World Open Snooker: Dates, format, history & more

For the first time in five years, the World Open returns to the snooker calendar and a strong field has been assembled for the third and final Chinese ranking event of the season.

Judd Trump was the last champion to be crowned in Yushan in 2019, when he defeated Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10–5 in the final, and he is the tournament top seed.

Joining Trump in the 64-runner field are the likes of reigning world champion Luca Brecel, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson.

This will be the eighth edition of the event since it made the switch to China and since then Allen is the only dual winner, having been crowned champion in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013.

World Open Dates

The World Open gets underway from the Yushan Sport Centre on Monday, March 18, 2024, with the final being played only six days later on Sunday, March 24, 2024.

World Open Format

The main draw features 64 players and the format will be over best-of-nine frames until the semi-final when it will become a best-of-11. The final will be played over two sessions and will be a best-of-19 encounter.

It is the 15th ranking event of the 2023/24 campaign and the fourth and last major tournament of the season to be staged in China after the Shanghai Masters, Wuhan Open and the International Championship.

World Open Venue

As was the case in 2019, the World Open will be held at the Yushan Sport Centre, where Trump reigned supreme five years ago.

Prior to that, from 2016 to 2018, the tournament was staged in Yushan Middle School while between 2012 and 2014 the event took place at the Hainan International Convention And Exhibition Center in Haikou.

Scotland was home of the competition from 2005 to 2010, with Aberdeen and Glasgow both getting a taste of the event, having previously been held in the likes of Preston and Telford.

The Hexagon Theatre in Reading was one of the original homes of the competition from 1984 until 1993, back when it was also known as the Grand Prix.

World Open Prize Money

There is a total of £815,000 in prize money up for grabs, with the winner taking home £170,000 and the runner-up collecting £73,000, while there is even a highest break prize of £5,000.

Those travelling to the venue are already guaranteed £5,000, whether they are a first-round casualty or not.

Making the second round is worth £9,000, reaching the 16 takes home £14,000 while quarter-finalists receive £21,500. 

World Open How to watch & TV details

The World Open will be streamed live on Eurosport while it will also be available on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at Eurosport.com.

World Open Favourites

Trump and O’Sullivan have been the two standout players on the tour this season and those two, seeded first and third respectively, are going to grab plenty of attention.

The Rocket, having won the inaugural World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh most recently, is likely to be the tournament favourite as he bids to claim a third ranking title of the season following wins at the UK Championship and the World Grand Prix.

Trump, effectively the defending champion having won the last staging of this event in 2019, is chasing his fifth ranking title of the season after successes at English Open, Wuhan Open, Northern Ireland Open and the German Masters.

The only other multiple winners of ranking events this season are Allen and Gary Wilson.

Allen won the Snooker Shoot Out and the Players Championship, while also triumphing at the Champion of Champions, and is always someone to be feared at the back end of tournaments.

However, Wilson, having won the Scottish Open and Welsh equivalent, failed to qualify for the event having lost 5-4 to Stuart Carrington.

Reigning world champion Brecel is seeded second and he enjoyed an upturn in form when finishing runner-up to O’Sullivan at the World Masters of Snooker.

With the World Championships on the horizon, Brecel is sure to make his presence felt in one way or another while Selby and Higgins can never be ruled out given they continue to hold their form well.