Why World Snooker Championship qualifying is set to be toughest yet as Jimmy White, Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter and Jack Lisowski chase Crucible dream
Updated 11/03/2026 at 14:07 GMT
Qualifying for the 50th World Championship gets underway at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on April 6 and ends on April 15, with the list of qualifiers already shaping up to be a minefield as several key players chase a Crucible spot. As it stands before the World Open, Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Jak Jones, Ali Carter, Zhang Anda and Gary Wilson will all head for the qualifiers.
'Off-the-charts brilliant' - Lisowski wraps up win in decider
Video credit: TNT Sports
The impending World Open in Yushan - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - is set to confirm the final list of qualifiers for the 50th World Snooker Championship in Sheffield next month.
And the array of hopefuls in line to pursue a place at the Crucible is already looking like a veritable Who's Who of modern greats, with ranking event winners past and present scattered outside the top 16, who earn automatic spots in the last 32.
Unless they win the World Open or reach the final, 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham, Zhang Anda, Ali Carter, David Gilbert, Stephen Maguire, Gary Wilson and Hossein Vafaei are just some of the players who will need to win at least two matches to reach the Crucible.
Six-time world finalist Jimmy White is set to enter qualifying in the earlier rounds alongside major winners Marco Fu, Matthew Stevens, Robert Milkins and Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion.
Ding Junhui, 2016 Crucible finalist, is already out of the World Open and clings to the 16th and final spot on the provisional list of seeds for the World Championship, live on TNT Sports between April 18-May 4.
Ding is 11,150 points clear of world No. 17 Bingham, who faces former Crucible semi-finalist Anthony McGill in the last 64 of the World Open on Monday.
"If you can come through qualifying, then it can only give you confidence," said Bingham, who has twice reached the semi-finals, in 2021 and 2024, as a qualifier.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/04/14/image-6bf8b2d3-4b00-42e2-bda1-72525725c057-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Page completes second 147 of match to make history and scoop ÂŁ147,000 Triple Crown bonus
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I think in some ways I’d rather qualify," he said. "However, you miss the little things like the PR day and the buzz of being around it if you aren’t in the top 16, so I will be obviously trying to get in there.
"Ultimately, I would be over the moon to be a seeded player."
Zhao Xintong won four qualifiers on his way to becoming China's first world champion last year with another five wins at the Crucible.
Bingham must win two matches at the World Open to condemn Ding to the minefield of qualifying at the English Institute of Sport, between April 6-15.
But even if he fails, Ding, who is already out of the Tour Championship in Manchester, would not be safe.
A spot at the Tour Championship (March 30-April 5) would also provide players with the chance to earn a top-16 spot via the sport's one-year list, but eight of the 12 places at that event have already been secured by figures inside the top 16.
- Selby and Hawkins pull out of World Open, Trump gets new opponent
- O'Sullivan set to revisit match that saw him lose tip and frame in 'incredible' fashion
- Why did new world final referee refuse to clean the white ball at Crucible?
Zhao, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, world No. 1 Judd Trump, Wu Yize and Barry Hawkins will all be in Manchester for the Tour tournament, the penultimate competition of the campaign.
The other four spots on the one-year list are also occupied by Crucible seeds in the form of Chris Wakelin, defending Tour champion John Higgins, snooker GOAT Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Allen.
Northern Ireland Open winner Jack Lisowski, who is ÂŁ11,950 behind Allen in 13th spot on the one-year list, and Elliot Slessor, ÂŁ32,500 adrift of Allen, need to go deep in Yushan to qualify for the Tour event, an outcome that would also secure a seeding for the World Championship.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/05/05/image-b2cda0c6-c496-482a-8cc8-7e781f0993b9-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
'Seen something very special' - Zhao clinches title with thrilling win over Williams
Video credit: TNT Sports
If Bingham goes out early at the World Open, Lisowski has a chance to overtake Ding as he bids to make up a deficit of ÂŁ28,850 on the former UK and Masters holder.
A run to the World Open semi-finals could be good enough with Lisowski attempting to avoid a second successive year in the qualifiers for the World Championship.
Lisowski reached the Crucible quarter-finals four years ago, suffering a 13-12 defeat to Higgins, but lost 10-8 to world No. 73 Zak Surety in the round-of-80 qualifiers last season.
Jak Jones, the 2024 world finalist, occupies 19th spot in the chase for an automatic Crucible spot, but would also need to reach the World Open final to avoid the qualifiers this time.
The World Open will be staged between March 16-22, live on TNT Sports and on-demand on discovery+.
- - -
Watch and stream the 2025/26 snooker season, including the World Championship, live on TNT Sports.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement