International Championship Review: Upsets and Rankings

The 2026 International Championship finished in Nanjing on Saturday with world No 9 Kyren Wilson beating John Higgins 10–8 (final report). The story of the week was how many of the top names fell early: none of the world's top five reached the semi-finals. Higgins, at No 6, was the highest-ranked semi-finalist; the other two were Chinese players ranked 20th and 51st, Chang Bingyu and Fan Zhengyi.

The top five all went early

World No 5 Judd Trump lost 6–5 to qualifier Fan Zhengyi in the last 64. Three more went on the same day in the last 32: world No 4 Mark Selby lost 6–2 to Hossein Vafaei, world No 3 Neil Robertson was beaten 6–4 by 18-year-old Wang Xinbo (world No 86), who made a 131, and world No 2 and defending champion Wu Yize lost 6–5 to Stephen Maguire. According to the World Snooker Tour, Wu led 50–0 in the decider before missing a long red, and Maguire cleared to the pink with 68 for his first ever win over him. World No 1 Zhao Xintong then lost 6–3 to Chang in the quarter-finals. Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy both withdrew before their last-64 matches.

A 147 and a re-spotted black

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh opened his last-32 match against Mark Williams with a 147 in seven minutes and 19 seconds. The World Snooker Tour noted it was his eighth maximum, taking him clear of Ding Junhui into seventh place on the all-time list, the sixth of the season and the 247th in the sport's history. Williams still won the match 6–3.

The same day Zhao and Sam Craigie went to a re-spotted black at 72–72 in the deciding frame, after Craigie had missed a match-ball blue. Craigie potted a long black, but the cue ball ran into the green pocket and the foul gave Zhao a 6–5 win. A week earlier Craigie had led Wilson 5–3 in the Northern Ireland Open semi-final and lost 6–5.

Chang's breakthrough

Chang beat Ross Muir 6–2, world No 11 Chris Wakelin 6–3, Yuan Sijun 6–2 and Zhao 6–3 before Higgins beat him 9–2 in the semi-finals. Fan came through a held-over first round, beat Trump, Pang Junxu, Liam Davies and Vafaei, and led Wilson 5–3 after the first session of their semi-final before losing 9–6. Ding won four matches, two of them 6–5, before losing 6–4 to Wilson in the quarter-finals.

What it does to the rankings

The International Championship was the last event counting towards the UK Championship seedings, and the World Snooker Tour has confirmed the top 16 for York: Mark Selby (defending champion), Wu Yize (world champion), Zhao Xintong, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins, Mark Allen, Chris Wakelin, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Xiao Guodong, Ali Carter and Chang Bingyu. The order can still change; the names cannot.

Chang is a seed for the first time, having moved above Jak Jones. Ding is out. The rankings are a rolling two-year prize money list, so the 2024 International Championship came off this week, and Ding won that event and its £175,000 top prize.

The official world rankings published after the event show Chang up from 20th to 16th on £383,200, £19,300 ahead of Jak Jones in 17th, and Ding down from 15th to 23rd on £326,850. Higgins, now on £958,000, stays sixth; Mark Allen and Chris Wakelin swap 11th and 12th, and Ali Carter moves from 16th to 15th. Zhao Xintong remains world No 1, £48,650 clear of Wu Yize.

Wilson's £175,000 takes him to £869,800 and up from ninth to eighth, behind Shaun Murphy (£880,150); Mark Williams (£755,200) drops to ninth. The full list is on our world rankings page.

What comes next

UK Championship: 28 November to 6 December in York. The top 16 go straight to the venue; everyone else, Ding and Jak Jones included, plays the qualifiers in Leicester from 21 to 26 November.

Masters: the field for January's Masters is traditionally the top 16 after the UK Championship, so Ding, £56,350 short of 16th, needs a strong week in York to get back in, and Chang, 16th by £19,300, needs to hold his place.

Champion of Champions: starts on Monday 9 November in Leicester. Wilson brings a 12-match winning run from the last 64 in Belfast and opens against Ali Carter; Higgins is not in the field. Wu and Chang meet in the first round. Schedule, format and prize money are in our Champion of Champions 2026 preview.

More: International Championship schedule and results and all snooker news.