The 2024 World Snooker Championship has arrived with 17 days of top-class sporting action lined up at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield before the latest champion is crowned on Monday 6 May.
Ronnie O’Sullivan enters the tournament on the brink of history, trying to claim a record eighth world title at the Crucible and break the current tie of seven with Stephen Hendry for most World Championships in the modern era.
The 48-year-old has had a sensational season, already winning the UK Championship and Masters, meaning victory in Sheffield would not only give him eight titles from each of snooker’s biggest three events but also see him become just the fourth man – after Hendry, Steve Davis and Mark Williams – to win the three triple crown events in a single season. He is currently the favourite on snooker betting sites to do just that.
But there are plenty of talented challengers looking to knock ’the Rocket’ off his perch. Luca Brecel brilliantly blitzed his way to the title 12 months ago but the Belgian has already been struck down by the ‘Crucible curse’ that has never seen a first-time winner repeat the trick the following year at the legendary theatre.
Aside from O’Sullivan, Judd Trump has been the player of the season with five ranking titles to his name this year and will be desperate to add a second World Championship to his CV, while Mark Allen has entered the very top tier of players over the past 18 months.
Here’s everything you need to know about the World Championship including schedule and results, while you can find predictions and tips for the tournament here and best bets for the first round here:
The World Snooker Championship begins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Saturday 20 April and finishes on Monday 6 May. The top 16 players in the world qualified automatically for the event and have been joined by the 16 men who came through qualifying.
The entire championship will be live on the BBC, with BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC red button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website showing every match across the 17 days. The tournament is also broadcast on Eurosport in the UK. Subscribers can also stream the match online via the Discovery+ app.
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The World Championship is the richest prize in snooker with players sharing a total prize fund of £2,395,000. The winner will receive £500,000, with the runner-up pocketing £200,000 and the losing semi-finalists netting £100,000 each. An additional £15,000 is available to the player who compiles the highest break (including the qualifying stage), while two maximums made across any of the three triple crown events this season will be rewarded with a £147,000 bonus – with Ding Junhui and Mark Allen just one maxi away from that prize having made 147s at the Masters back in January.
10am
Luca Brecel 6-3 Dave Gilbert
Zhang Anda 2-5 Jak Jones
2.30pm
Ali Carter 5-4 Stephen Maguire
Judd Trump 6-3 Hossein Vafaei
7pm
Luca Brecel 9-10 Dave Gilbert - final session
Tom Ford 6-3 Ricky Walden
10am
Mark Selby 2-7 Joe O’Connor
Zhang Anda 4-10 Jak Jones - final session
2.30pm
Shaun Murphy 6-3 Lyu Haotian
Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei - final session
7pm
Ali Carter 7-10 Stephen Maguire - final session
Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden - final session
10am
Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian - final session
Gary Wilson 3-6 Stuart Bingham
2.30pm
Mark Selby 6-10 Joe O’Connor - final session
Mark Williams 5-4 Si Jiahui
7pm
Robert Milkins 4-5 Pang Junxu
Gary Wilson 5-10 Stuart Bingham - final session
10am
Kyren Wilson 8-1 Dominic Dale
Ding Junhui 4-5 Jack Lisowski
2.30pm
Mark Allen 7-2 Robbie Williams
Mark Williams vs 9-10 Jiahui
7pm
Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu
Barry Hawkins 5-4 Ryan Day
10am
Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
2.30pm
Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
Ronnie O’Sullivan 8-1 Jackson Page
7pm
John Higgins 5-4 Jamie Jones
Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day - final session
1pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-1 Jackson Page - final session
7pm
John Higgins 10-6 Jamie Jones - final session
ROUND TWO
1pm
David Gilbert 5-3 Robert Milkins
7pm
Judd Trump 6-2 Tom Ford
10am
David Gilbert 5-3 Robert Milkins
Jak Jones v Si Jiahui
2:30pm
Judd Trump 6-2 Tom Ford
Stephen Maguire v Shaun Murphy
7pm
David Gilbert v Robert Milkins
Jak Jones v Si Jiahui
10am
Judd Trump v Tom Ford
Stephen Maguire v Shaun Murphy
2:30pm
Jak Jones v Si Jiahui
John Higgins v Mark Allen
7pm
Joe O’Connor v Kyren Wilson
Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
10am
Stephen Maguire v Shaun Murphy
Ryan Day v Ronnie O’Sullivan
2:30pm
John Higgins v Mark Allen
Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
7pm
Kyren Wilson v Joe O’Connor
Ryan Day v Ronnie O’Sullivan
1pm
Joe O’Connor v Kyren Wilson
Ryan Day v Ronnie O’Sullivan
7pm
John Higgins v Mark Allen
Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
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2024-04-19T12:30:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd