2026 International Championship Snooker: Draw, results, schedule, prize money, how to watch

Following Kyren Wilson’s triumph at the Northern Ireland Open, the World Snooker Tour roadshow returns to the Far East for the 2026 International Championship that carries a top prize of £175,000.

The International Championship first featured on the professional circuit in 2012 with Judd Trump claiming the inaugural title in Chengdu. Daqing and Tianjin have also been host cities for the tournament, but Nanjing has been its current home since 2024.

The reigning champion is Wu Yize who defeated John Higgins, 10-6, in last year’s final to collect his maiden ranking event crown. Later that same season, youngster Wu became the World Champion.

Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Trump have each claimed this title twice; the last three editions - when the competition returned after the Covid-19 Pandemic - have been won by Chinese players (2023 - Zhang Anda, 2024 - Ding Junhui, 2025 - Wu Yize).

How does the format work and who is playing?

Unlike the other Chinese-based ranking events held this season, the International Championship uses a ‘flat draw’ system meaning all players - regardless of ranking - start in the opening round (bar three preliminary matches involving local wildcards).

The majority of round one matches were played as ‘qualifiers’ held in Leicester a few weeks ago, with the winners of those ties going through to the last 64 and earning a spot for the main draw, televised stages in China.

All the ties involving wildcards, and matches featuring several star names have been held-over to the venue - including defending champion Wu Yize and world number one Zhao Xintong. Wu could overtake Zhao and be crowned as the world number one for the first time in his career during this event.

Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, John Higgins and Mark Williams all negotiated their qualifying fixture at the Mattioli Arena, although top 16 cueists Xiao Guodong and Ali Carter didn’t.

Mark Allen and Ronnie O’Sullivan both withdrew from the qualifiers, so neither will be in Nanjing. Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins and Luca Brecel all qualified, but have since withdrawn due to medical reasons, too.

Snooker legend Jimmy White ousted Matthew Stevens in qualifying and is set for a meeting with Selby.

All matches in the International Championship up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 frames. The semi-finals are the best of 17 played across two sessions (one semi-final played and completed on each day), and the two-session final is the best of 19.

What is the 2026 International Championship tournament schedule?

• Saturday 31st October & Sunday 1st November: Preliminary round, held-over round one matches, round two
• Monday 2nd November: Last 32
• Tuesday 3rd November: Last 16
• Wednesday 4th November: Quarter-finals
• Thursday 5th November: Semi-final
• Friday 6th November: Semi-final
• Saturday 7th November: Final

What is the prize money, how much does the winner get?

• Champion: £175,000
• Runner-up: £75,000
• Losing semi-finalists: £33,000 (each)
• Losing quarter-finals: £22,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 16: £14,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 32: £9,000 (each)
• Losers in the last 64: £5,000 (each)
• Highest Break: £5,000
• Total prize fund: £825,000

How to watch the 2026 International Championship?

• UK and Ireland: TNT Sports and HBO Max
• Mainland Europe And Selected Countries*: Eurosport and HBO Max
• China: CCTV5, Huya, Migu, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel (pay-per-view), CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• Hong Kong China: Now Sports
• Malaysia: Astro Supersport
• Thailand: True Sport
• Taiwan: Sportcast
• Mongolia: N Sport
• New Zealand: Sky Sport
• All other territories: WST Play

*The countries which receive Eurosport and HBO Max are: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C.I.S. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Vatican State.