Ronnie O’Sullivan hopes to win a record eighth world title at the age of 50 to move clear of Stephen Hendry as the championship’s most successful player. The 2026 World Snooker Championship takes place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from 18 April to 4 May. Every shot of the tournament can be watched live on the BBC.
O’Sullivan’s Path to the Title
O’Sullivan, seeded 12th, is in the same half of the draw as Zhao Xintong. As defending champion, Zhao has the honour of being named as top seed. World number one Judd Trump is the number two seed.
O’Sullivan 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 Competition at the Crucible
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. World number one Judd Trump aims to lift the trophy for the second time. Other contenders include former champions Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.
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.
Other Players in the Mix
Third seed and reigning Masters champion Wilson is joined in the bottom half of the draw by Trump. Australian Neil Robertson is the number four seed ahead of veteran duo Higgins and Williams at five and six, with UK Championship winner Selby at seven and Murphy eight.
Other seeds: 9 Xiao Guodong, 10 Wu Yize, 11 Barry Hawkins, 12 Ronnie O’Sullivan, 13 Chris Wakelin, 14 Mark Allen, 15 Si Jiahui, 16 Ding Junhui.
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. Former finalists Matthew Stevens, Ali Carter and Jak Jones all claimed one of the 16 qualifying places before being beaten in the first round.
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.
‘The Rocket’ lost 17-7 with a session to spare to Zhao in the semi-finals last year.
The 50-year-old, who has not won a ranking title this season and has played a limited schedule, opened his campaign with an emphatic 10-2 win over He Guoqiang.
The 2026 World Snooker Championship takes place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from 18 April to 4 May.