The 2026 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre is once again delivering the usual array of sporting drama as the best players on the planet vie to lift the famous trophy.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is out, with his bid for a record eighth title ended by fellow “Class of 92” member John Higgins in a last-16 epic. Higgins took the deciding frame and the match 13-12 having fought back from 9-4 down in a statement win 30 years on from the pair’s first meeting in Sheffield.
Zhao Xintong returns to Sheffield as defending champion after making history as the first Chinese winner of the tournament 12 months ago and he is the bookies’ favourite to retain his crown, although he will have to break the legendary ‘Crucible Curse’ to do so – with no first-time winner having successfully defended the title. He overcame compatriot Ding Junhui to reach the last eight.
Four-time winner Mark Selby and world No 1 Judd Trump and 2024 champion Kyren Wilson are all out, with Iran’s Hossein Vafaei into the last eight after coming through qualifying.
Here’s everything you need to know:
How to watch the World Snooker Championship
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.
World Snooker Championship results
Round 2
Neil Robertson (4) 13-7 Chris Wakelin (13)
Hossein Vafaei 13-12 Judd Trump (2)
Wu Yize (10) 13-11 Mark Selby (7)
John Higgins (5) 13-12 Ronnie O'Sullivan (12)
Shaun Murphy (8) 13-3 Xiao Guodong (9)
Zhao Xintong (4) 13-9 Ding Junhui (16)
Mark Allen (14) 13-9 Kyren Wilson (2)
Barry Hawkins (11) 13-9 Mark Williams (6)
Round 1
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
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
Shaun Murphy (8) 13-3 Xiao Guodong (9)
Hossein Vafaei 10-3 Si Jiahui (15)
Neil Robertson (4) 10-6 Pang Junxu
Barry Hawkins (11) 13-9 Mark Williams (6)
Mark Allen (14) 13-9 Kyren Wilson (3)
World Snooker Championship schedule in full
(All times BST)
*denotes final session
Wednesday 29 April
Quarter-finals
10am
John Higgins (5) 3-5 Neil Robertson (4)
Mark Allen (14) 8-8 Barry Hawkins (11)*
2.30pm
Zhao Xintong (1) 8-8 Shaun Murphy (8)*
Wu Yize (10) 4-4 Hossein Vafaei
7pm
John Higgins (5) 3-5 Neil Robertson (4)*
Wu Yize (10) 4-4 Hossein Vafaei*
Thursday 30 April
Semi-finals
1pm
SF 1 - session 1
7pm
SF 2 - session 1
Friday 1 May
Semi-finals
10am
SF 1 - session 2
2.30pm
SF 2 - session 2
7pm
SF 1 - session 3
Saturday 2 May
Semi-finals
10am
SF 2 - session 3
2.30pm
SF 1 - session 4*
7pm
SF 2 - session 4*
Sunday 3 May
Final
1pm
Session 1
7pm
Session 2
Monday 4 May
Final
1pm
Session 3
7pm
Session 4*
Read MoreWhy Zhao Xintong is the man to finally break the ‘Crucible Curse’
O’Sullivan outlines main motivation to play next season after World Championship exit
Iranian snooker star determined to ‘fight for my people’ at World Championship
Higgins takes down rival O’Sullivan in World Snooker Championship classic - reaction
