Every player ranked inside the world top 10 progressed from the first round of the 2026 English Open in Brentwood, leaving the tournament's highest-ranked contenders intact as the event moves into the last 64.
World number two Mark Selby survived a tough opener, edging fellow Englishman Ricky Walden 4-3. Selby produced century breaks of 111 and 135 to lead 2-1, found himself trailing 3-2, then closed the match with a 69 in the deciding frame.
Judd Trump recorded a 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland's Jordan Brown, while Wales veteran Mark Williams advanced past Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon. China’s Wu Yize beat Yang Gao 4-1 and Barry Hawkins defeated Lyu Haotin 4-2, completing a clean sweep for the top-10 seeds featured in the opening session.
The winners now know their second-round opponents: Selby will play Zhang Anda and Trump is set to face Ashley Carty. Williams meets Matthew Selt, Wu takes on compatriot Xu Si, and Hawkins will play either Gary Wilson or Daniel Wells, depending on which of those two completes their first-round tie.
Later in the session Shaun Murphy overcame Artemijs Zizins 4-2 and will meet Jamie Clarke in round two; Clarke reached the next stage by beating David Gilbert 4-3.
The first-round clean sheet for the game's highest-ranked players preserves the expected names for the tournament's early rounds and sets up a second day of matches that pairs established stars against lower-ranked challengers.
