Welsh Open: 2024 preview, draw, results, how to watch

The 2024 Welsh Open commences on Monday in Llandudno with several big names from snooker set to feature in the draw.

The last event on the Home Nations series returns to the Venue Cymru for the second time.

An annual fixture since 1992, the Welsh Open has long established itself as one of the most familiar tournaments on the calendar.

Prize, history, and format

The Welsh Open is one of the oldest continuous professional ranking events on the calendar, third only to the World Championship and the UK Championship.

The tournament was launched in 1992 when then world number one Stephen Hendry beat home contender Darren Morgan in the final to claim the inaugural title.

Since then, most of the game’s biggest stars have etched their names onto the trophy.

The roll of honour includes Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Steve Davis, Ken Doherty, Ding Junhui, and Shaun Murphy.

Mark Williams has been the only home winner, capturing the trophy in both 1996 and 1999, but Welsh players have generally struggled to feature prominently over the years.

A notable absentee from the roll of honour is Judd Trump, with the Welsh Open representing one of the few competitions on the schedule that he hasn’t now triumphed in.

Trump, twice a runner-up, won’t be correcting that statistic this season as he announced his withdrawal following victory in last week’s German Masters.

Robert Milkins is the reigning Welsh Open champion, memorably securing the title a year ago while simultaneously landing the lucrative European Series bonus.

The format remains the same as in all the Home Nations weeks, with best-of-seven ties in the early rounds followed by nine-frame quarter-finals, eleven-frame semi-finals, and a best-of-17 frame final.

There is £80,000 on offer for the champion, prize money that could prove pivotal in determining the final qualifiers for the Players Championship later this month.

Only the top 16 from the one-year rankings list will feature in Telford, with the Welsh Open representing the last counting event in that race.

2024 Welsh Open draw

While there were several preliminary-round matches already held in January, the top 16 seeds have all had their first ties held over to the venue.

Milkins begins his defence against Jamie Jones, who is one of 15 home competitors hoping to go far in the Welsh Open draw.

World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan was scheduled to face Liam Graham, but the four-time champion withdrew from the event on Saturday.

With Trump also not in action, that leaves Mark Allen as the highest-ranked contender in the Welsh Open draw.

Allen encounters Cao Yupeng in a repeat of the Snooker Shoot Out final from December which the Northern Irishman won.

Allen is only the fourth favourite in most online bookies, though, with record five-time champion John Higgins being tipped at about 6/1.

The Scot is fancied in the outright betting market ahead of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson, with GGBet providing odds on snooker matches at the Welsh Open.

Higgins, Selby, and Robertson were all group winners in Championship League Snooker last week in Leicester.

2024 Welsh Open draw

Round of 128 (bo7)

Remaining matches to be played on Monday, Feb 12th and Tuesday, Feb 13thRobert Milkins 4-3 Jamie JonesAllan Taylor 4-2 Haydon PinheyDavid Gilbert 4-0 Ken DohertyOliver Lines 4-3 Michael WhiteJack Lisowski 4-2 Oliver BrownLiam Pullen 4-0 Rebecca KennaGary Wilson 4-1 Mark DavisIulian Boiko 4-0 Ishpreet Singh Chadha

Long Zehuang 4-1 Andy LeeAnthony McGill 4-1 Manasawin PhetmalaikulSanderson Lam 4-0 Baipat SiripapornMark Williams vs John Astley (Feb 12)Matthew Stevens 4-3 Louis HeathcoteRicky Walden 4-2 Andy HicksStuart Carrington 4-2 Reanne EvansNeil Robertson 4-1 Jackson Page

Mark Allen vs Cao Yupeng (Feb 12)Ma Hailong 4-2 Rory ThorSi Jiahui 4-2 Stephen MaguireAndrew Pagett 4-2 Mink NutcharutDing Junhui 4-2 Jenson KendrickRobbie Williams 4-0 Peng YisongAdam Duffy 4-0 Zhou YuelongJamie Clarke 4-3 James Cahill

David Lilley 4-0 Victor SarkisRyan Day 4-3 Mostafa DorghamTian Pengfei 4-0 Rod LawlerJohn Higgins vs Mohamed Ibrahim (Feb 12)Ross Muir 4-2 Stephen HendryMatthew Selt 4-3 Sam CraigieAlexander Ursenbacher vs Riley Powell/Liam Davies (Feb 13)Duane Jones vs Liam Highfield (Feb 12)

Alfie Davies 4-1 Liam GrahamDominic Dale 4-1 Jimmy WhiteJordan Brown 4-3 Lyu HaotianStan Moody 4-2 Sean O’SullivanZhang Anda 4-1 Ahmed Aly ElsayedJak Jones 4-3 Liu HongyuHossein Vafaei 4-1 Scott DonaldsonJulien Leclercq 4-3 Alfie Burden

Dylan Emery 4-1 Fergal O’BrienNoppon Saengkham 4-1 Himanshu JainAndrew Higginson 4-2 Xing ZihaoAli Carter vs Elliot Slessor (Feb 12)Ben Mertens 4-0 Hammad MiahFan Zhengyi 4-2 Joe PerryAaron Hill 4-0 Anton KazakovMark Selby vs Yuan Sijun (Feb 12)

Shaun Murphy 3-4 Barry PinchesDaniel Wells 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-NoohMarco Fu 4-1 Stuart BinghamZak Surety 4-2 Mark JoyceKyren Wilson vs Ashley Carty (Feb 12)Anthony Hamilton 4-0 Andres PetrovChris Wakelin 4-0 Jimmy RobertsonMartin O’Donnell 4-3 Ryan Thomerson

Ian Burns 4-2 Lukas KleckersTom Ford 4-3 Ben WoollastonXiao Guodong 4-3 Ashley HugillBarry Hawkins 4-0 He GuoqiangWu Yize 4-1 Sydney WilsonGraeme Dott 4-3 Pang JunxuJoe O’Connor 4-3 Xu SiLuca Brecel vs Jiang Jun (Feb 12)

Round of 64 (bo7)

Matches to be played from Feb 12th to 14th.Robert Milkins vs Allan TaylorDavid Gilbert vs Oliver LinesJack Lisowski vs Liam PullenGary Wilson vs Iulian BoikoLong Zehuang vs Anthony McGillSanderson Lam vs M. Williams/AstleyMatthew Stevens vs Ricky WaldenStuart Carrington vs Neil Robertson

Allen/Cao vs Ma HailongSi Jiahui vs Andrew PagettDing Junhui vs Robbie WilliamsAdam Duffy vs Jamie ClarkeDavid Lilley vs Ryan DayTian Pengfei vs Higgins/IbrahimRoss Muir vs Matthew SeltUrsenbacher/Powell/Davies vs D. Jones/Highfield

Alfie Davies vs Dominic DaleJordan Brown vs Stan MoodyZhang Anda vs Jak JonesHossein Vafaei vs Julien LeclercqDylan Emery vs Noppon SaengkhamAndrew Higginson vs Carter/SlessorBen Mertens vs Fan ZhengyiAaron Hill vs Selby/Yuan

Barry Pinches vs Daniel WellsMarco Fu vs Zak SuretyK. Wilson/Carty vs Anthony HamiltonChris Wakelin vs Martin O’DonnellIan Burns vs Tom FordXiao Guodong vs Barry HawkinsWu Yize vs Graeme DottJoe O’Connor vs Brecel/Jiang

How to watch the 2024 Welsh Open

The tournament will be available to viewers across Europe on Eurosport and discovery+, with BBC Wales and the BBC Red Button also options for supporters with access.

Here is the full list of global broadcasters, as published on the WST website:

UKBBC Wales, BBC Online and Red ButtonDMAXEuropeEurosport and discovery+ChinaCCTV5 (including Macau)MiguHuya.comHong Kong ChinaNow TVMalaysia and BruneiAstro SuperSportThailandTrue VisionTaiwanSportcastPhilippinesPremier Sports NetworkPakistanFastsportsAll other territoriesmatchroom.live

Featured photo credit: WST