Scottish Open Snooker 2026 Order of Play: Here's when all the first round matches will be taking place, prize money, tickets - is Ronnie O'Sullivan playing in Edinburgh?

Formerly known by a number of other names - including the International Open, Matchroom Trophy and Players Championship - the Scottish Open snooker competition dates back to 1981.

John Higgins will relish playing in front of a home crowd at this year's Scottish Open. | Getty Images

It became the Scottish Open in 1998 when it was held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, moving to Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre in 2004.

Since then it’s been held at a number of venues, including the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, and back to Glasgow in the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Read more: Snooker Rich List 2026: Here are the 11 biggest earners of the season - how much prize money have Wu Yize and John Higgins banked?

Champions over the years have included Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Marco Fu, Peter Ebdon, Jimmy White and Mark Selby. The defending champion is Chris Wakelin who beat Chang Bingyu 9–2 in last year’s final.

This year it’s returning to Scotland’s Capital, where it has been played since 2022.

And this week saw the organisers announce the full schedule for the first round - meaning you can now check out when your favourite players are on the baize so you can bag tickets to see them in person.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When does the Scottish Open snooker take place in 2026?

The tournament starts on Monday, December 14, with the final being played on Sunday, December 20.

Where is the 2026 Scottish Open snooker being played?

The tournament is held at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Sports Centre.

Who plays in the Scottish Open Snooker?

A total of 64 players compete in the main draw of the tournament - 32 qualifiers and the top 32 players in the world. That means you’ll see local hero John Higgins, new world champion Wu Yize, world number one Zhao Xintong and a host of other stars like Mark Williams and Kyren Wilson.

What is the first round schedule for the Scottish Open snooker 2026?

Here’s when all the first round action will be taking place over the first two days of the competition:

Monday, December 14

10am

• Chris Wakelin v Chatchapong Nasa
• Si Jiahui v Anthony McGill

1pm

• Tom Ford v Luca Brecel
• Zhou Yuelong v Dylan Emery
• Xiao Guodong v Jiang Jun
• Mark Selby v Mateusz Baranowski

2pm

• Jak Jones v Matthew Stevens
• Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Ben Woollaston
• Barry Hawkins v Liam Pullen
• Wu Yize v Liu Hongyu

7pm

• Hossein Vafaei v Stan Moody
• Neil Robertson v Yao Pengcheng
• Lei Peifan v Gao Yang
• Mark Allen v Martin O’Donnell

8pm

• Mark J Williams v Scott Donaldson
• Stuart Bingham v Oliver Lines

Tuesday, December 15

10am

• Gary Wilson v Matthew Selt
• Chang Bingyu v Jamie Clarke

1pm

• Zhao Xintong v Robbie Williams
• Joe O’Connor v Liam Davies
• Yuan Sijun v Ian Burns

2pm

• Kyren Wilson v Jordan Brown
• Ali Carter v Jimmy Robertson
• David Gilbert v Fan Zhengyi
• Jackson Page v Aaron Hill

7pm

• Jack Lisowski v David Lilley
• Elliot Slessor v Xu Si
• John Higgins v Iulian Boiko
• Zhang Anda v Zhao Hanyang

8pm

• Stephen Maguire v Ryan Day
• Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian

Is Ronnie O’Sullivan playing in the Scottish Open snooker?

Sadly the Rocket has decided to give the tournament a miss.

Can I get tickets to see the Scottish Open snooker 2026 in Edinburgh?

Tickets are still available for for all days, starting at just £15 for a single session, here.

You have the option of playing for a single evening session, or just the evening session.

The most expensive ticket price is for the evening of the final, which costs £50.

Can I watch the Scottish Open on television?

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to Edinburgh, you can catch all the action on television.

It will be broadcast on Eurosport which is available for free to Sky and Virgin Media customers. You can watch it on other platforms for £30.99 per month.

What is the format?

It’s a straight knock-out tournament, with matches being the best of seven frames (first to four) until the quarter-finals which are best of nine (first to five). The semi-finals are then the best of 11 frames (first to six) and the final the best of the last 64 being the best of 17 (first to 9) over two sessions of play.

What is the prize money at the Scottish Open snooker 2026?

There is a total of £550,000 will be up for grabs, with the winner getting £100,000, the runner-up: £45,000, the semi-finalists £21,000, quarter-finalists £13,200.

Even getting to the last 16 will win you £9,000, last 32 £5,400 and last 64 £3,600. The player with the highest break gets a bonus of £5,000.

What trophy is awarded at the Scottish Open snooker?

The winner will lift the Stephen Hendry Trophy, named after the Scottish seven-time world champion.

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