The 2026 World Snooker Championship takes place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from 18 April to 4 May – and you can watch every shot of the tournament live on the BBC.
Top seed Zhao Xintong, who became the first champion from China by beating Mark Williams in last year’s final, is the favourite this year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan hopes to win a record eighth world title at the age of 50 – 25 years after claiming his first – to move clear of Stephen Hendry as the championship’s most successful player.
World number one Judd Trump aims to lift the trophy for the second time, while other contenders include former champions Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.
This year is the 50th championship to be held at the Crucible since the tournament moved to Sheffield in 1977.
The two-day final starts on 3 May, with the winner taking home £500,000.
Who are the 16 Crucible seeds?
As defending champion, Zhao has the honour of being named as top seed.
O’Sullivan, who made the sport’s highest-ever professional break with a 153 at the World Open in March, is seeded 12th and is in the same half of the draw as Zhao.
World number one Trump is the number two seed and is joined in the bottom half of the draw by third seed and reigning Masters champion Wilson.
Australian Neil Robertson is the number four seed ahead of veteran duo Higgins and Williams at five and six, with UK Championship winner Selby at seven and Murphy eight.
Other seeds: 9 Xiao Guodong, 10 Wu Yize, 11 Barry Hawkins, 12 Ronnie O’Sullivan, 13 Chris Wakelin, 14 Mark Allen, 15 Si Jiahui, 16 Ding Junhui.
When does O’Sullivan play next?
The Englishman, whose most recent world title triumph was in 2022, is making his 34th consecutive appearance at the World Championship.
The 50-year-old, who has not won a ranking title this season and has played a limited schedule, opened his campaign with an emphatic 10-2 win over He Guoqiang.
O’Sullivan will now face four-time champion Higgins in the second-round in a best-of-25 contest starting on Saturday evening.
‘The Rocket’ lost 17-7 with a session to spare to Zhao in the semi-finals last year.
- O’Sullivan’s ‘rolling the dice’ cue gamble pays off
- Why snooker’s golden generation are still shining at 50
Who are the 16 Crucible qualifiers?
Moody and Liam Pullen both made their debuts after coming through the qualifying tournament at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
Moody gave 2024 champion Wilson a tough test before falling to a 10-7 defeat, while Pullen lost 10-6 to 13th seed Chris Wakelin.
China’s He was another debutant, while Antoni Kowalski, 22, became the first player from Poland to play at the Crucible.
Former finalists Matthew Stevens, Ali Carter and Jak Jones all claimed one of the 16 qualifying places before being beaten in the first round.
So far, Iran’s Hossein Vafaei is the only unseeded player to make it into the second round thanks to a comprehensive 10-3 victory over 15th seed Si Jiahui.
Six qualifiers beat seeded players in 2025, including Zhao who went on to lift the trophy.
- Vafaei ‘fighting to make Iranians proud’ at Worlds
- How many nationalities have played at the World Snooker Championship?
How to follow on the BBC
With comprehensive television coverage across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four, and uninterrupted streaming on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, audiences won’t miss a moment from the first break to the final frame.
Legends of the game Hendry, Steve Davis, John Parrott, Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor will offer their expert analysis throughout the tournament.
The BBC Sport website and app will provide daily coverage via live streams and live text pages, including updates from our reporters at the Crucible.
BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds will have regular updates throughout the Championship.
BBC Sport social media channels will deliver behind-the-scenes content as well as highlight clips from the tournament and player interviews.
First round (best of 19 frames)
All times BST and subject to late changes, while session times could finish earlier or later than listed below. *denotes final session
Thursday, 23 April
19:00
Neil Robertson (4) 5-4 Pang Junxu *
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
13:00-17:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
Second round (best of 25 frames)
Thursday, 23 April
13:00
Xiao Guodong (9) v Shaun Murphy (8)
19:00
Kyren Wilson (3) v Mark Allen (14)
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
13:00-17:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Four & Red Button
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Friday, 24 April
10:00
Xiao Guodong (9) v Shaun Murphy (8)
Barry Hawkins (11) v Mark Williams (6)
14:30
Zhao Xintong (1) v Ding Junhui (16)
Kyren Wilson (3) v Mark Allen (14)
19:00
Xiao Guodong (9) v Shaun Murphy (8)
Barry Hawkins (11) v Mark Williams (6)
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:00 – BBC Two
10:00-14:00 – Red Button
14:15-18:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Four & Red Button
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Saturday, 25 April
10:00
Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)/Pang Junxu
Kyren Wilson (3) v Mark Allen (14) *
14:30
Zhao Xintong (1) v Ding Junhui (16)
Hossein Vafaei v Judd Trump (2)
19:00
John Higgins (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (12)
Barry Hawkins (11) v Mark Williams (6) *
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:05 – BBC Two
10:00-14:00 – Red Button
14:00-16:30 – BBC One
16:30-17:15 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Four & Red Button
Highlights
00:10-03:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Sunday, 26 April
10:00
Zhao Xintong (1) v Ding Junhui (16)
Mark Selby (7) v Wu Yize (10)
14:30
Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)/Pang Junxu
Hossein Vafaei v Judd Trump (2)
19:00
John Higgins (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) *
Mark Selby (7) v Wu Yize (10) *
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:30 – BBC Two
10:00-14:00 – Red Button
15:00-18:00 – BBC Two
16:35-18:00 – Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Four & Red Button
Highlights
23:55-01:55 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Monday, 27 April
13:00
John Higgins (5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) *
Mark Selby (7) v Wu Yize (10) *
19:00
Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)/Pang Junxu *
Hossein Vafaei v Judd Trump (2) *
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
15:00-17:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Four & Red Button
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Quarter-finals (best of 25 frames)
Tuesday, 28 April
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:15 – BBC Two
10:00-14:00 – Red Button
14:15-18:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Wednesday, 29 April
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-11:15 – BBC Two
10:00-14:00 – Red Button
14:15-18:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two & Red Button
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Semi-finals (best of 33 frames)
Thursday, 30 April
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
13:00-16:00 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Highlights
00:00-02:00 – World Championship Extra on BBC Two
Friday, 1 May
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:00 – BBC Two
14:15-18:00 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Saturday, 2 May
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
10:00-12:30 – BBC Two
14:00-16:30 – BBC One
16:30-17:30 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Final (best of 35 frames)
Sunday, 3 May
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
13:00-16:00 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Monday, 4 May
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, website and app
13:00-16:00 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Results
First round
Zhao Xintong (1) 10-7 Liam Highfield
Mark Allen (14) 10-6 Zhang Anda
Barry Hawkins (11) 10-4 Matthew Stevens
Mark Williams (6) 10-4 Antoni Kowalsk
Xiao Guodong (9) 10-6 Zhou Yuelong
Ding Junhui (16) 10-5 David Gilbert
John Higgins(5) 10-7 Ali Carter
Kyren Wilson (3) 10-7 Stan Moody
Wu Yize (10) 10-2 Lei Peifan
Judd Trump (2) 10-5 Gary Wilson
Shaun Murphy (8) 10-9 Fan Zhengyi
Chris Wakelin (13) 10-6 Liam Pullen
Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) 10-2 He Guoqiang
Mark Selby (7) 10-2 Jak Jones
Hossein Vafaei 10-3 Si Jiahui (15)
How much is the Crucible prize money?
The winner receives £500,000 and there was a total prize fund of almost £2.4m.
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-finalists: £100,000
Quarter-finalists: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000
Last 32: £20,000
Highest break (qualifying stage included): £15,000
What was the highest break in 2025?
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen made a 147 break in the 13th frame of his second-round match against Chris Wakelin.
He became only the 11th player to make a 147 at the Crucible. The maximum was the 15th at the venue in the tournament’s history and the first since Selby’s clearance in the 2023 final.
Allen, who was 10-2 behind in the match at the time, went on to lose 13-6 to qualifier Wakelin.
Who are the past 10 champions?
2025: Zhao Xintong (China) *
2024: Kyren Wilson (England) *
2023: Luca Brecel (Belgium) *
2022: Ronnie O’Sullivan (England)
2021: Mark Selby (England)
2020: Ronnie O’Sullivan (England)
2019: Judd Trump (England)
2018: Mark Williams (Wales)
2017: Mark Selby (England)
2016: Mark Selby (England)
* first-time winners
- Does O’Sullivan hold every snooker record?
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