English Open Snooker Brentwood: Allen and O'Sullivan Out

The BetVictor English Open is at the Brentwood Centre from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 September 2026. It is the fifth year running that the town has hosted it, and the defending champion will not be there.

Mark Allen, who won the 2025 title in Brentwood by beating Zhou Yuelong 9-8, has pulled out for personal reasons. World Snooker Tour announced it on 26 August and said that in Brentwood “Allen was due to meet Sam Craigie on Monday September 7th. Craigie will receive a bye to the last 32.” (World Snooker Tour, 26 August 2026)

Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew earlier, on 30 July. WST said “Qualifier Liam Davies came through to secure a slot in the final stages against O’Sullivan, but will now get a bye to the last 32.” (World Snooker Tour, 30 July 2026)

That still leaves a very strong field. WST’s line-up announcement named World Champion Wu Yize, world number one Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, Zhao Xintong and Kyren Wilson, plus what it calls “Essex favourites Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham”. Ding Junhui is in the draw too. Sixty-four players start. (World Snooker Tour, 13 July 2026)

Tickets: all-day passes have gone

The tournament’s own ticket page carries a plain warning: “Please note: We have now sold out of All Day tickets for this tournament.” (World Snooker Tour, English Open 2026 tickets)

Individual session tickets were still being sold through the WST ticketing site at the time of writing. When the line-up was announced in July, WST said tickets were “available now from just £18”, with all-day tickets for the first four days at £30. It is the all-day option that has gone, so the £30 figure no longer applies.

There is no separate Brentwood Centre box office for this one. The venue’s own ticket portal does not list the English Open at all, because World Snooker Tour sells it.

What happens on which day

Play runs across multiple tables in the early rounds, which is the point of the Monday to Thursday tickets: several matches are going on at once. Sessions start at about 10am, 1pm and 7pm, and the later matches on each table begin when the one before them finishes rather than at a fixed time. The final is split into two sessions on the Sunday, at about 1pm and 7pm. (snooker.org, BetVictor English Open 2026)

Check the order of play on the day. Times move when matches run short or long.

The money

The winner takes £100,000 and the Steve Davis Trophy, named after the six-time world champion when the tournament began in 2016. The runner-up gets £45,000. Losing semi-finalists get £21,000, losing quarter-finalists £13,200, and beaten last-16 players £9,000. A player knocked out in the last 32 gets £5,400, and in the last 64 £3,600. (snooker.org)

There is more riding on it than the cheque. The English Open is the first of the four BetVictor Home Nations Series events, and WST says the leading money winner across the series banks an extra £150,000 bonus.

Getting there and parking

The Brentwood Centre is on Doddinghurst Road, Brentwood CM15 9NN, about a mile and a half from junction 28 of the M25. Its International Hall holds up to 2,000 people.

Parking is free and there are 400 spaces, with overflow parking available. That is the venue’s own description, and 400 spaces against a 2,000-capacity hall is worth thinking about before you set off for a busy evening session. (Everyone Events, The Brentwood Centre)

By train, Brentwood station is under two miles away and is on the Elizabeth line as well as the Great Eastern route into Liverpool Street. If you would rather park in town and travel the last stretch, our guide to parking in Brentwood has the current tariffs and the free periods, and Brentwood roadworks and travel covers anything that might slow you down on the way.

Watching it from home

Coverage is on TNT Sports and Eurosport, HBO Max, WST Play and Huya. (snooker.org)

Why Brentwood

The English Open has been staged here since 2022. WST’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Tom Rowell put the reason for coming back plainly when the 2026 dates were announced: “Over the past four years we have seen Brentwood become an increasingly popular venue and this year the arena was completely packed for many sessions. Snooker has a great history in Essex and the local fans love to see the live action and create a fantastic atmosphere.” (World Snooker Tour, 10 October 2025)

Qualifying for this year’s tournament was played on 25 and 26 July at the arena in Leicester, so every match at the Brentwood Centre is a final-stages match.

Still to be confirmed

• The order of play beyond the first two days. Only the round days are fixed. Who plays whom, and when, follows each round.
• Whether any more players withdraw. Two have already, both after the draw was made.

This page was checked on 5 September 2026 and will be updated during the week.