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 returned to Sheffield as defending champion after making history as the first Chinese winner of the tournament 12 months ago and despite being the bookies’ favourite to retain his crown, he was unable to break the legendary ‘Crucible Curse’, with 2005 champion Shaun Murphy beating him 13-10 in the quarter-finals.
Four-time winner Mark Selby, world No 1 Judd Trump and 2024 champion Kyren Wilson are also out, with Iran’s Hossein Vafaei the only qualifier to make it beyond the first round before he too was dispatched in the quarter-finals, by rising Chinese talent Wu Yize.
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
Quarter-finals
John Higgins (5) 13-10 Neil Robertson (4)
Mark Allen (14) 13-11 Barry Hawkins (11)
Shaun Murphy (8) 13-10 Zhao Xintong (1)
Wu Yize (10) 13-8 Hossein Vafaei
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
Hossein Vafaei 10-3 Si Jiahui (15)
Neil Robertson (4) 10-6 Pang Junxu
World Snooker Championship schedule in full
(All times BST)
*denotes final session
Saturday 2 May
Semi-finals
2.30pm
Shaun Murphy (8) 11-13 John Higgins (5)*
7pm
Mark Allen (14) 11-11 Wu Yize (10)*
Sunday 3 May
Final
1pm
Session 1
7pm
Session 2
Monday 4 May
Final
1pm
Session 3
7pm
Session 4*
From abject farce to mesmerising beauty – snooker shows its contrasting faces
Wu Yize: How the boy with bad technique became a star destined to win the World Snooker Championship
John Higgins v Shaun Murphy live: Latest score from World Championship semi-final
From abject farce to mesmerising beauty – snooker shows its contrasting faces
John Higgins’ secret weapon – that even snooker commentators don’t notice
