THE British Open returns next week with some of snooker’s biggest stars in action.
The iconic tournament uses a flat draw which sees all players, regardless of their world ranking, begin in the opening round.
GettyMark Williams will defend his British Open title this month[/caption]
It also applies an ‘FA Cup-style’ draw for each stage, meaning there is no ranking protection – and anyone can draw anyone.
Many round one matches of this year’s British Open have already taken place in Leicester – but all the top 16 seeds and others – have had their tournament openers saved for the main venue in Cheltenham and the TV cameras.
Defending champion Mark Williams will be looking to retain the Clive Everton Trophy after his epic 10-7 triumph over Mark Selby last year.
Snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan also features in Cheltenham as he hopes to improve on his shock early elimination from the English Open last time out.
When is the British Open 2024?
The British Open began on July 31st – with some players playing their round one matches in Leicester (results below).
First-round ties involving the top 16 in the world and others will begin on Monday, September 23, at the Centaur Arena in Cheltenham.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday, September 29.
How to watch the British Open 2024
The British Open will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK.
You can live stream the event via the ITVX app/website.
Alternatively, you can keep up to date with all the action by following SunSport’s live blog.
What is the British Open 2024 format?
Rounds 1 to 4: All matches are the best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals: Best of 9 frames (with mid-session interval)
Semi-finals: Best of 11 frames (with mid-session interval)
Final: Best of 19 frames – two sessions with scheduled mid-session intervals
What first-round matches have already been played in the British Open 2024?
Below are all the first-round matches that took place in Leicester and the results:
Ryan Day v Louis Heathcote – held over to main venue
Graeme Dott 4-1 Matthew Stevens
Si Jiahui 4-2 David Lilley
Mink Nutcharut 1-4 Liam Graham
Ricky Walden 4-3 Liu Hongyu
Zak Surety 1-4 Ben Mertens
Andrew Pagett 1-4 Neil Robertson
Xiao Guodong 4-2 Huang Jiahao
Jimmy White 0-4 Chris Totten
Noppon Saengkham 4-3 Joe Perry
Alfie Burden 4-3 Andrew Higginson
Dean Young 3-4 Haris Tahir
Matthew Selt 3-4 Ben Woollaston
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 1-4 Jamie Clarke
Oliver Lines 4-3 Lei Peifan
Sunny Akani 4-0 Daniel Womersley
Martin O’Donnell 4-1 Mitchell Mann
Mostafa Dorgham 1-4 Hossein Vafaei
Kok Leong Lim 4-1 Anthony Hamilton
Xu Si 4-2 Ken Doherty
Duane Jones 4-2 Dominic Dale
David Grace 4-2 Jack Lisowski
Artemijs Zizins 3-4 Allan Taylor
Iulian Boiko 4-2 Farakh Ajaib
Joshua Cooper 1-4 Elliot Slessor
Fan Zhengyi 2-4 Zhou Yuelong
Xing Zihao 3-4 Mark Joyce
Stuart Bingham 4-3 He Guoqiang
Michael Holt 4-0 Reanne Evans
Ka Wai Cheung 4-0 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Ma Hailong 4-2 Jimmy Robertson
Simon Blackwell 4-2 Bai Yulu
Joe O’Connor 2-4 Stan Moody
Jamie Jones 2-4 Yuan Sijun
Joshua Thomond 1-4 Marco Fu
Alexander Ursenbacher 1-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Wang Yuchen 2-4 Hammad Miah
Chris Wakelin 4-0 Haydon Pinhey
Baipat Siripaporn 1-4 Wu Yize
David Gilbert 4-0 Dylan Emery
Amir Sarkhosh 3-4 Ashley Carty
Robbie McGuigan 0-4 Mark Davis
Jackson Page 1-4 Robbie Williams
Ahmed Elsayed 2-4 Anton Kazakov
Scott Donaldson 2-4 Tian Pengfei
Antoni Kowalski 4-1 Daniel Wells
Lyu Haotian 4-0 Anthony McGill
Jiang Jun 1-4 Stephen Maguire
Liam Pullen 0-4 Long Zehuang
British Open 2024 schedule
*Subject to change
Monday, September 23 (Round one)
From 1pm
Mark Williams v Rory Thor
Gong Chenzhi v Tom Ford
Gary Wilson v Mark Allen
Ding Junhui v Aaron Hill
From 2pm
Luca Brecel v Mohamed Shebab
Ryan Day v Louis Heathcote
Robert Milkins v Judd Trump
Ross Muir v John Higgins
From 7pm
Barry Hawkins v Liam Davies
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Manasawin Phetmalaikul
Bulcsu Revesz v Ali Carter
Shaun Murphy v Ian Burns
From 8pm
Pang Junxu v Mark Selby
Jordan Brown v Zhang Anda
Sanderson Lam v Jak Jones
Kyren Wilson v Julien Leclercq
Tuesday, September 24
From 10am
Schedule TBC
Wednesday, September 25
From 10am
Schedule TBC
Thursday, September 26
From 1pm
Schedule TBC
Friday, September 27
From 1pm
Schedule TBC
Saturday, September 28
From 1pm
Schedule TBC
Sunday, September 29
From 1pm
Schedule TBC
Who has won the British Open?
Here is a list of all the previous British Open winners:
2023 Mark Williams
2022 Ryan Day
2021 Mark Williams
2004 John Higgins
2003 Stephen Hendry
2002 Paul Hunter
2001 John Higgins
2000 Peter Ebdon
1999 Stephen Hendry
1999 Fergal O’Brien
1998 John Higgins
1997 Mark Williams
1996 Nigel Bond
1995 John Higgins
1994 Ronnie O’Sullivan
1993 Steve Davis
1992 Jimmy White
1991 Stephen Hendry
1990 Bob Chaperon
1989 Tony Meo
1988 Stephen Hendry
1987 Jimmy White
1986 Steve Davis
1985 Silvino Francisco