Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the 2020 final, but he lost 2–6 in the first round to amateur John Astley.

He became the fourth non-British winner in the tournament's history, after Ireland's Patsy Fagan, China's Ding Junhui, and Australia's Robertson.

From the following edition, the tournament reverted to a tiered draw format, with the top 16 being seeded through to the venue, with all others playing a World Championship-style qualifying event prior to the main stages.

[13] In the first round, defending champion Neil Robertson lost 2–6 to amateur player John Astley, but later revealed that he had been diagnosed with pulsatile tinnitus and would have withdrawn from the tournament regardless.

[15] Robertson, Mark Williams and Mark Selby agreed with Murphy's comments,[16][17] although the World Snooker Tour stated that giving amateurs the opportunity to compete in professional tournaments was a vital aspect of their development,[18] and its chairman Steve Dawson stated that the drama caused by amateur players beating elite professionals had been "great for the sport".

[19] Critics on social media noted the irony that Murphy himself had attempted to qualify for golf's 2019 Open Championship as an amateur competitor.

[20] Thepchaiya Un-Nooh compiled five century breaks while defeating Stephen Hendry 6–1 in the first round, becoming only the fourth player after Fergal O'Brien, Trump, and Matthew Selt to make that many in a best-of-11 match.

[22] Williams led world number 56 Anthony Hamilton 3–0, but lost the match 5–6, after which he apologised for falling asleep during the sixth frame, stating he had been feeling unwell following a case of COVID-19.

[23] Ding lost 3–6 to world number 55 Sam Craigie, guaranteeing that he would drop out of the top 16 after the tournament and be ineligible to compete in the Masters for the first time since 2006.

[26] Speaking for the BBC studio, pundit Ken Doherty argued that the referee should have called a foul, respotted the pink, and given Ding the opportunity to come back to the table and attempt to level the match at 4–4; however, the frame had been awarded to Craigie prematurely.

Speaking on Eurosport, pundit Alan McManus also criticised Kesseler for awarding the frame before the cue ball had come to rest.

[34] Overall, just five seeded players reached the last 16: Ronnie O'Sullivan (4), Kyren Wilson (5), Barry Hawkins (14), Jack Lisowski (15), and Anthony McGill (16).

During their match, O'Sullivan repeatedly complained to referee Jan Verhaas about audience members distracting him as they entered and exited the auditorium, and interrupted his breaks to sit in his chair for several minutes at a time while the crowd settled down.