World Championship 2026: Matches, top seeds & BBC TV schedule

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. Zhao Xintong, who became the first champion from China by beating Mark Williams in last year's final, got the 17-day tournament under way against qualifier Liam Highfield on Saturday. Zhao is one of a record 11 Chinese players in the field of 32, beating the previous high of 10 from last year.

Ronnie O'Sullivan hopes to win a record eighth world title at the age of 50 - 25 years after claiming his first - to finally 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 four-time champions Mark Selby and John Higgins, three-time winner Mark Williams and 2024 champion Kyren Wilson. There are four debutants including England's Stan Moody, 19, and Liam Pullen, 20.

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. O'Sullivan chasing eighth Crucible title aged 50 O'Sullivan to play China's He in Crucible round one Revamped Crucible to host World Championship until 2045 Who are the 16 seeds?

The world's top 16 at the end of the Tour Championship on 5 April were guaranteed a seeded place at the Crucible. As defending champion, Zhao has the honour of being top seed and as per tradition plays his first-round match in the opening session. 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 Zhao.