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.

Plenty of other contenders will fancy their chances of stopping Zhao, who opens up with a first-round clash against Liam Highfield, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has found some form in recent weeks and begins his quest for a record eighth world title against Crucible debutant He Guoqiang.

Four-time winners Mark Selby and John Higgins face former finalists Jak Jones and Ali Carter respectively in round one, while world No 1 Judd Trump has a tough opener against Gary Wilson, 2024 champion Kyren Wilson squares off against teenage wonderkid Stan Moody and a rejuvenated Neil Robertson takes on 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 schedule in full

(All times BST)

*denotes final session

Saturday 18 April

First round

10am

Zhao Xintong (1) vs Liam Highfield

Mark Allen (14) vs Zhang Anda

2.30pm

Xiao Guodong (9) vs Zhou Yuelong

Mark Williams (6) vs Antoni Kowalski

7pm

Zhao Xintong (1) vs Liam Highfield*

Barry Hawkins (11) vs Matthew Stevens

Sunday 19 April

First round

10am

Ding Junhui (16) vs David Gilbert

Mark Allen (14) vs Zhang Anda*

2.30pm

John Higgins (5) vs Ali Carter

Barry Hawkins (11) vs Matthew Stevens*

7pm

Xiao Guodong (9) vs Zhou Yuelong*

Mark Williams (6) vs Antoni Kowalski*

Monday 20 April

First round

10am

Ding Junhui (16) vs David Gilbert*

Kyren Wilson (3) vs Stan Moody

2.30pm

John Higgins (5) vs Ali Carter*

Wu Yize (10) vs Lei Peifan

7pm

Shaun Murphy (8) vs Fan Zhengyi

Kyren Wilson (3) vs Stan Moody*

Tuesday 21 April

First round

10am

Chris Wakelin (13) vs Liam Pullen

Judd Trump (2) vs Gary Wilson

2.30pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) vs He Guoqiang

Wu Yize (10) vs Lei Peifan*

7pm

Shaun Murphy (8) vs Fan Zhengyi*

Judd Trump (2) vs Gary Wilson*

Wednesday 22 April

First round

10am

Chris Wakelin (13) vs Liam Pullen*

Mark Selby (7) vs Jak Jones

2.30pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) vs He Guoqiang*

Si Jiahui (15) vs Hossein Vafaei

7pm

Neil Robertson (4) vs Pang Junxu

Mark Selby (7) vs Jak Jones*

Thursday 23 April

First round

1pm

Si Jiahui (15) vs Hossein Vafaei*

7pm

Neil Robertson (4) vs Pang Junxu*

Second round

1pm

Xiao Guodong/Zhou Yuelong vs Shaun Murphy/Fan Zhengyi

7pm

Kyren Wilson/Stan Moody vs Mark Allen/Zhang Anda

Friday 24 April

Second round

10am

Xiao Guodong/Zhou Yuelong vs Shaun Murphy/Fan Zhengyi

Barry Hawkins/Matthew Stevens vs Mark Williams/Antoni Kowalski

2.30pm

Zhao Xintong/Liam Highfield vs Ding Junhui/David Gilbert

Kyren Wilson/Stan Moody v Mark Allen/Zhang Anda

7pm

Xiao Guodong/Zhou Yuelong vs Shaun Murphy/Fan Zhengyi*

Barry Hawkins/Matthew Stevens vs Mark Williams/Antoni Kowalski

Saturday 25 April

Second round

10am

Chris Wakelin/Liam Pullen vs Neil Robertson/Pang Junxu

Kyren Wilson/Stan Moody v Mark Allen/Zhang Anda*

2.30pm

Zhao Xintong/Liam Highfield vs Ding Junhui/David Gilbert

Si Jiahui/Hossein Vafaei vs Judd Trump/Gary Wilson

7pm

John Higgins/Ali Carter vs Ronnie O’Sullivan/He Guoqiang

Barry Hawkins/Matthew Stevens vs Mark Williams/Antoni Kowalski*

Sunday 26 April

Second round

10am

Zhao Xintong/Liam Highfield vs Ding Junhui/David Gilbert*

Mark Selby /Jak Jones vs Wu Yize/Lei Peifan

2.30pm

Chris Wakelin/Liam Pullen vs Neil Robertson/Pang Junxu

Si Jiahui/Hossein Vafaei vs Judd Trump/Gary Wilson

7pm

John Higgins/Ali Carter vs Ronnie O’Sullivan/He Guoqiang

Mark Selby /Jak Jones vs Wu Yize/Lei Peifan

Monday 27 April

Second round

1pm

John Higgins/Ali Carter vs Ronnie O’Sullivan/He Guoqiang*

Mark Selby /Jak Jones vs Wu Yize/Lei Peifan*

7pm

Chris Wakelin/Liam Pullen vs Neil Robertson/Pang Junxu*

Si Jiahui/Hossein Vafaei vs Judd Trump/Gary Wilson*

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*