your location.
UK (and available in some parts of Ireland)
5 and 5Action
Mainland Europe and selected countries
Eurosport and HBO Max
China
Huya.com
Migu
CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel
CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
Hong Kong China
Now Sports
Malaysia
Astro Supersport
Thailand
True Sport
Taiwan
Sportcast
New Zealand
Sky Sports
All other territories including Republic of Ireland
WST Play
Featured photo credit: WST
Jack Lisowski is coming in to the Unibet British Open as fresh as one can be. He failed to qualify to all three ranking tournaments which includes the Shenzhen Open and was in the Shanghai Masters non ranking only for one match, a dramatic loss to John Higgins.
Shaun Murphy is toying with Reanne Evans. Yes she fits with the other women but looking at her results, why does she continue to play the boys when all she does is lose. I am curious what she is thinking,
The format is best of 7 until the quarter-finals which best of 9
Semi-finals Best of 11 frames
Final Best of 19 frames
I am not going to lie, it is becoming more and more difficult to watch snooker. If you stop reading comments from me; that is the reason.