The full 32-man line-up for the World Snooker Championship has been confirmed, with 11 big names set to miss the biggest tournament in snooker. A field of 128 players started the qualification process in Sheffield, with just 16 progressing to the main draw.
Brecel and Jones had been evenly matched through the first eight frames of the match, but Jones put his foot on the accelerator thereafter and took six of the final seven. It’s another bitter blow for Brecel, who has plummeted down the rankings and will miss the World Championship for the first time since 2021.
He isn’t the only former winner sitting the tournament out, with Stuart Bingham, who took the title in 2015, also missing. Having beaten Wang Xinbo in his opener, Bingham was unable to get the better of Matthew Stevens in the final round.
Prior to the 2024/25 edition, Jack Lisowski had competed in six consecutive World Championship tournaments. However, the Englishman won’t be involved this time around, with He Guoqiang his victor in qualification.
Stephen Maguire didn’t even make it as far as a deciding match, with the Scot having lost to Liam Highfield in the third round. While Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, the recent World Open winner, was on the wrong side of an upset against 20-year-old Liam Pullen, who went on to defeat fellow Thai potter Noppon Saengkham to secure a place in the main draw.
It was another qualification defeat for Jackson Page, whose last appearance at the Crucible came in 2024. Meanwhile, Ryan Day beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha of India in his first game, but fell short against Lei Peifan in the deciding contest.
Robert Milkins, now in his fifties, and Joe O’Connor will be absent from proceedings in South Yorkshire. Whereas veteran duo Jimmy White and 1997 champion Ken Doherty were also unable to roll back the years and book a spot in the Crucible line-up.
Full 2026 World Snooker Championship line-up: