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English Open Snooker
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English Open Snooker: Start date, times, how to watch, format and much more

The English Open is one of four Home Nations Series events that are held annually on the World Snooker Tour.

Taking place in late summer each year, the winner of the tournament takes home the Steve Davis Trophy, named in honour of the legendary English former world champion.

Here is everything you need to know about the forthcoming event...

Dates

The dates for the 2027 English Open are yet to be officially announced, however it is believed the tournament will get underway on Monday 6th September, with the final likely taking place on Sunday 13th September 2027.

Times

As with most snooker tournaments, matches are played throughout the day and can sometimes involve a late night finish.

Typically matches get underway across three sessions, with 10:00, 14:00 and 19:00 start times for the earlier rounds of the competition. 

Venue

The 2027 event will likely take place at the Brentwood Centre in Essex - which would mark the sixth consecutive time the English Open has been staged there. 

Previously, EventCity in Manchester, the Barnsley Metrodome, the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley and, most recently, the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes have all hosted the tournament. 

Previous Winners

The English Open has produced eight different winners across 11 years of the competition.

China's Liang Wenbo was the first winner of the event, before Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed the title a year later in 2017.

In 2022, Mark Selby became the first player to lift the trophy on more than one occasion, defeating soon-to-become world champion Luca Brecel in the final. 

England's Ali Carter is the current defending champion of the English Open, after he beat Mark Williams 9-6 in the 2026 final.

Format

Sixty-four players from the World Snooker Tour enter the main draw following two pre-qualifying rounds.

The current top-16-ranked players will play their qualification matches at the venue for the televised stages of the tournament, with those encounters, together with matches in rounds one, two and three, being played over the best-of-seven frames. 

That increases to nine in the quarter-finals and further up to 11 for the last-four matches, while the final will be contested over 17 frames. 

Trophy

Competitors in the English Open are competing for the Davis Trophy, named after former six-time world champion Steve Davis, who retired in April 2016, six months before the inaugural tournament took place. 

Prize Money

Winner:

£100,000

Runner-up:

£45,000

Semi-finals:

£21,000

Quarter-finals:

£13,200 

Last 16:

£9,000

Last 32:

£5,400

Last 64:

£3,600

Last 96:

£1,000

High Break:

£5,000

The winner of the English Open scoops a bumper cheque of £100,000 with the runner-up taking home £45,000.

Those reaching the semi-finals are awarded £21,000, while there is a highest break pot of £5,000.

In total, £550,400 is on offer to the 64 players who made it to Brentwood. 

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