The 2026 World Snooker Championship has arrived, with the 17-day marathon at the Crucible Theatre set to provide the usual array of sporting drama as the best players on the planet vie to lift the famous trophy.
Zhao Xintong heads 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 got off to a decent start by beating Liam Highfield 10-7 in the first round.
Plenty of other contenders will fancy their chances of stopping Zhao, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has found some form in recent weeks and began his quest for a record eighth world title with a 10-2 demolition Crucible debutant He Guoqiang.
O’Sullivan next has a mouthwatering last-16 clash with old rival John Higgins, who downed Ali Carter in round one, while fellow four-time winner Mark Selby opens up against former finalist Jak Jones. Meanwhile, world No 1 Judd Trump came through a tough opener against Gary Wilson, 2024 champion Kyren Wilson downed teenage wonderkid Stan Moody 10-7 and a rejuvenated Neil Robertson overcame Pang Junxu.
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 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
Hossein Vafaei 10-3 Si Jiahui (15)
Neil Robertson (4) 10-6 Pang Junxu
Round 2
Shaun Murphy (8) 13-3 Xiao Guodong (9)
World Snooker Championship schedule in full
(All times BST)
*denotes final session
Saturday 25 April
Second round
10am
Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)
Kyren Wilson (3) 7-9 Mark Allen (14) *
2.30pm
Zhao Xintong (1) 4-4 Ding Junhui (16)
Hossein Vafaei v Judd Trump (2)
7pm
John Higgins (5) v Ronnie O'Sullivan (12)
Barry Hawkins (11) 10-6 Mark Williams (6) *
Sunday 26 April
Second round
10am
Zhao Xintong (1) v Ding Junhui (16)
Mark Selby (7) v Wu Yize (10)
2.30pm
Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)
Hossein Vafaei v Judd Trump (2)
7pm
John Higgins (5) v Ronnie O'Sullivan (12) *
Mark Selby (7) v Wu Yize (10) *
Monday 27 April
Second round
1pm
John Higgins vs Ronnie O’Sullivan*
Mark Selby /Jak Jones vs Wu Yize*
7pm
Chris Wakelin vs Neil Robertson/Pang Junxu*
Si Jiahui/Hossein Vafaei vs Judd Trump*
Tuesday 28 April
Quarter-finals
10am
QF 1 - session 1
QF 3 - session 1
2.30pm
QF 2 - session 1
QF 4 - session 1
7pm
QF 1 - session 2
QF 3 - session 2
Wednesday 29 April
Quarter-finals
10am
QF 3 - session 3*
QF 2 - session 2
2.30pm
QF 1 - session 3*
QF 4 - session 2
7pm
QF 2 - session 3*
QF 4 - session 3*
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*
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