After looking back to his best as he won the Welsh Open, Mark Selby’s eyes will be firmly focused on another prize as the race to the Crucible heats up.
The Jester from Leicester saw off surprise challenger Stephen Maguire in Wales, with the four time world champion hitting form at the perfect time – as he goes in search of a fifth title at the Crucible. However some big challenges lie ahead with a packed field of stars heading to the Far East, as preparations kick off ahead of the World Grand Prix. That field one again won’t include Ronnie O’Sullivan, but Rocket fans don’t have long to wait for their man’s eagerly anticipated return.
Selby’s Welsh open rival John Higgins is one of those who will be making the trip, and the duo played out a gruelling quarter-final in Lladudno. Despite taking defeat, Higgins produced some sparkling showings to reignite hope that he could still be an outside bet for more World Championship glory. Masters winner Shaun Murphy endured a far tougher time in Wales, suffering a shock early exit – and the Magician will be keen to flush that out of his system.
The diehards will have plenty to stay up all night for, whilst others can catch up with highlights or on demand – but whichever category you fit into, Record Sport will ensure you don’t miss a moment.
When does the World Open snooker start?
The World Open gets underway on Sunday February 23 and runs until March 1 at the Yushan Sport Centre in China.
What TV channel is World Open snooker on?
Action will be live on Eurosport 2 and TNT Sports 3 from 6am on February 23 every morning for the week, with highlights at 10pm on Eurosport 2 every night of the event. From February 26 live coverage starts from 2am on Eurosport.
Things come with a little bit of added confusion this year, with Eurosport ceasing broadcasting during the event. The WST say: ‘Until February 28 live coverage will be simulcast on Eurosport and TNT Sports 3 until Eurosport officially stops broadcasting at 2am UK time on February. From that point onwards all live coverage will continue to be live on TNT Sports 3.”
Can I live stream World Open snooker?
You can! The entire tournament will be available to stream on discovery+ from 1.30am on February 23. Plans cost £30.99 a month and you can sign up HERE.
When is the final of the World Open snooker?
- Last 64: February 23 and 24
- Last 32: February 25
- Last 16: February 26
- Quarter-finals: February 27
- Semi-finals: February 28
- Final: March 1
What is the prize fund at the Snooker World Open?
- Champion: £175,000
- Runner-up: £75,000
- Semi-Finals: £33,000
- Quarter-Finals: £22,000
- Round of 16: £14,000
- Round of 32: £9,000
- Round of 64: £5,000
- Highest Break: £5,000
- Total: £825,000
What is the first round draw for the World Open snooker?
- Trump/Xing vs Long Zehuang
- Alfie Burden vs Joe O’Connor
- Antoni Kowalski vs Matthew Stevens
- Michael Holt vs Martin O’Donnell
- Yuan Sijun vs Hossein Vafaei
- Joe Perry vs Ding/Jiang
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh w/o Chris Totten
- Lam/Wildcard vs Shaun Murphy
- Mark Allen vs Lilly/Wildcard
- Wu Yize vs Jackson Page
- Ali Carter vs He Guoqiang
- Jack Lisowski vs Donaldson/Wildcard
- Ben Woollaston vs Amir Sarkhosh
- Jamie Jones vs Barry Hawkins
- Ryan Day w/o Ricky Walden
- Louis Heathcote vs Womersley/Carrington
- Zak Surety vs Jordan Brown
- Xiao Guodong vs Duane Jones
- Ishpreet Singh Chadha vs Tom Ford
- Daniel Wells vs Gary Wilson
- Jimmy Robertson vs Noppon Saengkham
- Aaron Hill vs Sunny Akani
- Tian Pengfei w/o Luca Brecel
- Pang Junxu vs Anthony McGill
- Zhang/Moody vs Graeme Dott
- Robert Milkins vs Xu/Wildcard
- Robbie Williams w/o Jak Jones
- Mark Davis vs John Higgins
- Manasawin Phetmalaikul vs Zhou Yuelong
- Lei Peifan vs K. Wilson/Miah
- Mark Selby vs Liu Hongyu
- Elliot Slessor vs Lyu Haotian