Knockout Stages Set in Sofia
The draw and schedule for the knockout stages of the 2026 World Snooker Federation (WSF) Championship is now available.
Following five days of group stage action at the Hotel Marinela in Sofia, Bulgaria, the field has been narrowed from 191 competitors to the final 78.
A total of 25 countries across five continents will be represented in the knockout rounds with the champion, who will earn the prestigious title and a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card, set to be crowned on the afternoon of Sunday 1 February.
History Targeted in Sofia
Among the line-up are two players who are each looking to make history by completing their own unique double at the WSF Championships.
Last week Michael Larkov, from Ukraine, earned professional status for the first time by defeating China’s Wang Xinbo 5-2 in the final of the WSF Junior Championship.
The 17-year-old has continued his fine form by topping his group in the Open event with a clean sweep of victories and just two frames dropped to remain on course to become the first player to ever win both titles in the same year. He faces the winner of Rodions Judins and Gary Milne in the last 64 tomorrow.
Seventeen players who competed in the Junior competition have advanced to the knockout stages of the Open Championship including all four semi-finalists (Larkov, Wang, Prin Ratmukda and Daniel Boyes) as well as 13-year-old Adam Abbas from England, who is the youngest competitor remaining in the event.
Aiming for a different type of double is 2020 WSF champion Ashley Hugill.
The 31-year-old won the title in Malta six years ago and is now looking to become the first cueist to lift the Open crown on two separate occasions following a dominant group stage performance that has seen him yet to drop a single frame ahead of his last 64 contest against either Georgi Georgiev or Xi Jiarui.
Hugill is one of 14 former professionals still in contention. Another of those is Mark Joyce, who made history on Wednesday afternoon by compiling a break of 144 against Thomas Lancastle – the highest break ever made in a WSF event.
Format
- Last 78: Best-of-7 Frames (Thursday 29 January)
- Last 64: Best-of-7 Frames (Thursday 29 January)
- Last 32: Best-of-7 Frames (Friday 30 January)
- Last 16: Best-of-7 Frames (Friday 30 January)
- Quarter-Finals: Best-of-7 Frames (Saturday 31 January)
- Semi-Finals: Best-of-7 Frames (Saturday 31 January)
- Final: Best-of-9 Frames (Sunday 1 February)
How To Follow
Live streaming from Table One and Table Two in Sofia is available throughout the event on the WPBSA YouTube channel. You can also follow live, ball-by-ball scoring from all matches on WPBSA SnookerScores.
