You'd almost be forgiven for forgetting a billiards event which was formerly one of the biggest on the global snooker calendar, but after a three-season hiatus enforced by the coronavirus pandemic, the Yushan Sport Centre in Jiangxi, China, is re-opening its doors to the world's best players.
The World Open first appeared on the circuit back in 1982, and having been staged across England and Scotland for its first three decades, successfully relocated to China in 2011 and has been held there ever since. That was, however, until the pandemic put a full-stop on international sporting events the world over, with Judd Trump's victory in November 2019 being the last before the tournament disappeared off the map.
Just over four years on though, and the World Open is back in business, being held at the Yushan Sport Centre for the fifth time. Trump is looking to win back-to-back titles — with the small matter of a 50-month hiatus in between them — but the world's best players are also in town and keen to claim part of a huge £815,000 prize pot to themselves.
This ranking event has seen qualifiers played in both Yushan and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, ahead of the first frames on Monday, March 18. Trump, as the defending champion, is seeded highest of the 32 ranked players, but his opponent in the 2019 final, Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, lost to Long Zehuang in the qualifiers, a local player who only turned pro last year.
As the tournament begins at pace — the first and second rounds have both been commenced already — The Sporting News has all the information you'll need, regarding both scheduling and how to watch, to help you keep track of all the action as the World Open makes its return to the World Snooker Tour!
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2024 World Open TV channel, live stream
There's no terrestrial TV coverage of the World Open tournament across TSN's selected regions, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to watch every single frame. UK-based fans can stream the action live and on catch-up via Discovery+, while Matchroom's live subscription-based streaming service is also available for viewers across the globe.
| TV channel | Live Stream | |
| UK | Eurosport | Discovery+ |
| Canada | — | matchroom.live |
| US | — | matchroom.live |
| Australia | — | matchroom.live |
| India | — | matchroom.live |
When is the 2024 World Open?
The tournament got underway at 9:30 a.m. local time (CST) on Monday, March 18, 2024, with current World Snooker Champion Lucas Brecel and the last winner of the World Open back in 2019, Judd Trump, both in action. Lasting a week, the competition runs over 71 individual matches and will be decided on Sunday, March 24, with the final starting from 2:00 p.m. local time.
| Date | Round | UK (GMT) | US (ET) | Canada (ET) | Australia (AEDT) | India (IST) |
| Mon, Mar 18 | Round 1, Round 2 | 1:30 a.m. | 9:30 p.m. (Sun, Mar 17) | 9:30 p.m. (Sun, Mar 17) | 12:30 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| Tues, Mar 19 | Round 2 | 6:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
| Weds, Mar 20 | Round 3 | 6:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Mar 22 | Quarterfinals | 6:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 2:30 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Mar 23 | Semifinals | 6:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 11:30 a.m. |
| Sun, Mar 24 | Final | 6:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 11:30 a.m. |
2024 World Open prize money
It's the first World Open tournament in over four years, and the hype for this competition returning to the World Snooker Tour fold is reflected in a huge combined prize fund of £815,000. The winner will take home £170,000 of that total, with players who qualify for the last 64 in round one earning £5,000 apiece at the other end of the scales.
£5,000 is also in store for the individual player who achieves the highest break score across any stage of the tournament, This prize fund is up from £772,000 in 2019, which saw Judd Trump take home the title and top billing of £150,000 in addition.
Anticipation is high, world-class snooker is already underway, and what's in store for fans is the return of a tournament hoping to re-establish itself as one of the must-see events in snooker's annual calendar, as the sport continues to push new boundaries year-on-year.