How to qualify in Snooker
How players qualify for the World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship's main stage, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, has 32 players:
- the top 16 in the world rankings go straight in, as seeds;
- 16 more come through qualifying: 128 players over four rounds at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, the week before.
The 128 are every professional ranked below 16, plus 16 amateurs chosen by the WPBSA for results that season. Higher-ranked professionals start in later rounds:
| Qualifying round | Who plays |
|---|---|
| 1 | Players ranked 81 to 112 against 113 to 144 (including the amateurs) |
| 2 | Round 1 winners against players ranked 49 to 80 |
| 3 | Round 2 winners against players ranked 17 to 48 |
| 4 ("Judgement Day") | The 32 round 3 winners play each other; the 16 winners reach the Crucible |
Every qualifying match is best of 19 frames (first to 10). The 16 qualifiers are then drawn at random against the 16 seeds.
In 2025, Zhao Xintong became the first amateur (WPBSA) qualifier to win the title, having started in round 1.
The 16 amateur places (2026)
| Place | Holder for 2026 |
|---|---|
| WSF Championship winner | Hammad Miah |
| WSF Championship runner-up and two semi-finalists | 3 places |
| WSF Junior Championship winner | Michael Larkov |
| WSF Junior Championship runner-up | Wang Xinbo |
| WSF Junior Championship semi-finalists | Daniel Boyes, Prin Ratmukda |
| Q Tour Europe winner | Jamie Clarke |
| Q Tour Global play-off winners | 3 places |
| EBSA Under-18 and Under-21 European champions (runner-up if already in) | 2 places |
| Highest-ranked eligible player on the Q Tour Europe ranking | 1 place |
| "Exceptional performance" | Alfie Burden (an amateur who won a ranking event, the Shoot Out) |
Replacements for any of these come from the final Q Tour Europe ranking. Professionals who do not enter are replaced from the 2025 Q School Order of Merit.
Which ranking decides the seeds
The world ranking after the Tour Championship, the last event before the World Championship. That ranking is a two-year prize-money list.
The main stage
| Round | Frames |
|---|---|
| First round | best of 19 |
| Second round, quarter-finals | best of 25 |
| Semi-finals | best of 33 |
| Final | best of 35 |
India in 2026
Ishpreet Singh Chadha, seeded 62, entered in round 2, beat Chris Totten 10-5, then lost 8-10 to Xu Si in round 3.
Points to check
The WPBSA's page lists the places; several holders were not yet known when it was last updated (1 March 2026).