The English Open is back with more money, a new format, and top players competing.

Last year, Judd Trump was crowned the champion at the Brentwood Centre, but this year, things will be quite different for the players of the World Snooker Tour. The English Open is back, and with it comes an increase in prize money and a new format. While the players may have enjoyed the luxurious Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters last week, this return to the grey skies of Essex and the more modest atmosphere of Brentwood will surely be a change of pace. However, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited.

Thanks to discussions between the WST and the WPBSA Players Board, the prize pot for this season has been increased to a whopping £550,400, up from last season's £427,000. This means that the winner of the English Open will walk away with a grand prize of £100,000. Additionally, the new tiered system ensures that prize money will be awarded down to the last 96 players, rather than just the last 64. This system has been implemented for the Home Nations tournaments this season, meaning that players seeded 65-96 will face off against players seeded 97-128 in the first round, with the winners moving on to play players seeded 33-64 in the second round. The 32 players who advance from there will join the top 32 seeds in the last 64, starting on Monday.

As for the star-studded line-up, fans can expect to see all of the top players in action, including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, and many more. The only notable absence is Ding Junhui, who has not entered the tournament.

The draw and schedule for the English Open have been released, with the first round set to begin on Thursday, September 12th. The day will kick off with matches between Ashley Carty and Anton Kazakov, Reanne Evans and Mink Nutcharut, Liam Pullen and Antoni Kowalski, and Rory Thor and Oliver Lines. The following rounds will continue throughout the day, with the final matches starting at 7pm.

Friday's matches will see snooker legend Jimmy White facing off against Joshua Cooper, while 17-year-old rising star Gong Chenzhi will be taking on Michael Holt. On Saturday, the competition will heat up with matches between Robbie Williams and Artemijs Zizins or Duane Jones, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Julien Leclercq or Oliver Sykes.

For those wanting to catch all of the action, the English Open will be broadcasted on Eurosport, Discovery+, and Dmax in the UK. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the thrilling matches that the English Open has to offer.

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