Snooker

British Open Predictions 2026: Who Will Prevail In Cheltenham?

2 hours ago

| BY Sam Cox

Shaun Murphy has his work cut out to defend his British Open title if the snooker betting markets are accurate.

Many of the world’s best players are descending on Cheltenham, including Judd Trump, Mark Selby, and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Mark Allen is the only high-profile player to withdraw from the event.

The British Open differentiates itself from other ranking events due to adopting an “FA Cup-style” format. From the round of 32 onwards, seedings are irrelevant and the draw for each round is randomised.

Steve Davis is the most successful player in British Open history with five titles. John Higgins and Stephen Hendry have five apiece.

Reading Into Wuhan Open

Chang Bingyu is the form man right now. He’s reached his second ranking final at the Wuhan Open, with marquee wins over O’Sullivan, Trump, and Ali Carter. Consistency has been hard to come by for Chang, who reached the final of last year’s Scottish Open.

Those wins make Chang an intriguing option in the betting markets, even though he fell in the first round at the China Open. He made the third round at the British Open last year.

O’Sullivan was a semifinalist in Wuhan after falling to reach the third round at the Shanghai Masters or the China Open. The Rocket is still trying to cure a “disease” in his game, but there were encouraging signs in the last tournament to suggest he can go on a run in Cheltenham.

Before reaching a quarter-final in Wuhan, Trump won the Shanghai Masters. Selby was victorious in the China Open. The sport’s premier players have all had some success early in this season and will take confidence into the British Open.

Other Contenders

Zhao Xintong beat Ding Junhui and Neil Robertson in Shanghai before a hard-fought loss to Kyren Wilson. He backed that up by seeing off Robertson again and Barry Hawkins in Wuhan. The world number three has won three titles this calendar year – he’s value at his current price.

Higgins has a great record at the British Open. He didn’t win a title last season, but the veteran Scot was consistently in the mix with two runner-up placings and four other semi-final appearances. Coming off a quarter-final showing in Shanghai, we like Higgins as a relative outsider for this event.