The Welsh Open is the last of the four Home Nations Series events to take place in a season and will once again be held in Llandudno - here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2027 competition.
The winner will receive the Ray Reardon trophy and a winner's share of £100,000, following in the footsteps of defending champion Barry Hawkins who reigned supreme 12 months ago with a 9-5 final victory over Jack Lisowski.
Welsh Open - Date
When is the Welsh Open?
The 2027 Welsh Open gets underway on Monday 8th February and lasts for a total of seven days, with the final scheduled for Sunday 14th February.
Welsh Open - Prize Money
Winner (1): | £100,000 |
Runner-Up (1): | £45,000 |
Semi-Final Losers (2): | £21,000 |
Quarter-Final Losers (4): | £13,200 |
Last 16 Losers (8): | £9,000 |
Last 32 Losers (16): | £5,400 |
Last 64 Losers (32): | £3,600 |
Last 96 Losers (16): | £1,000 |
Highest Break: | £5,000 |
A bumper £500,400 prize pot is on offer for the 2027 Welsh Open with the tournament winner set to pocket a £100,000 share, which is a rise of £20,000 from the 2024 event.
Players who come through qualifying to secure a last 64 spot are guaranteed £3,600, with prize money rising for each round thereafter.
Welsh Open - Venue & Location
For the fifth year in succession, the 2027 Welsh Open will be held at Llandudno's Venue Cymru, which has a 2,500 capacity arena.
The 2022 event, which was won by Joe Perry, was staged at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport while the 2021 tournament took place at the Celtic Manor Resort, also in Newport.
From 2015 to 2020 the Welsh Open was housed at the Cardiff International Arena while the Newport Centre entertained the event from 2005 until 2014.
The Newport Centre had been the original venue for the Welsh Open from 1992 until 1998 with the Cardiff International Arena taking care of the tournament from 1999 until 2003.
Welsh Open - Players
Who is playing in the 2027 Welsh Open?
Most of the leading players in the world are expected in Llandudno for the Welsh Open including the reigning champion Barry Hawkins.
The Jester from Leicester will be joined by the rest of the top 32 players in the world, based on the world ranking system, with 32 qualifiers joining them in the first round of the main event.
That means the likes of Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Kyren Wilson, John Higgins and Mark WIlliams should all be in attendance.
Welsh Open - Format
What is the format of the Welsh Open?
Last 128: | Best-of-seven-frames |
Last 96: | Best-of-seven-frames |
Last 64: | Best-of-seven-frames |
Last 32: | Best-of-seven-frames |
Last 16: | Best-of-seven-frames |
Quarter-Finals: | Best-of-nine-frames |
Semi-Finals: | Best-of-11-frames |
Final | Best-of-17-frames |
All matches will be played over the best-of-seven-frame format until the quarter-finals, which will be the best-of-nine.
The semi-finals will be the best-of-11, and the final will be a best-of-17 frames match played over two sessions.
Play in the early stages will start from 10:00 (GMT), with the afternoon session taking place at 13:00 (GMT) and the evening session beginning at 19:00 (GMT).
Some players are obliged to play their last-32 match and their last-16 contest on the same day - Thursday 11th February - which is effectively renowned as being moving day.
Welsh Open - History
Mark Selby captured the title 12 months ago, seeing off Scotsman Stephen Maguire in the final, 12 months on from Gary Wilson's triumph over surprise finalist Martin O'Donnell.
There has been a string of surprise winners in recent Welsh Open history with Joe Perry crowned champion in 2022 and Jordan Brown, who upset Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-8, landing the honours in 2021.
Prior to that, however, it had been a tournament for a big name with John Higgins, O'Sullivan, Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy all winning it from 2014 until 2020.
Higgins is the most decorated player in the tournament’s history with five wins stemming from 2000 until 2018 while O'Sullivan is a four-time champion, with his last success coming in 2016.
Other multiple winners of the Welsh Open include Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Ken Doherty, Paul Hunter, Mark Williams and Robertson.
Alan McManus and world number one Judd Trump have both been beaten in their two final appearances.
