International Championship 2026 Preview: Wu Yize Defends in Nanjing

The International Championship starts in Nanjing, China, on Saturday 31 October and runs until Saturday 7 November. Wu Yize is the defending champion: he beat John Higgins 10-6 in last year's final, and it was the first ranking title of his career. He arrives this time as world champion, so the home crowd will have plenty to cheer.

The format

Every match from the last 64 to the quarter-finals is best of 11 frames, so first to six. The semi-finals step up to best of 17, and according to snooker.org the final is best of 19, first to ten. Best of 11 is long enough that a slow start can be recovered, but short enough that one good session from an outsider can knock out a top seed.

Prize money

The winner takes £175,000 and the runner-up £75,000. Wikipedia puts the total prize fund at £825,000. Further down, snooker.org lists £33,000 for a losing semi-finalist and £5,000 for losing in the last 64. Because this is a ranking event, that money also counts towards the world rankings, which is where the tournament matters most this year.

Why it matters for the UK Championship

The UK Championship is the next ranking event after Nanjing. According to the WPBSA, the top 16 in the world rankings once the International Championship has finished go straight into the final stages in York, and everyone else has to come through qualifying in Leicester. So for players hovering around 16th, a good week in Nanjing can decide whether they play one match or several just to reach York. We covered how amateurs reach that same qualifying draw in our UK Championship piece.

First-round ties to watch

According to the draw on snooker.org, three last-64 matches stand out:

• Jimmy White v Mark Selby. White got here by beating Matthew Stevens 6-5 in qualifying, according to Wikipedia, and now meets the reigning UK champion.
• Lyu Haotian v John Higgins. Last year's runner-up opens against a home player.
• Liam Highfield v Kyren Wilson. Wilson made the highest break of qualifying, a 142, according to Wikipedia, and will want a smooth start.

Ding Junhui, who won this title in 2024, and Zhao Xintong are both in the draw too, so with Wu defending, Chinese players will be carrying a lot of the attention all week.

A record to chase

Last year's event was full of big scoring. According to Wikipedia, it produced a record 160 century breaks, and Wu made 14 of them on his way to the title. If the tables play the same way, that record could be under threat.

Playing best of 11 at your club

Most club matches are shorter than best of 11, but a best of 11 is a good format for a club final or a feature match. In SnookerFlow you pick the number of frames when you set up the match, and best of 11 is available on every plan, including the free one (see match formats), and the frame score carries through the whole match. If you stream it, the live overlay shows the frame score, the break and the match score on screen, the way the TV coverage from Nanjing will.