Following a 17-year hiatus, the British Open has once again become a key fixture in the snooker calendar. This tournament is being staged for a sixth consecutive campaign after its re-introduction in the summer of 2021, with all of these editions taking place at the iconic Centaur building within the grounds of Cheltenham Racecourse.
Shaun Murphy overcame Anthony McGill in the 2025 British Open final by a 10-7 scoreline, delivering three century breaks in the process.
The ‘Magician’ had earlier defeated Ross Muir and Scott Donaldson en route to his showdown with McGill, so he took several Scottish scalps on his path to glory.
Murphy pocketed £100k for his efforts, the same amount that will be awarded to this season’s champion.
The winner’s cut is just under 20% of the overall prize pot, with an eye-watering £502k set to be dished out by the conclusion of the tournament.
A £5k purse is once again ringfenced for the player who records the highest break, after Gary Wilson - who struck a 144 during his second-round loss to the aforementioned McGill - claimed this prize last year.
The 2026 British Open is set to be televised on Channel 5 in the UK, although a full list of licensed broadcasters is yet to be confirmed. Online viewers can follow all of the action on My5, the network’s dedicated streaming service.
2026 British Open: Key information
Dates: August 31st to September 6th
Venue: The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse
TV Channels: Channel 5 (more broadcasters to potentially be announced)
Live stream: My5
British Open format
The initial qualifying phase for the 2026 British Open was hosted last month at the Leicester Arena, where the vast majority of next week’s participants secured their invite.
However, there is a further batch of qualifiers that are scheduled across the opening two days of the tournament, which feature each of the world’s top 16 players.
All of those that progress to the main draw will be allocated a totally random first-round opponent, as the British Open does not adopt a seeding system. This makes it extremely unique in the snooker world, as no other competition embraces an ‘FA Cup-style’ draw.
This approach was first used to determine ties from the Round of 32 onwards, but all matches (including qualifiers) have been planned this way for the last five years.
Last month’s draw produced several intriguing ties, whetting the appetite of snooker fans up and down the country. Perhaps the most keenly anticipated is the fixture involving reigning champion Shaun Murphy, who faces women’s world number one Reanne Evans.
We’ve listed several eye-catching first-round clashes below:
Shaun Murphy vs Reanne Evans
John Higgins vs Hossein Vafaei
The field will be whittled down from 32 to two players over the course of seven days, with the final set to take place on Sunday, September 6th, in the afternoon. The winner will be awarded the revered Clive Everton Trophy, which was named in honour of the legendary snooker player, commentator, and journalist who passed away in September 2024.
As is the case in the vast majority of snooker tournaments, each match at the British Open is contested over a pre-defined number of frames within a ‘best of’ format. The maximum number of frames that can be played increases as the tournament progresses, as per the schedule below:
Opening four rounds (inclusive of qualifiers): Best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals: Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals: Best of 11 frames
Final: Best of 19 frames
The season so far
The 2026/27 World Snooker Tour commenced with the Championship League, which ran from late June to early July. A series of ranking (performances impact position in official World Rankings) and non-ranking tournaments will be contested over the subsequent nine months, before the season culminates in next April’s World Championships at the Crucible.
Results:
Championship League (June 22nd to July 15th - Leicester): Final = Jak Jones 3-2 David Gilbert
Shanghai Masters (July 27th to August 8th - Shanghai): Final = Judd Trump 11-6 Kyren Wilson
China Open (August 8th to August 16th - Taiyuan): Final = Mark Selby 10-6 Noppon Saengkham
Wuhan Open (August 23rd to August 29th - Wuhan): Final = TBC
British Open: Recent history
Since the British Open was re-established five years ago, only players from the four home nations have progressed to the final. Each of the first three titles went to Welsh representatives, with two separate successes for Mark Williams coming either side of Ryan Day’s triumph in 2022.
After suffering the disappointment of finishing runner-up to Williams the season prior, Englishman Mark Selby bounced back to win the 2024 British Open. The ‘Jester from Leicester’ secured this landmark major honour by beating fellow finalist John Higgins, who remains one of just two players - alongside Scottish compatriot Stephen Hendry - to have won this competition on four occasions.
If he can add further silverware to his packed trophy cabinet next week, Higgins will become the joint-most successful player in British Open history. Snooker icon Steve Davis is currently out in front, having landed five such titles across a glittering 12-year period.
The last non-UK champion was crowned way back in 1999, when the British Open was staged twice in the same season due to a long-term schedule adjustment. Irishman Fergal O'Brien emerged triumphant in the first of these two tournaments, after edging past Anthony Hamilton in a pulsating final at the Plymouth Pavilions.
Favourites
Although several players have a realistic chance of scooping the top prize in Cheltenham, the familiar culprits are currently dominating the betting markets. The bookmakers have installed 2019 world champion Judd Trump as the early favourite, but prices will likely change following the conclusion of this week’s Wuhan Open.
We review the recent form of the top three favourites below:
Judd Trump
Having long since completed snooker’s fabled Triple Crown, Judd Trump is hoping to make further headlines in 2026.
The current world number one decided against attending this season’s curtain-raiser in Leicester, but his absence from the Championship League was soon forgotten thanks to a scintillating display at the Shanghai Masters. After defeating Barry Hawkins in his opening match, Trump delivered a 6-0 whitewash of John Higgins to book his place in the semi-finals. An impressive 10-6 victory over gifted youngster Wu Yize then followed, before defending champion Kyren Wilson succumbed to Trump’s brilliance in the showpiece.
However, he was unable to continue his momentum in the Far East. Drawn against the dangerous Noppon Saengkham in the first round of the China Open, Trump was unable to find a way past his Thai opponent. A better outcome in Wuhan is already assured, given that he thrashed 30th seed Yuan Sijun during Monday’s opening set of matches.
Despite racking up an eye-watering 31 ranking titles throughout his illustrious career, the 37-year-old has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the British Open. Nevertheless, Trump did reach a rare milestone at The Centaur just under two years ago, when he became just the third player ever (after Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins) to register his 1000th century break in professional snooker.
Zhao Xintong
The first Chinese player in history to win the World Snooker Championship, Zhao Xintong is now looking to consolidate his position as one of the sport’s leading figures. Xintong’s continuing meteoric rise has surprised many, given that he was forced to spend almost two years on the sidelines for his part in a well-documented match-fixing scandal.
In fairness to the talented youngster, he’s recovered admirably from what was a considerable setback. After clinching three titles in his comeback campaign, Xintong doubled his silverware tally last Spring. He won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, and Tours Championship, all within the space of a remarkable two-month spell.
However, he’s endured a frustrating start to the 2026/27 season. Despite finishing joint-top of his group in the opening phase of the Championship League, the ‘Cyclone’ was knocked out of the competition due to having an inferior frame difference to fellow leader David Grace. A second consecutive semi-final appearance at the Shanghai Masters would have undoubtedly raised Xintong’s spirits, although opponents Ding Junhui and Neil Robertson didn’t provide much of a challenge as he cruised through the tournament’s early rounds.
The feel-good factor didn’t last long though, as another gut-wrenching elimination – this time at the China Open – was just around the corner. With all balls potted and the scoreline locked at 5-5, a re-spotted black was required to determine the winner of his first-round meeting with Zhang Anda. Unable to convert the decisive shot, Xintong was left to rue a second early exit in quick succession.
Mark Selby
With 26 ranking titles to his name, Mark Selby always features amongst the favourites ahead of any major tournament.
The four-time world champion enjoyed a positive 2025/26 campaign, winning the prestigious UK Championships in addition to two non-ranking crowns. A couple of those honours were secured thanks to victories over familiar foe Judd Trump, with a 10-5 victory in the final of the Champion of Champions preceding yet another success at the Barbican.
Following an inauspicious start, the new season also now appears to hold plenty of promise. Selby skipped the Championship League despite it being hosted in his hometown of Leicester, before suffering elimination in the first round of the Shanghai Masters. However, the 43-year-old sharpshooter was back to his imperious best during this month’s meeting in Taiyuan.
Having triumphed on three previous occasions at the China Open, few were overly surprised by Selby’s heroics at the Riverside Sports Centre. After beating native opponent Pang Junxu in the opening round, he recorded back-to-back 6-1 triumphs as Kyren Wilson and defending champion Neil Robertson were mercilessly knocked out of the competition. A comprehensive semi-final win over Stuart Bingham then followed, while Noppon Saengkham could do nothing to thwart Selby’s momentum in the showpiece.
Is he on course to clinch the Clive Everton Trophy for the second time in two years? The bookies believe he might be.