Snooker Prize Money 2026/27: Every Event, Round by Round
The biggest prize: the 2027 World Championship pays the champion £625,000 from a £3 million prize fund. Next is the UK Championship at £312,500, then the China Open at £250,000.
What counts: only ranking event prize money counts towards the world rankings, so invitation events such as the Masters, Shanghai Masters and Champion of Champions do not. There is no maximum break bonus this season; each event has a high break prize instead.
Snooker's world rankings are simply prize money earned in ranking events over two years (see how snooker rankings work), so an event's prize fund decides how much it matters as well as how much it pays. Here are the 19 events of the 2026/27 season with announced prize money, ranked by the winner's prize.
Prize money by event, 2026/27
| Event | Winner | Runner-up | Total | 2026/27 champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championship | 625,000 | 250,000 | 3,000,000 | — |
| UK Championship | 312,500 | 125,000 | 1,502,500 | — |
| China Open | 250,000 | 100,000 | 1,205,000 | Mark Selby |
| Shanghai Masters | 210,000 | 105,000 | 825,000 | Judd Trump |
| World Grand Prix | 180,000 | 80,000 | 700,000 | — |
| Shenzhen Open | 177,000 | 76,000 | 850,000 | Wu Yize |
| Wuhan Open | 175,000 | 75,000 | 825,000 | Chang Bingyu |
| International Championship | 175,000 | 75,000 | 825,000 | Kyren Wilson |
| Champion of Champions | 150,000 | 60,000 | 440,000 | In progress |
| Players Championship | 150,000 | 70,000 | 500,000 | — |
| Tour Championship | 150,000 | 60,000 | 500,000 | — |
| British Open | 100,000 | 45,000 | 502,000 | Jak Jones |
| English Open | 100,000 | 45,000 | 550,400 | Ali Carter |
| Northern Ireland Open | 100,000 | 45,000 | 550,400 | Kyren Wilson |
| Scottish Open | 100,000 | 45,000 | 550,400 | — |
| German Masters | 100,000 | 45,000 | 550,400 | — |
| Welsh Open | 100,000 | 45,000 | 550,400 | — |
| Shoot Out | 50,000 | 22,000 | 213,000 | — |
| Championship League | 33,000 | — | 328,000 | Jak Jones |
Pounds sterling; dates without a year are in 2026. Winner's, runner-up and total prize money from each event's page on wst.tv (Champion of Champions from its official site), checked on 9 November 2026. The Championship League is played in stages: the £33,000 winner's figure is WST's total across the stages, and the final itself pays £20,000 and £10,000. The dates column is hidden on phones.
Not in the table: the Masters (10–17 January 2027, London) and the World Open (15–21 March 2027, Yushan) have not announced their 2027 prize money; WST's pages still show the previous edition, a £350,000 winner's prize and £1,015,000 total for the Masters and £175,000 and £825,000 for the World Open. The Championship League invitational pays per frame and has no fixed winner's prize.
The richest events
By winner's prize, the season falls into tiers:
- The Triple Crown: the World Championship (£625,000) and the UK Championship (£312,500), plus the Masters (£350,000 last time). Their history and the players who have won all three are in the snooker Triple Crown.
- The big Chinese events: the China Open (£250,000), the Shanghai Masters (£210,000, an invitation event), the Shenzhen Open (£177,000), the Wuhan Open and International Championship (£175,000 each), and the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong (£180,000). Most of the richest events after the Triple Crown are held in China.
- £150,000: the Champion of Champions, Players Championship and Tour Championship.
- £100,000: the British Open, the four Home Nations events (English, Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Opens) and the German Masters.
Both of the biggest events went up this season. In April 2026 WST raised the world champion's prize from £500,000 to £625,000 and the UK champion's from £250,000 to £312,500.
How the prize money is split: World and UK Championships
Players are paid by the round they reach. These are the payouts at the two biggest events (WST):
| Round reached | 2027 World Championship | 2026 UK Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 625,000 | 312,500 |
| Runner-up | 250,000 | 125,000 |
| Semi-finals | 125,000 | 62,500 |
| Quarter-finals | 62,500 | 31,250 |
| Last 16 | 37,500 | 18,750 |
| Last 32 | 25,000 | 12,500 |
| Last 48 (qualifying) | 18,750 | 9,375 |
| Last 80 (qualifying) | 12,500 | 6,250 |
| Last 112 (qualifying) | 6,250 | 3,125 |
| High break | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| Total | 3,000,000 | 1,502,500 |
Apart from the high break prize, every UK Championship payout is exactly half the World Championship's. The World Championship payouts add up to £2,990,000 across all the places, £10,000 less than the £3 million total WST publishes; WST does not explain the gap. The UK Championship payouts add up to exactly £1,502,500 (WST's announcement rounds it to about £1.5 million).
Two things stand out: the money is concentrated at the top, with the world champion taking about a fifth of the whole fund, and even qualifying-round losers are paid, though only about 1% of the champion's prize.
The one-year money list
WST's one-year list adds up what each player has won in ranking events this season, so it works as the 2026/27 money list. After the International Championship (wst.tv, 9 November 2026):
| Pos | Player | 2026/27 ranking prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Selby | 357,350 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | 329,700 |
| 3 | Chang Bingyu | 240,100 |
| 4 | Wu Yize | 213,000 |
| 5 | Jak Jones | 191,000 |
| 6 | Ali Carter | 134,750 |
| 7 | Noppon Saengkham | 123,900 |
| 8 | Yuan Sijun | 116,500 |
| 9 | Zhao Xintong | 111,000 |
| 10 | Mark Williams | 102,000 |
Only ranking events count here. Judd Trump won the Shanghai Masters (£210,000) in the summer, but it is an invitation event, so he is only 11th on the one-year list with £94,700. Selby leads mainly thanks to the £250,000 for winning the China Open. The one-year list is not the world ranking, which adds up two seasons; the current world rankings are on our snooker rankings page.
Which prize money counts for the world rankings
The WPBSA's rankings FAQ lists the money that does not count:
- prize money from invitation events, such as the Masters, Shanghai Masters and Champion of Champions;
- high break prizes and maximum break bonuses;
- money for losing in the first round of the Shoot Out;
- at events such as the World and UK Championships, money won by seeded players who lose their first match.
Source: WPBSA Rankings FAQ. The page is still labelled 2024/25; we found no separate statement for 2026/27.
That is why a player can earn a lot and still not climb the rankings: if the big cheques come from invitation events, they do nothing for their ranking.
Is there a bonus for a 147?
Not this season. On 12 June 2026 WST scrapped the bonus for making two maximums at the Triple Crown events, and the bonus for making 100 centuries in a season. Jackson Page, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Chang Bingyu each collected £147,000 under that scheme. What remains is each event's high break prize, which a 147 will almost always win: £15,000 at the World Championship, UK Championship and China Open; £10,000 at the Shanghai Masters, World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship; usually £5,000 at other ranking events.
Do snooker players pay tax on prize money?
For events in the UK, HMRC's guidance is clear: whoever pays a non-UK-resident sportsperson for an appearance in the UK, prize money included, must deduct income tax first, and the guidance names snooker players among the sportspeople covered. Payments above the personal allowance are normally taxed at the basic rate, 20% in HMRC's example. A player can apply for a reduced deduction, although HMRC notes that this may not be possible when the amount depends on the result. The deduction is not the final bill: what a player finally pays depends on their tax residence and any tax treaty. Events in China and elsewhere follow local rules.
Where the money comes from
Prize funds are put up by WST together with each event's sponsor and promoter. The sponsor is usually in the event's official name: the 2027 World Championship is the Halo World Championship, the UK Championship the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, and the Champion of Champions the Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions.
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How much does the world snooker champion win?
The 2027 world champion wins £625,000 and the runner-up £250,000, from a £3 million prize fund. The winner's prize went up by a quarter from £500,000.
What is the richest snooker tournament?
The World Championship, followed by the UK Championship and the Masters. The richest event held in China is the China Open, with £250,000 for the winner.
Does Masters prize money count for the world rankings?
No. The Masters is an invitation event, and invitation event prize money does not count towards the world rankings. Neither does the Shanghai Masters or Champion of Champions.
Is there prize money for a 147 in 2026/27?
There is no special maximum break bonus this season; WST scrapped it in June 2026. Each event still pays a high break prize, from £5,000 at most ranking events to £15,000 at the World and UK Championships and the China Open.
Do players who lose in qualifying get paid?
Yes, at most ranking events. At the 2027 World Championship, losing in the first qualifying round (last 112) pays £6,250.
Related reading: How Snooker Rankings Work · The Snooker Triple Crown · Snooker Tour Cards and Q School · Snooker Shoot Out Rules · How Long Is a Snooker Match? · Snooker calendar 2026/27
Sources: prize money tables on each event's page at wst.tv (checked 9 November 2026); the Champion of Champions official site; WST news "World Championship And UK Championship Prize Money Increased For 2026/27" (20 April 2026) and "Maximum And Century Break Bonuses" (12 June 2026); WST's one-year ranking list; WPBSA Rankings FAQ; HMRC guidance "Pay tax on payments to foreign entertainers and sportspersons". Dates and venues from the Wikipedia 2026–27 snooker season article. Prize money is as announced by the organisers. This article contains no sponsored or affiliate links.