WST Calendar 2025-26 | Key things to look out for this season
Mark Williams and Zhao Xintong contested the 2025 World Championship final (PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)
The 2025-26 WST season gets under way later this month and, once again, snooker fans have lots to look forward to on a packed calendar.
A total of 129 players – comprised of 95 players from the previous season and 34 new professionals – will compete across 17 ranking tournaments and several invitational events (subject to change), with over £10million in prize money up for grabs.
It all starts with the Wuhan Open qualifiers on June 22 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, where the first silverware of the campaign will be won in the Championship League on July 23.
Let’s take a closer at the key events and things to keep an eye out for during the campaign.
Triple Crown events
As always, all eyes will be on snooker’s big three events – the UK Championship, The Masters and the World Championship – with all venues and formats set to remain unchanged from last season.
First up is the UK Championship at the York Barbican between November 29 and December 7, with Judd Trump the reigning champion.
Meanwhile, the Masters takes centre stage at London’s Alexandra Palace, where Shaun Murphy will defend his title from January 11-18.
The season will then reach its dramatic climax courtesy of the World Championship at The Crucible in Sheffield from April 18 to May 4, with Zhao Xintong aiming to become the first player to break the “Crucible Curse”.
Players Series
Snooker fans will also have an eye on the Players Series – comprising the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship.
The top 32 players on the one-year list will contest the World Grand Prix from February 3-8 in Hong Kong, where Neil Robertson whitewashed Stuart Bingham 10-0 in last season’s final.
The Players Championship – won by Kyren Wilson last March – is likely to follow, featuring the top 16 players on the one-year list, though the dates and venue are yet to be confirmed.
The top eight will then do battle at the Tour Championship – won by John Higgins two months ago – at Manchester Central from March 30 to April 5.
Home Nations Series
There is no change to the Home Nations Series – once again consisting of the English Open, Northern Ireland Open, Scottish Open and Welsh Open.
The English Open will kick off this year’s series – now in its 10th season – at the Brentwood Centre from September 15-21, before Belfast’s Waterfront Hall hosts the Northern Ireland Open from October 19-26.
The Scottish Open takes place from December 15-21 at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Sports Centre, where Lei Peifan was a surprise winner last term, while the series concludes at Venue Cymru in Llandudno with the Welsh Open between February 23 and March 1.
Saudi Arabia and China
Once more, the tour will return to the Middle East for the lucrative Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters from August 8-16.
The inaugural event saw Judd Trump produce a 72 counter clearance from 62-0 in the deciding frame of the final against Mark Williams to snatch the top prize of £500,000.
Meanwhile, the dates and venue for the invitational Riyadh Season Championship are still to be confirmed.
In addition to the invitational Shanghai Masters (July 28 to August 3), there will be four ranking events in China courtesy of the Wuhan Open (August 24-30), Xi’an Grand Prix (October 7-13), International Championship (November 2-9) and the World Open (March 16-22).
An old favourite returns
Snooker also returns to the Blackpool Tower for the first time in over a decade, with the Shoot Out taking centre stage from December 10-13.
The iconic venue hosted the first five editions of the single-frame event between 2011 and 2015, along with the 2014 Mosconi Cup and 2015 World Seniors Championship.
Meanwhile, there is a change of venue for the Champion of Champions, which switched from Bolton to the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, which will stage the popular invitational tournament from November 10-16.
Elsewhere, the Tempodrom in Berlin – one of the most popular venues on the circuit – will stage the German Masters once more between January 26 and February 1.