BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 China Open will start on April 1 at the National Olympic Sports Center in Beijing, which has been hosting the event for 15 consecutive years, the organizing committee announced here on Thursday.

As the 19th and penultimate ranking event for the World Championships, China Open will welcome big names including John Higgins, Judd Trump, Stuart Bingham and Neil Robertson as well as home players Liang Wenbo, Yan Bingtao and Zhou Yuelong, all of whom went through the qualifying round.

The highest-ranked Chinese player Ding Junhui, who will have his qualifying match with two-time reigning champion Mark Selby after the tournament unveils, told the press that he will try his best to fight for the championships on home soil and hopefully gradually recover his top form through his much-anticipated clash with Selby.

The winners each round will be decided on a best-of-11 format before the semifinals, which will be a best-of-19 series and the final on best-of-21 format.

The prize pool of China Open amounts to 10 million pounds this year, making the tournament the only snooker event other than the World Championships to offer such a large sum of prize, with the champion taking home a total of 2.25 million pounds.