Hereafter, you will find all the reports shared by WST during the 2026 China Open Qualifiers:
Jimmy White started his 47th consecutive professional season with a fine display as he beat Sean O’Sullivan 6-2 in the first qualifying round of the China Open.
All-time legend White, who turned pro in 1980, is still competing at the top level at the age of 64 and looked full of enthusiasm as a century break helped him to a resounding victory. He meets Louis Heathcote in round two on Thursday in Leicester and needs three more wins to reach the final stages in Taiyuan, China, in August.
After losing the opening frame, White hit back to take the next three. He lost the fifth but again won three in a row, making breaks of 112 and 59. “I’m delighted with the win and I played well,” said the Whirlwind. “We go again tomorrow. I still love the game and I have been working hard on the practice table. I’m happy to for Sean to be back on the tour because snooker is in his blood.”
Oliver Sykes, by contrast, played as a pro for the first time and the promising 20-year-old Englishman enjoyed a superb 6-1 win over Liu Wenwei with a top break of 92.
Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon returned to the tour for the first time in ten years and top scored with 121 in a 6-3 defeat of Joshua Thomond. Another Thai, Chatchapong Nasa, recovered from 4-0 down to beat Liam Davies 6-5.
Austria’s top player Florian Nuessle won only three matches in his first season as a pro but he made a strong start to his second campaign, beating Allan Taylor 6-2 with top breaks of 118 and 103. Andrew Higginson showed his break-building quality in a 6-4 win over Leone Crowley, compiling runs of 90, 89, 51, 70, 113 and 123.
Jamie Clarke, back on tour after a one year hiatus, came from 4-0 down to beat Anton Kazakov 6-4 with a top run of 74. Julian Leclercq recovered a 4-3 deficit to beat Ashley Hugill 6-4 with a top break of 100.
Marco Fu was in magnificent form in a 6-1 win over Oliver Brown as he made a fine start to the 2026/27 season in the second qualifying round of the China Open.
Hong Kong’s greatest player Fu, age 48, enjoyed some impressive results last season, notably reaching the last 16 of the World Open, and hopes to continue that momentum this term. And he was at the top of his game in Leicester today, making breaks of 79, 78, 58, 84, 134 and 62, with an average shot time of 18.3 seconds.
He meets Hossein Vafaei on Friday and needs two more wins to make it to the final stages in Taiyuan in August.
Canada’s Sahil Nayyar enjoyed a 6-1 win over Liu Yang, while Duane Jones came from 3-0 down to beat Alexander Ursenbacher 6-5, making breaks of 74, 66, 114, 64 and 86 then taking the decider on the final pink.
Liam Highfield was another to score heavily as he knocked in 86, 135, 77 and 103 during a 6-2 defeat of Florian Nuessle. China’s Lyu Haotian saw off Julien Leclercq 6-3 with top breaks of 105 and 133.
Michal Szubarczyk, last season’s rookie of the year, came from 5-0 down to 5-5 against Ross Muir only to lose the decider, as Muir took it with a run of 73.
Hammad Miah believes that a settled life away from the table will help him become a more successful player as he continued his winning start to the season with a 6-4 defeat of Robbie Williams in the second qualifying round of the China Open.
Miah was relegated from the tour at the end of the 2024/25 season then regained his card earlier this year by winning the World Snooker Federation Open. The 32-year-old is now starting his fourth spell as a professional and is determined to fulfil his potential this time, and has impressed so far this week, beating Michael Larkov in round one before today’s victory over Williams which featured breaks of 107, 60, 51, 54, 56 and 125. He meets Aaron Hill on Saturday, needing two more wins to make it to the final stages.
Alongside Alfie Burden, Miah is running Hertford Snooker Club, and he is also now father to girls aged four and one. “My mind is not just focussed on snooker, other things are keeping me occupied which is helping me a lot,” said Miah. “The club is going really well, we have created a nice space and it feels like a relaxing area for everyone – even for myself. It’s a nice community we have built. And when you become a dad there is nothing more important, you could have the worst day of your life then you go home and see your kids and you forget about it.
“It feels amazing to be back on tour, I am so excited. I feel I am much more capable now, I just need to put the hours in which has always been the problem for me.“
China’s Long Zehuang top scored with 134 in a 6-3 win over Robert Milkins, while Iulian Boiko closed with a 91 as he saw off Zhang Yang 6-1.
Former UK and Masters champion Matthew Stevens began his 33rd professional season with a 6-2 defeat of Deng Haohui, top scoring with 73 and 86. Steven Hallworth made a 130 as he stormed to a 6-0 whitewash of Huang Jiahao, while China’s Jiang Jun beat Sahil Nayyar 6-1 with runs of 89, 85, 114, 55, 50 and 98.
After his best ever season in 2025/26, rising star Iulian Boiko continued his fine start to the new campaign with a 6-2 victory over Lei Peifan in the penultimate qualifying round of the China Open.
Ukraine’s 20-year-old Boiko meets Liu Hongyu in the final round on Sunday, with the winner to go through to the televised stages in Taiyuan in August.
Last year, Boiko reached his first ranking semi-final at the Shoot Out, as well as runs to the last 32 of the British Open and Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. He is up to 87th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and will look to continue his climb this season.
Breaks of 82 and 84 helped him take a 5-0 lead today, and although former Scottish Open champion Lei took the next two frames, Boiko sealed the result by winning the eighth on the black.
China’s Yuan Sijun came from 4-2 and 5-4 down to beat Louis Heathcote 6-5, making a break of 70 in the deciding frame, while amateur wild card Chen Ruifu continued his surprise run by beating Zak Surety 6-1 with a top run of 93.
Breaks of 134 and 96 helped Ali Carter see off Gao Yang 6-4, while Jackson Page beat Ben Mertens by the same scoreline with a top run of 100. World Open champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh won’t be in Taiyuan as he lost 6-3 to Yao Pengcheng, while David Gilbert closed with a break of 117 as he beat Liam Pullen 6-4.
Tom Ford completed one of his best ever fight-backs as he battled from 5-0 down to beat Liam Highfield 6-5 in the final qualifying round of the China Open.
Highfield dominated the first five frames with a top break of 84, before former Shoot Out champion Ford stormed back to 5-5 with top runs of 100, 101, 52 and 94. In the decider, Highfield was in first and made 53, but couldn’t get past the winning post and Ford eventually won it with a green-to-black clearance.
Last season was a disappointment for Ford as, hampered by a shoulder injury, he reached just one ranking event quarter-final. But having started the new campaign strongly he can look forward to a trip to Taiyuan in China in August for the £1.2 million event.
Scottish Open finalist Chang Bingyu gave another demonstration of his break-building quality as he beat Jack Lisowski 6-1 with runs of 58, 79, 69, 51, 83, 78 and 132.
Stuart Bingham won a one-sided battle of former World Champions against Luca Brecel, top scoring with 104 in a 6-0 rout. Jackson Page compiled runs of 107 and 123 in a 6-3 win over Yuan Sijun, while Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham enjoyed a 6-1 success against Elliot Slessor.
Matthew Selt made a 102 in a 6-5 defeat of Ali Carter, while Zhang Anda saw off Daniel Wells 6-4.
All the detailed results are available on snooker.org … as always.
Of the 16 qualifiers, 7 are Chinese. Gone is the time when the young Chinese players appeared to struggle to qualify for their home events.
Jack Lisowski, the highest ranked player needing to qualify, fell victim of a truly remarkable performance by Chang Bingyu :
Xu Si , who reached the last round of qualifiers suffered a double disappointment: he missed the final black on a maximum in the last frame of his match against Jamie Jones in the penultimate round and then was beaten by David Gilbert in the last round (6-2).
The lowest ranked player to qualify is 29 years old Yao Pengcheng, currently ranked 79th.
