World Championship 2026: Match schedule, BBC TV times & results

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, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.

>For only the third time in Crucible history, all but one of the 16 seeds made it through to the second round.

>Iran's Hossein Vafaei was the only qualifier to progress thanks to a comprehensive 10-3 victory over 15th seed Si Jiahui.

>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.

Quiz: What happened in round one at the Crucible? • >O'Sullivan chasing eighth Crucible title aged 50When 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.

>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 defending champion Zhao.

>The 50-year-old has not won a ranking title this season and has played a limited schedule, but 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 50How to follow on the BBCWith 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.

How 'dropouts' hangout' became snooker's ultimate stage • >What is the Crucible curse?Second round (best of 25 frames)All times BST and subject to late changes, while session times could finish earlier or later than listed below. *denotes final session

Friday, 24 April10:00

>Barry Hawkins (11) v Mark Williams (6)

>14:30

>Zhao Xintong (1) v Ding Junhui (16)

>Kyren Wilson (3) 3-5 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

Will Zhao v Ding draw the biggest TV audience in snooker history?Saturday, 25 April10:00

>Chris Wakelin (13) v Neil Robertson (4)

>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 April10:00

>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 April13:00

>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

ResultsFirst 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)

>Neil Robertson (4) 10-4 Pang Junxu

>Shaun Murphy (8) 13-3 Xiao Guodong (9)

'I'd run the M4 naked' - Williams targets snooker historyWho were the 16 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.

>Iran's Hossein Vafaei was the only unseeded player to make it into the second round thanks to a comprehensive 10-3 victory over 15th seed Si Jiahui.

Vafaei 'fighting to make Iranians proud' at Worlds • >How many nationalities have played at the World Snooker Championship?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? • >Why is snooker played in silence? • >What is snooker? Rules, points, colours and set-up explained