2026 Champion of Champions
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9–15 November 2026 |
| Venue | Leicester Arena |
| City | Leicester |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | Matchroom Sport |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £440,000 |
| Winner's share | £150,000 |
| Final | |
| Champion | |
| Runner-up | |
| Score | – |
← 2025 | |
The 2026 Champion of Champions (officially the 2026 Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions) is a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that is taking place from 9 to 15 November 2026 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. It features 16 participants, all of whom won significant tournaments since the previous year's event. Part of the 2026–27 snooker season, it is the 16th edition of the Champion of Champions since the tournament was first held in 1978 and the 14th consecutive edition since it was revived in 2013. The winner will receive £150,000 from a total prize fund of £440,000.
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–5 in the 2025 final. He was beaten by Chris Wakelin 2–6 in the Group 1 final.
Overview
[edit]The Champion of Champions is a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that was first held in 1978, when it was contested by four players at the Wembley Conference Centre in London.[1][2] The inaugural winner was Ray Reardon, who defeated Alex Higgins 11–9 in the final.[2] After its second staging in 1980, the tournament was not held again until 2013, since which time it has been staged annually.[3] As of 2026, the most successful player in its history is Ronnie O'Sullivan, who has won the title four times and been runner-up twice.[4]
The 2026 edition of the tournament—the 16th staging overall and the 14th consecutively since its revival in 2013—is taking place from 9 to 15 November 2026 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England.[3][4][5] Organised by Matchroom Sport, the tournament is sponsored by sports betting company Sportsbet.io.[6] Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–5 in the 2025 final,[7] but he was beaten by Chris Wakelin 2–6 in the Group 1 final.[8]
Qualification
[edit]Players qualified by winning events throughout the previous year. The full list of competitors is below. Events shown below in grey are for players who had already qualified for the event.[9][10]
| Player also qualified by winning another tournament |
Prize fund
[edit]The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:[11]
- Winner: £150,000
- Runner-up: £60,000
- Semi-finalist: £30,000
- Group runner-up: £17,500
- Group semi-finalist: £12,500
- Total: £440,000
Summary
[edit]Group stages
[edit]Group 1
[edit]Mark Selby, the defending champion, was beaten by Chris Wakelin 2–6 in the group final.[8][12]
Group 4
[edit]Neil Robertson beat Jak Jones 6–3 in the group final.[13][14]
Group 3
[edit]Shaun Murphy whitewashed Ronnie O'Sullivan in the group semi-final. Murphy then also whitewashed Chang Bingyu in the group final.[15][16]
Group 2
[edit]Kyren Wilson beat world number one Zhao Xintong 6–1 in the group final.[17][18]
Semi-finals
[edit]In the first semi-final Wakelin beat Robertson 6–2.[19]
Final
[edit]The final will be played on 15 November as the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.[5]
Tournament draw
[edit]The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in the column to the left of the players' names denote the players' seeding, and players in bold denote match winners.[20][21][22]
| Group semi-finals (last 16) Best of 7 frames | Group finals (quarter-finals) Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Final Best of 19 frames | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Mark Selby (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Alfie Burden (ENG)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mark Selby (ENG)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Barry Hawkins (ENG)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 |  Panchaya Channoi (THA)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Neil Robertson (AUS)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Jak Jones (WAL)
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Judd Trump (ENG)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jak Jones (WAL)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Chris Wakelin (ENG)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Shaun Murphy (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shaun Murphy (ENG)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Chang Bingyu (CHN)
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Wu Yize (CHN)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Chang Bingyu (CHN)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Shaun Murphy (ENG)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Zhao Xintong (CHN)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Zhao Xintong (CHN)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Group 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Kyren Wilson (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Ali Carter (ENG)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Final: frame scores
[edit]| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Leicester Arena, Leicester, England, 15 November 2026 | ||
| Chris Wakelin (9) England |
– | |
| Afternoon: Evening: | ||
| Highest break | ||
| Century breaks | ||
Century breaks
[edit]A total of 11 century breaks have been made during the tournament in Leicester.[23]
- 142, 107 – Shaun Murphy
- 133 – Jak Jones
- 130, 108 – Neil Robertson
- 123, 104, 100 – Kyren Wilson
- 117 – Chris Wakelin
- 109 – Alfie Burden
- 109 – Chang Bingyu
References
[edit]- ↑ "Snooker – World champion in semi-final faces Fagan". The Times. 2 November 1978. p. 13.
- 1 2 "Daily Mirror Champion of Champions (1978)". snooker.org. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- 1 2 "History". championofchampionssnooker.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- 1 2 Day, Michael (12 April 2024). "Champion of Champions Snooker: Information and a potted history". totallysnookered.com. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- 1 2 "Champion of Champions 2026". snooker.org. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Sportsbet.io marks return as title sponsor of the 2026 Champion of Champions". championofchampionssnooker.co.uk. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
- ↑ "Selby beats Trump to become Champion of Champions for first time". World Snooker Tour. 16 November 2025. Archived from the original on 17 April 2026. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- 1 2 Caulfield, David (10 November 2026). "Chris Wakelin: 'Mark Selby probably is the greatest of all time'". snookerhq.com. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
- ↑ "First players confirmed for the 2026 Champion of Champions as qualifying schedule announced". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "First players confirmed for the 2026 Champion of Champions as qualifying schedule announced". championofchampionssnooker.co.uk. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tournament 2026 Champion of Champions". championofchampionssnooker.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Wakelin knocks out champion Selby". World Snooker Tour. 10 November 2026. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Caulfield, David (11 November 2026). "Neil Robertson taking advantage of the 'luck I had to qualify'". snookerhq.com. Retrieved 11 November 2026.
- ↑ "Robertson into semi-finals". World Snooker Tour. 11 November 2026. Retrieved 11 November 2026.
- ↑ "O'Sullivan and world champion Wu both lose". BBC Sport. 11 November 2026. Retrieved 11 November 2026.
- ↑ "Murphy scores perfect ten to reach last four". World Snooker Tour. 12 November 2026. Retrieved 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Caulfield, David (13 November 2026). "How the semi-finals look at the 2026 Champion of Champions". snookerhq.com. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "Wilson extends winning streak". World Snooker Tour. 13 November 2026. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
- ↑ "Wakelin stuns Robertson to reach final". World Snooker Tour. 13 November 2026. Retrieved 14 November 2026.
- ↑ "Schedule and groups confirmed for the 2026 Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions, 9-15 November". championofchampionssnooker.co.uk. 3 November 2026. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
- ↑ "Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions 2026 matches". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "2026 Champion of Champions Flowchart". snooker.org. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
- ↑ "Centuries: Champion of Champions – 11". snookerinfo.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2026.