Last 32 (pictured in 2026) lost to
Xiao Guodong and did not qualify to defend his title at the
2026 Players Championship.
Xiao Guodong faced
Kyren Wilson, recent winner of the
2026 Masters. Xiao made a of 87 to win the opening , but Wilson tied the scores with an 83 break in frame two. Xiao won frame three with an 86 break, recovered from 56 points behind to win frame four, and then took frame five on the as he moved into a 4–1 lead. Wilson won frame six, but Xiao secured a 5–2 victory in frame seven. The result meant that Wilson remained outside the top 16 on the one-year ranking list after the event and did not qualify to defend his title at the
2026 Players Championship. "It was very hard because [Wilson] is a top player," said Xiao afterwards. "I had to keep my concentration as there were a lot of close frames."
Zhou Yuelong made a
century break of 116 as he defeated
Stephen Maguire 5–2, and
Elliot Slessor won five frames in a row to beat the previous year's runner-up
Stuart Bingham by the same score.
Mark Selby made breaks of 60, 100, 82, 94, and 76 in a
whitewash victory over
Aaron Hill.
Wu Yize trailed
Anthony McGill 1–3 but made breaks of 65 and 77 to tie the scores at 3–3. In frame seven, Wu attempted a
maximum break but missed a on the last , ending the break on 112. Wu completed a 5–3 win with an 81 break in frame eight.
Chang Bingyu also trailed
Jack Lisowski 1–3 but recovered to win the match in a .
Zhang Anda made breaks including 57, 124, 76, and 75 as he beat
Mark Williams 5–2, while
Barry Hawkins made a 141 break as he defeated
Ding Junhui 5–3. "Any time you beat Ding here with the support he gets is good for confidence," Hawkins commented afterwards. "I was all over the place for the first four frames, cueing terribly, I was lucky to be 2–2 rather than 3–1 down. After the interval I was more aggressive and cued a lot better."
(pictured in 2025) lost 1–5 to
Jak Jones. The defending champion
Neil Robertson lost 1–5 to
Jak Jones, who had recently returned to competition after injuring his right hand. "The hand is still painful but it is healing well," Jones said afterwards. "I broke two of the bones and that's not an injury you want as a snooker player." The world number one
Judd Trump, who had won the
2026 German Masters final on 1 February, lost 2–5 to the world number 31
Yuan Sijun.
Si Jiahui beat
Gary Wilson, also by a 5–2 scoreline, while
Chris Wakelin whitewashed
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
Ali Carter recovered from 1–3 behind to beat
Mark Allen in a deciding frame, and
Pang Junxu made breaks including 73, 134, and 130 as he defeated
Shaun Murphy 5–1.
Last 16 (pictured in 2026) was among a record nine players from mainland China in the last 16. He made a of 144 as he defeated three-time winner
Ronnie O'Sullivan. Nine players from mainland China reached the last 16 of the tournament, a record for any ranking event. Selby made breaks of 90, 109, 73, and 56 as he took a 4–1 lead over Zhao, but the reigning World Champion produced breaks of 81, 140, and 112 to tie the scores at 4–4. In the deciding frame, Zhao was on a break of 45 when he missed the , but he secured the frame and match after Selby missed a red. Carter lost the first two frames against Yuan but then made breaks including 53, 138, 62, and 66 as he took five consecutive frames to win the match 5–2. Zhou produced breaks including 139, 78, 61, and 99 as he beat Jones 5–1. Facing Chang, Wu made a century of 130 to win the opening frame. Chang won frame two with an 88 break, but Wu produced two 64 breaks as he took a 3–1 lead. Chang made breaks of 57 and 134 to tie the scores at 3–3, but Wu took the last two frames with breaks of 69 and 72, winning 5–3.
Quarter-finals (pictured in 2015) was among a record six players from mainland China in the quarter-finals. He defeated
Ali Carter, helped by a in the . Six players from mainland China reached the quarter-finals, setting a new record for a ranking event. The previous record had been five, set at the
2022 Championship League. Zhou led Carter 3–1 at the mid-session interval, but Carter then made three consecutive 88 breaks as he moved 4–3 ahead. Carter had an opportunity to win the match in frame eight but missed the while on a break of 41, and Zhou won the frame with a 66 . In the decider, Carter made a break of 20 before missing a red. Zhou a red and then produced a break of 56, which helped him secure the frame and match. "I had a bit of luck on my side, but most importantly I managed to hold my nerve under pressure," Zhou said afterwards. Zhao took a 4–1 lead over Wakelin, who responded with breaks of 91, 76, and 118 to tie the scores at 4–4. Wakelin in the deciding frame but secured 15 from to require only one snooker. However, Zhao sealed victory by potting the last red. "Of course I'm thrilled to advance, though honestly neither of us played well from start to finish," Zhao said afterwards. "When I was leading 4–1 and he started closing the gap, I did wonder what would happen if I lost. But I kept telling myself to take it slowly, shot by shot, and finish decisively when possible."
Semi-finals (pictured in 2025) defeated
Zhou Yuelong on the last of a . For the first time, all four semi-finalists at a professional ranking snooker tournament were from mainland China. In the second semi-final, Zhao played Xiao. Zhao led by 56 points in the opener, but Xiao produced a 65 clearance to win the frame on the last black. Zhao made breaks of 55 and 69 to win the next two frames, but Xiao tied the scores at 2–2 at the mid-session interval. Zhao then won three consecutive frames to lead 5–2. Xiao won frame eight, but Zhao made a century of 121 in frame nine to complete a 6–3 victory. "I played much better today than yesterday," said Zhao after the match. "I made some good adjustments in all aspects. I was able to stay within my own rhythm. As a result, my overall performance was quite good." Anticipating the final against Zhang, he commented: "I hope the fans will continue to support me. Especially yesterday, I could really feel the atmosphere and support from the audience and that was a huge help to me... I lost to [Zhang] not long ago, so tomorrow I will definitely give it my best." By reaching the final, both Zhang and Zhao ensured that they would finish within the top 16 on the one-year ranking list after the event and qualify for the 2026 Players Championship. Zhao began the second session with breaks of 85 and 75 as he opened up a two-frame lead for the first time at 6–4. Zhang won frame 11 with a 53 break, but Zhao made a century of 111 to lead 7–5 at the mid-session interval. Zhang won frame 13, in which he attempted a maximum break but missed the 10th black, ending the break on 73. However, Zhao then won three consecutive frames with breaks of 134, 65, and 131 to complete a 10–6 victory. Zhao made five centuries in the final and nine in the tournament overall. Victory gave Zhao his first World Grand Prix title and his fourth ranking title, following his wins at the
2021 UK Championship, the
2022 German Masters, and the
2025 World Snooker Championship. It meant that he had won all four of the ranking finals he had contested. He moved up one place to seventh in the world rankings. Defeat for Zhang meant that he had lost three of his four ranking finals, although he moved up three places to 20th in the world rankings. "We both played very well today, our scoring was at a high level throughout the match," said Zhao afterwards. "Perhaps later on I managed to take a few more chances. My mindset settled down nicely and my rhythm improved, which allowed me to play better and better. I was waiting for that one chance in every frame, then my aim was to push on and put pressure on him by getting well ahead. In the second half of the match, I was able to do that consistently, which made me very happy with my performance." However, Zhao added that he was still struggling with the pressure of competing as World Champion. "Mentally I still feel there is room to learn from the very top players," he said. "This season so far, although I've had some good results, I feel that my overall consistency hasn't been as strong as the very best." == Tournament draw ==