World Open

History of the World Open Snooker

The history of the World Open Snooker begins in 1982, although the tournament was not originally known by that name. The competition was first staged as the Professional Players Tournament, with the inaugural event taking place in Birmingham, England. Welsh legend Ray Reardon won the first title, defeating England’s Jimmy White 10-5 in the final. That victory gave the tournament an immediate connection with two generations of snooker: Reardon was an established former world champion, while White would go on to become one of the most recognisable players of the modern era.

The second Professional Players Tournament was held in 1983, when Tony Knowles defeated Joe Johnson 9-8 in Bristol. The tournament then underwent its first major identity change. From 1984 it became known as the Grand Prix, a name that would remain associated with the competition for much of the next quarter of a century.

The Grand Prix era began with Dennis Taylor winning the 1984 event. Taylor defeated Canada’s Cliff Thorburn 10-2 in the final at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. The following year produced a much closer contest, with Steve Davis beating Taylor 10-9. Davis would become one of the defining players of the competition, winning the event again in 1988.

Jimmy White claimed the 1986 title, defeating Rex Williams 10-6, before Stephen Hendry won the following year by beating Dennis Taylor 10-7. The 1988 final saw Steve Davis defeat Alex Higgins 10-6. These results underline just how strong the tournament’s field was during the 1980s, with several world champions and future legends regularly appearing deep into the competition.

The tournament continued as the Grand Prix through 2000, although its format and venue changed over time. For three seasons, from 2001 to 2003, it was renamed the LG Cup. In 2004, the Grand Prix name returned and remained in use until the end of the decade. The event was held in England for many years before moving north of the border to Scotland from 2005.

During this period, the tournament became an established part of the professional ranking structure. Its importance was not simply historical: winning it contributed ranking points and prize money, while the list of champions continued to feature many of the leading players in the sport.

The next major transformation came in 2010, when the tournament was rebranded as the World Open. The first World Open under that name was played in Glasgow, Scotland, where Neil Robertson defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 in the final. The shorter final was part of the tournament’s modern presentation and represented another step away from the longer finals associated with some earlier editions.

There was no tournament in 2011. The competition returned in 2012 with a major geographical change, moving to Haikou, China. The 2012 World Open was won by Mark Allen, who defeated Stephen Lee 10-1. The tournament remained in Haikou through 2014, reinforcing China’s growing importance to the professional snooker calendar.

The 2015 edition was cancelled after the contract with the promoter was not renewed. The tournament returned in 2016, but this time with another new home: Yushan, China. That move proved significant because Yushan subsequently became the long-term base for the World Open. The competition remained there through the late 2010s, with a succession of major names lifting the trophy.

The 2016 tournament was won by Ali Carter, who defeated Joe Perry 10-8. Ding Junhui won in 2017, beating Kyren Wilson 10-3, while Mark Allen defeated David Gilbert 10-9 in the 2018 final. The 2019 edition produced another memorable final, with Judd Trump defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-5 in Yushan.

That 2019 final would eventually become an important part of Un-Nooh’s World Open story. Seven years later, the Thai player returned to Yushan and went all the way to the title, but this time he was not the runner-up. Instead, he defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-7 in the 2026 final to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in the tournament’s history.

The World Open then disappeared from the calendar between 2020 and 2023 because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its absence created one of the longest interruptions in the modern history of the event. The tournament finally returned in 2024, again at the Yushan Sport Centre.

Judd Trump won the 2024 World Open, defeating Ding Junhui 10-4 in the final. It was a particularly notable victory because Trump had also won the 2019 edition, meaning he became a multiple World Open champion and added another major ranking title to his career record.

The 2025 edition followed at Yushan, with John Higgins defeating Joe O’Connor 10-6 in the final. Higgins’ victory was his first ranking title in four years and gave the veteran Scot another significant achievement late in his career. Trump entered the 2025 tournament as defending champion, but Higgins ultimately claimed the trophy.

The 2026 World Open was held from 16 to 22 March at the Yushan Sport Centre. Qualifying matches were played earlier, from 10 to 12 February at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, England. The main event was the 16th ranking tournament of the 2025-26 season and featured a field of 129 players in the tournament structure.

John Higgins entered the 2026 competition as defending champion, but the tournament ultimately produced a new champion in Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The Thai player was seeded 41st and defeated Michael Holt, Marco Fu, Gary Wilson and Judd Trump on his route to the final. In the semi-final, he beat Trump 6-4, setting up a showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The final on 22 March 2026 became one of the defining matches in World Open history. O’Sullivan raced into a 4-0 lead, but Un-Nooh recovered to take six consecutive frames and move 6-4 ahead. O’Sullivan then produced three consecutive centuries to regain the lead at 7-6. Un-Nooh responded with a 77, a 132 and then a spectacular 147 in the 16th frame before making a 131 clearance to win 10-7.

The victory was Un-Nooh’s second ranking title and his first full-format ranking success, following his 2019 Shoot Out triumph. More importantly, he became only the second Thai player to win a full-format ranking event after James Wattana’s 1995 Thailand Open victory. His World Open triumph also earned him £175,000, the biggest prize of his career at that point.

The 2026 final also produced an extraordinary statistical footnote. O’Sullivan had made a historic 153 break in his quarter-final against Ryan Day, establishing the highest break in professional snooker history. Un-Nooh’s 147 in the final therefore arrived in a tournament that had already witnessed an unprecedented scoring achievement. The 147 was the seventh maximum of Un-Nooh’s career and the 240th maximum break in professional snooker, while it was also the 23rd 147 of the 2025-26 season.

From its beginnings as the Professional Players Tournament in Birmingham in 1982, through the Grand Prix and LG Cup years, the Glasgow period, the move to Haikou and ultimately the established Yushan era, the competition has repeatedly reinvented itself. Its name may have changed several times, but the essential ingredients have remained: elite players, ranking pressure and the possibility of extraordinary snooker.

That long journey explains why the World Open Snooker remains such an interesting tournament. It connects the sport’s traditional British roots with its increasingly international future, while its roll of honour reads like a condensed history of professional snooker. And after the extraordinary 2026 final, one thing is certain: if the World Open continues producing matches with comebacks, centuries and maximum breaks, there should be no shortage of reasons to keep watching.