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The 2026/27 snooker season continues this week with the 2026 Wuhan Open taking place at the Optics Valley Gymnasium. It is the third ranking event of the campaign following Championship League Snooker, which was won by Jak Jones, and the recent China Open where Mark Selby lifted the trophy. The Wuhan Open also brings an end to a three-tournament swing in China that included the Shanghai Masters invitational, which was won by Judd Trump. Trump arrives in Wuhan with his world number one position under serious threat after the Englishman was unable to defend the £500,000 he earned for winning the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in 2024, with that tournament having since been removed from the calendar. The Englishman provisionally sits fifth in the rankings behind Zhao Xintong, Neil Robertson, Wu Yize, and Selby, with all five players able to finish August as snooker’s world number one by winning the Wuhan Open. If someone else lifts the trophy, the outcome of the battle for top spot will likely be determined by which of Zhao and Robertson progresses furthest. When is the 2026 Wuhan Open? The 2026 Wuhan Open runs from August 23 to 29 at the Optics Valley Gymnasium in Wuhan, China. Matches up to and including the quarter-finals will be contested over the best of nine frames, with the semi-finals played over the best of 11 and the final over the best of 19. Wuhan Open prize money Winner: £175,000 Runner-up: £75,000 Semi-finals: £33,000 Quarter-finals: £22,000 Last 16: £12,000 Last 32: £8,000 Last 64: £4,500 Last 96: £1,500 Highest break: £5,000 Total: £825,000 Former champions The Wuhan Open has only had a couple of champions since its introduction to the World Snooker Tour. Its inaugural edition in 2023 was won by Judd Trump while Xiao Guodong emerged with the title in both 2024 and 2025, beating Gary Wilson in a close final last year. The 37 year-old is bidding to join an exclusive club of snooker players who have won the same tournament three years in a row. Only Ray Reardon (retrospectively), Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Trump have previously managed the feat in a ranking event. Who is in the draw? A qualifying competition was held in June to determine which players would join the top 16 seeds at the venue stages in Wuhan. The top 16 had their opening-round matches from the last 64 deferred until the tournament proper. That includes defending champion Xiao, who begins his title defence against fellow Chinese player Wang Xinbo as he bids for a third consecutive Wuhan Open crown. Most of the sport’s leading stars are in attendance, although Mark Allen has withdrawn from the tournament and China Open finalist Noppon Saengkham failed to qualify. The world number one battle is a notable subplot, with Trump, Zhao, Robertson, Wu, and Selby all capable of moving to the top of the rankings by the end of the event. 2026 Wuhan Open draw Round of 64 (bo9) Times in BST Xiao Guodong 5-0 Wang Xinbo Jackson Page 5-3 Lei Peifan Chris Wakelin 5-0 Jordan Brown Steven Hallworth 5-4 Zhang Anda Daniel Wells 5-1 Stuart Bingham Michael Holt w/o Mark Allen David Gilbert 5-1 Noppon Saengkham Mark Williams w/o Robbie Williams Zhao Xintong v Gao Yang (Mon, Aug 24: 07:00) Jak Jones 5-2 Matthew Selt Barry Hawkins v Chen Qi’en (Mon, Aug 24: 02:30) Ryan Day 5-1 Elliot Slessor Gary Wilson 5-4 Aaron Hill Ding Junhui 1-5 Liam Davies Hossein Vafaei 5-1 Ben Woollaston Neil Robertson v Ben Mertens (Mon, Aug 24: 02:30) Judd Trump 5-0 Florian Nuessle Yuan Sijun 5-1 Louis Heathcote Si Jiahui v Jiang Jun (Mon, Aug 24: 02:30) Dylan Emery 5-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Ali Carter 5-3 Tom Ford Kyren Wilson w/o Oliver Brown Chang Bingyu 5-2 Joe O’Connor Liu Hongyu w/o John Higgins Shaun Murphy v Alfie Burden (Mon, Aug 24: 07:00) Pang Junxu 5-3 Oliver Sykes Mark Selby v Fan Zhengyi (Mon, Aug 24: 07:00) He Guoqiang 5-2 Zhou Yuelong Yao Pengcheng 5-0 Jack Lisowski Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ashley Carty (Mon, Aug 24: 02:30) Stephen Maguire 5-2 Stan Moody Wu Yize v Artemijs Zizins (Mon, Aug 24: 07:00) Round of 32 (bo9) Schedule TBC Xiao Guodong v Jackson Page Chris Wakelin w/o Steven Hallworth Daniel Wells v Michael Holt David Gilbert v Mark Williams Zhao/Gao v Jak Jones Hawkins/Chen v Ryan Day Gary Wilson v Liam Davies Hossein Vafaei v Robertson/Mertens Judd Trump v Yuan Sijun Si/Jiang v Dylan Emery Ali Carter v Kyren Wilson Chang Bingyu v Liu Hongyu Murphy/Burden v Pang Junxu Selby/Fan v He Guoqiang Yao Pengcheng v O’Sullivan/Carty Stephen Maguire v Wu/Zizins Wuhan Open betting odds Trump and Zhao are joint favourites in the outright market at 10/3. Selby is next at 11/2, followed by world champion Wu at 13/2 and Ronnie O’Sullivan at 7/1. Reigning champion Xiao is priced at about 11/1. How to watch the 2026 Wuhan Open There are several options available to watch the Wuhan Open 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 Douyin Hong Kong China Now Sports Malaysia Astro Supersport Thailand True Sport Taiwan Sportscast All other territories WST Play Featured photo credit: WST