It looks set to be an action-packed seven days at the Welsh Open and here is everything you need to know about the next big event on the World Snooker Tour calendar.
| What | Welsh Open |
| Where | Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wales |
| When | Monday 13th February - Sunday 19th February |
| How to watch | Eurosport & BBC red button |
What is the Welsh Open?
The Welsh Open has been played since 1992 and is the third-longest running tournament on the World Snooker Tour calendar after the World Championship and the UK Championship.
It forms the first part of the Home Nations Series, which includes the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open and the English Open, while it is also the eighth and final event of the European Series.
When is the Welsh Open?
The Welsh Open will start on Monday 13th February with the final scheduled for Sunday 19th February.
Where will the Welsh Open be held?
The Welsh Open will be held at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno for the first time and it will also be the first time the tournament will take place outside either Cardiff or Newport.
Previous venues have been the Newport Centre, Cardiff International Arena, Welsh Institute of Sport, Celtic Manor and the International Convention Centre.
Who are the previous winners of the Welsh Open?
No player has won the Welsh Open on more occasions than Scotland’s John Higgins, who has triumphed five times. His last success came in 2018 when he beat Barry Hawkins 9-7 in the final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, 4/1 To Win Outright the World Championship, comes next in the list with four victories, but he has not won the Welsh Open since 2016 when he saw off Neil Robertson 9-5.
Stephen Hendry was the first winner of the Welsh Open in 1992 and he is the only other player to have won the tournament more than twice.
Mark Williams, 16/1 To Win Outright the World Championship, is the only Welsh winner of the tournament to date and Joe Perry is the defending champion after he beat Judd Trump 9-5 last year.
The winner receives the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion.
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How does the Welsh Open format work?
A total of 64 players will be looking to claim glory at the Welsh Open and qualifiers have been taking place at the Metrodome Centre in Barnsley.
The first three rounds will be decided on a best-of-seven-frames format. The quarter-finals will be best of nine, the semi-finals best of 11 and the final will be best-of-17 frames.
How much prize money is available?
The total prize pool for the Welsh Open is £427,000. The winner will receive £80,000 while the runner-up will take home £35,000.
A prize of £17,500 will be awarded to the two losing semi-finalists and there is a £5,000 prize for the highest break of the tournament.
Will the Welsh Open be televised?
The tournament will be televised on Eurosport and on BBC Cymru as well as the BBC red button.
What are the current world rankings?
Ronnie O’Sullivan is at the top of the world rankings, ahead of Mark Selby and Mark Allen, who is 11/1 To Win Outright the World Championship.
Then come Neil Robertson and Judd Trump, while John Higgins, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Zhao Xintong and Luca Brecel make up the rest of the world’s top ten snooker stars.
Who has already won on the Tour this year?
This will be the fourth ranking tournament of 2023, although the invitation-only Masters was the first competition of the New Year and that was won by Judd Trump, who defeated Mark Williams 10-8 in the final.
Trump, 4/1 To Win Outright the World Championship, was unable to follow that up with a victory in the World Grand Prix last month, when he was beaten 10-9 in a thriller against Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen.
Chris Wakeling stayed the course to win the Shoot Out with a victory over Julien Leclercq, while the most recent champion was Ali Carter, who posted a 10-3 victory over Tom Ford in the final of the German Masters last week.
