Ronnie O’Sullivan v He Guoqiang LIVE: ‘The Rocket’ begins quest for record eighth World Snooker Championship title

Ronnie O’Sullivan gets his 2026 World Snooker Championship campaign underway this afternoon against Chinese debutant He Guoqiang in Sheffield.

O’Sullivan, now 50 years old, is beginning his quest to win a record eighth world title at the Crucible Theatre and break the current tie with Stephen Hendry – who he matched by claiming his most recent crown in 2022.

Its 25 years since ‘The Rocket’ won his first world title in 2001 and he has been snooker’s biggest star ever since. He perhaps lacks the consistency of a few years ago but is still breathtaking to watch on the baize and the Crucible crowd will undoubtedly be behind him as he looks to set up a mouthwatering second-round clash with fierce, ‘class of’92’ rival John Higgins.

25-year-old qualifier He will hope to spoil the party and actually has a winning record against O’Sullivan – coming out on top in two of the three matches they’ve played, although none have been on this big a stage or over this length of contest.

Follow all the action from O’Sullivan vs He with our live blog below:

Ronnie O’Sullivan is 50 and still a genius – but can he conquer snooker’s new Chinese dynasty to win historic eighth crown?

World Snooker Championship 2026: Results, schedule and how to watch every match

Shaun Murphy criticises Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump’s conduct before World Snooker Championship

Ronnie O'Sullivan v He Guoqiang - live updates

• Ronnie O'Sullivan faces He Guoqiang in World Snooker Championship first round | Live from 2.30pm BST
• O'Sullivan begins his quest for a record eighth world title at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre
• The first nine frames of the best-of-19 encounter will be played this afternoon
• The match is live on the BBC and TNT Sports, also available via HBO Max

Why Zhao Xintong is the man to finally break the ‘Crucible Curse’

The “Crucible Curse” is snooker’s most famous hex. Twenty men who have won their first World Snooker Championship title at the iconic Crucible Theatre since the tournament moved there in 1977 have tried to defend it the next year. All 20 have failed.

Everyone, from surprise, one-off champions to the greatest of all time who would go on to dominate their era have fallen short the year after their first world crown.

But Zhao Xintong might just be different...

Why Zhao Xintong is the man to finally break the ‘Crucible Curse’

Latest score: Gary Wilson surges into lead over Judd Trump

Speaking of seeds, the world No 1 and second seed (with reigning champion Zhao Xintong automatically being top seed) Judd Trump is in action in the morning session.

But it’s been a great start for his opponent Gary Wilson, perhaps the most dangerous qualifier in the tournament – certainly one of the most decorated with three ranking titles to his name.

Wilson has surged into a 3-1 lead, including a break of 77 in the opening frame. He’s looking composed out there. Plenty of time for Trump to respond though.

Meanwhile, on the other table, 20-year-old debutant Liam Pullen won the very first frame he played at the Crucible to lead Chris Wakelin early on but the 13th seed has hit back, including getting the snooker he needed on the final pink in frame two, to take a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval.

First round results

Half the first-round matches have now been completed at the Crucible and we’ve got a unique situation brewing. So far, every single seeded player has won their match - normally he first round is an absolute bloodbath for the higher-ranked players.

Never in the history of the World Championship has there been a clean sweep of all 16 seeds reaching the second round. Will we see it this year? Surely not...

First-round results

Zhao Xintong (1) 10-7 Liam Highfield

Mark Allen (14) 10-6 Zhang Anda

Barry Hawkins (11) 10-4 Matthew Stevens

Xiao Guodong (9) 10-6 Zhou Yuelong

Mark Williams (6) 10-4 Antoni Kowalski

Ding Junhui (16) 10-5 David Gilbert

John Higgins (5) 10-7 Ali Carter

Kyren Wilson (3) 10-7 Stan Moody

Shaun Murphy criticises Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump’s conduct before World Snooker Championship

Shaun Murphy has criticised fellow former world champions Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump for missing the launch of the 2026 World Championship in Sheffield.

This year’s players gathered in Tudor Square outside the Crucible Theatre on Friday for a green-carpet ceremony celebrating the relationship between snooker and Sheffield, before media commitments with press and broadcasters inside the venue.

But O’Sullivan and Trump did not appear and unless they can provide a valid reason for their absence, such as a medical issue, they face a sanction from the World Snooker Tour.

Shaun Murphy criticises Ronnie O’Sullivan’s conduct before World Snooker Championship

Ronnie O’Sullivan is 50 and still a genius – but can he conquer snooker’s new Chinese dynasty to win historic eighth crown?

Even by Ronnie O’Sullivan’s absurd standards, this has been an astonishing season, achieving unfathomable feats including one break which left casual observers wondering how it is possible to score 153, six more than the “maximum” 147.

Even at the age of 50, O’Sullivan is still redefining what is possible on a twelve-by-six table.

O’Sullivan was winning major titles before the current world champion, Zhao Xintong, was born, yet he is still producing moments of unfettered genius.

He arrives at the Crucible chasing a historic eighth world title, which would stand him alone in rarified air, one clear of Stephen Hendry. Significantly, despite his long love-hate relationship with snooker, O’Sullivan has shown he is still motivated to break new ground.

Read Lawrence Ostlere’s full analysis of ‘The Rocket’s’ latest pursuit of history:

Ronnie O’Sullivan is still a genius at 50 – but can he win a historic eighth crown?

How to watch Ronnie O'Sullivan play

Every session of every match at the 2026 World Snooker Championship will be live on the BBC, with BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC red button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website all utilised for coverage across the 17 days.

The tournament is also broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK, with every session shown across their channels and subscribers can also use streaming service HBO Max to watch TNT Sports.

When does Ronnie O’Sullivan play?

Ronnie O’Sullivan begins his Crucible campaign with a best-of-19, first-round encounter against Chinese debutant He Guoqiang.

The first session of their match, consisting of nine frames, is on Tuesday 21 April, starting at 2.30pm with the concluding session of the match exactly 24 hours later on Wednesday 22 April at 2.30pm.

If O’Sullivan gets through, then his second-round contest will be the best of 25 frames, across three sessions against John Higgins. The first session is on Saturday 25 April at 7pm, the second session is on Sunday 26 April at 7pm and the final, concluding session will be the following afternoon – Monday 27 April at 1pm.

Ronnie O'Sullivan vs He Guoqiang

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Ronnie O’Sullivan vs He Guoqiang.

Snooker’s greatest player of all-time begins his quest to win a record eighth World Snooker Championship crown in front of what will surely be a raucous Crucible Theatre crowd.

Stick with us for all the action.