World Women's Championship Stays in Dongguan Until 2031 | SnookerWins

A Dream Decades in the Making

The ink was barely dry on the contract before Mandy Fisher allowed herself a moment to take it all in. Forty-five years of fighting for women's snooker — through sparse prize funds, borrowed venues and battles for recognition — and here she was, seated inside a purpose-built snooker arena in southern China, signing an agreement that will keep the World Women's Snooker Championship in Dongguan Changping until at least 2031. "For the past 45 years, all I have ever wanted is for women's snooker to be played at a professional venue like this," the WWS President said at the signing ceremony. "This is a dream come true for me."

It would be easy to dismiss that as a well-worn turn of phrase. But for anyone who has followed the long, winding road of the women's game, Fisher's words carry genuine weight. The ceremony took place on 4th June 2026, immediately after the final of this year's Championship — a final, as it happened, that had already given the sport plenty to celebrate.

A Record Entry and a New Star

Thailand's Panchaya Channoi claimed the title, becoming World Champion at just 18 years of age — a story that would dominate snooker headlines on its own. But the numbers surrounding the tournament are almost as striking as the teenager who won it. A total of 78 players entered the 2026 World Women's Championship, the highest entry figure for any WWS event in over 30 years. That statistic alone speaks to the momentum building around the women's game, and it is no coincidence that it has arrived alongside a dedicated, world-class home.

This year's edition was the first to be held at the Snooker Sports Arena — a facility conceived and constructed specifically for this tournament. There are no makeshift arrangements here, no temporary seating bolted into a hotel ballroom. The arena was built for snooker, and built with women's snooker in mind. For players who have spent careers competing in environments that felt like an afterthought, the symbolism is not lost.

The Agreement and What It Means

The landmark deal was announced at a signing ceremony attended by Fisher, Qin Jihong — Secretary General of the China Billiard Sports Association (CBSA) — and Huang Zhufeng, representing Cantonese Snooker (Changping). The three organisations have been working together since 2024, when an initial three-year arrangement first brought the Championship to Dongguan. That agreement has now been extended significantly, locking the event into its Chinese home through to 2031.

Crucially, the new contract includes increased total prize money each year across the term of the deal. The winner already collects a coveted two-year professional World Snooker Tour card alongside the top prize — a pathway onto the main tour that would have seemed almost unimaginable to previous generations of women's players. With prize money set to rise annually, the financial landscape for the elite end of the women's game is shifting in a meaningful direction.

"The support we have had for this event has been overwhelming," Fisher added. "We share the same vision for the future of women's snooker and with our mutual ambition, I have no doubt that the best is still to come."

Broader Support From the Top

The wider governing bodies have been quick to offer their endorsement. WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson, whose organisation oversees the professional game globally, struck an optimistic tone. "The WPBSA is proud to support all areas of snooker, and I am delighted to see women's snooker continue to thrive and reach new heights with this continued partnership," he said.

That sense of institutional support matters. Women's snooker has often had to make its case loudly and repeatedly at the doors of the sport's corridors of power. An agreement of this scale — multi-year, commercially backed, with a growing prize fund and a dedicated venue — represents something more durable than goodwill. It represents infrastructure.

Dongguan's Place in the Story

China's relationship with snooker is well established. The country has produced world-class professionals, invested heavily in facilities and driven enormous viewing figures that have reshaped how broadcasters and sponsors think about the sport's global reach. That Dongguan Changping has now become the permanent home of the women's world title — at least for the foreseeable future — feels like a natural extension of that story rather than a departure from it.

For Mandy Fisher, standing in that arena after the final, it was simpler than any of that. Forty-five years. A dream come true. And, finally, a stage worthy of the players who deserve to stand on it.