The following information was shared by WST today:
Home Nations Quarter-Finals Change To Best Of 11
The quarter-finals for all four BetVictor Home Nations events in the 2026/27 season will change from best of nine frames to best of 11.
There is also a change in format with the Friday afternoon quarter-finals to be played concurrently on two tables from 1pm, rather than the previous roll-on roll-off format from 12pm. The evening quarter-finals on the same day will be on two tables from 7pm as usual.
This change has been made after discussions with host broadcasters TNT Sports and BBC Wales, taking into account the preference among fans and players for longer matches at the deep end of tournaments.
The four events are:
BetVictor English Open
The Brentwood Centre
September 7-13.BetVictor Northern Ireland Open
Waterfront Hall, Belfast
October 18-25.BetVictor Scottish Open
The Meadowbank Centre, Edinburgh
December 14-20.BetVictor Welsh Open
Venue Cymru, Llandudno
February 8-14, 2027.
Overall I believe that this is a good move, but then, if fans expressed their preference for longer matches, why not make the earlier stages longer as well? Maybe, the issue with the earlier stages is the number of tables used simultaneously? Moving to best of 9 would almost certainly mean adding an interval, and with that having to cope with fans leaving and rejoining the arena while several matches are still in progress on close-by tables.
Maybe the interval should be abolished? No need for it really…
It could be tried but I’m not sure it would help. Players drink a lot of water during the matches and will almost certainly need to leave the arena at some point. Even if they don’t drink that much water … the same is true for the fans, especially the older ones and the children. Also, the interval has often changed the course of matches. It gives players some time to regroup, think about what worked, and what didn’t. It’s an opportunity to speak with their coach, to practice some shots that didn’t work the way they wanted …
Good to see a move away from the Mickey Mouse setup.m
These aee fairly minimal changes. The big change was to make the events tiered, and then more recently to banish the early rounds to behind closed-doors in the Mattioli Arena. I used to attend the English Open throughout, seeing all of the players on tour. There was one year where I went to the first 4 days of the English Open, the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open. WST have gone fully apartheid now.