The venue stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship are set to begin on Saturday and represent the final chance for players to win prize money ahead of the crucial seeding cut-off to determine places at January’s Masters.
As in previous seasons, the world’s top 16 players after the UK Championship will qualify to play at snooker’s premier invitational event which will run from 11-18 January 2026 at the Alexandra Palace, London.
The counting period for qualification includes all prize money earned at ranking events from the 2023 Shoot Out up to and including the 2025 UK Championship.
The latest Race to the Masters standings, already taking into account the prize money still to be removed from the official world rankings from the 2023 UK Championship, shows the live standings and the true picture of how each player is looking ahead of snooker’s return to York.
Shaun Murphy will be the top seed in London 12 as defending champion, with reigning world champion Zhao Xintong to be drawn in the opposite half as the second seed.
With the winner of this season’s first Triple Crown Series event set to earn a cool first prize of £250,000 in York, every player as far down as 30th placed Zhou Yuelong can mathematically qualify for the Masters by winning the title.
Prior to the first ball being struck at the York Barbican, the top 12 players are already sure of their places, with Ding Junhui the last confirmed player.
The first player who could mathematically be nudged out of the top 16 places is China’s Wu Yize, with the recent International Championship winner currently £163,150 ahead of 21st placed Elliot Slessor, who is the highest ranked player who could yet qualify.
If Wu were to lose his opening match in York, four of the following scenarios would have to unfold for him to be denied a Masters debut:
Next up is two-time Masters finalist Barry Hawkins, who last missed on a place at the Alexandra Palace in 2021. Three of the following permutations would have to occur if he were to lose his opening match, for him to miss out in 2026:
The penultimate player currently at risk is Gary Wilson, who will be targeting a place at the Masters for only the third time in his career. A last 32 exit, combined with two of the following would be enough to knock him out of contention:
Currently ‘on the bubble’ in 16th position is two-time champion Si Jiahui, who made his debut at the Masters just 12 months ago. He would miss out on an immediate return if he were to lose his York Opener with one of the following to occur:
For those outside of the provisional top 16, the equation is simple as nothing other than the title in York would be enough to secure a place at the Masters in January.
Regular updates on the latest standings will be published here at wpbsa.com during the final stages of the UK Championship.
The post Race to the Masters 2026 | UK Preview appeared first on WPBSA.
Continue reading...
As in previous seasons, the world’s top 16 players after the UK Championship will qualify to play at snooker’s premier invitational event which will run from 11-18 January 2026 at the Alexandra Palace, London.
The counting period for qualification includes all prize money earned at ranking events from the 2023 Shoot Out up to and including the 2025 UK Championship.
The latest Race to the Masters standings, already taking into account the prize money still to be removed from the official world rankings from the 2023 UK Championship, shows the live standings and the true picture of how each player is looking ahead of snooker’s return to York.
Shaun Murphy will be the top seed in London 12 as defending champion, with reigning world champion Zhao Xintong to be drawn in the opposite half as the second seed.
State of Play
With the winner of this season’s first Triple Crown Series event set to earn a cool first prize of £250,000 in York, every player as far down as 30th placed Zhou Yuelong can mathematically qualify for the Masters by winning the title.
Prior to the first ball being struck at the York Barbican, the top 12 players are already sure of their places, with Ding Junhui the last confirmed player.
The first player who could mathematically be nudged out of the top 16 places is China’s Wu Yize, with the recent International Championship winner currently £163,150 ahead of 21st placed Elliot Slessor, who is the highest ranked player who could yet qualify.
If Wu were to lose his opening match in York, four of the following scenarios would have to unfold for him to be denied a Masters debut:
- Barry Hawkins reaches the quarter-finals
- Gary Wilson AND Si Jiahui to reach the semi-finals
- One of Elliot Slessor, David Gilbert, Zhang Anda, Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Lei Peifan or Zhou Yuelong to win the title
Next up is two-time Masters finalist Barry Hawkins, who last missed on a place at the Alexandra Palace in 2021. Three of the following permutations would have to occur if he were to lose his opening match, for him to miss out in 2026:
- Gary Wilson AND Si Jiahui to reach the semi-finals
- One of Elliot Slessor, David Gilbert, Zhang Anda, Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Lei Peifan or Zhou Yuelong to win the title
The penultimate player currently at risk is Gary Wilson, who will be targeting a place at the Masters for only the third time in his career. A last 32 exit, combined with two of the following would be enough to knock him out of contention:
- Si Jiahui to reach the last 16
- One of Elliot Slessor, David Gilbert, Zhang Anda, Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Lei Peifan or Zhou Yuelong to win the title
Currently ‘on the bubble’ in 16th position is two-time champion Si Jiahui, who made his debut at the Masters just 12 months ago. He would miss out on an immediate return if he were to lose his York Opener with one of the following to occur:
- One of Elliot Slessor, David Gilbert, Zhang Anda, Stephen Maguire, Pang Junxu, Lei Peifan or Zhou Yuelong to win the title
For those outside of the provisional top 16, the equation is simple as nothing other than the title in York would be enough to secure a place at the Masters in January.
Regular updates on the latest standings will be published here at wpbsa.com during the final stages of the UK Championship.
The post Race to the Masters 2026 | UK Preview appeared first on WPBSA.
Continue reading...
