World Snooker Championship schedule, results and order of play from the Crucible

Ronnie O’Sullivan is out with the likes of Stuart Bingham and Kyren Wilson now favourites for Crucible glory

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 entered 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, but slumped to a shock defeat in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

• Follow the latest updates from David Gilbert v Kyren Wilson’s semi-final

The 48-year-old has had a sensational season, already winning the UK Championship and Masters, meaning victory in Sheffield would not only have given him eight titles from each of snooker’s biggest three events but would also have seen him become just the fourth man – after Hendry, Steve Davis and Mark Williams – to win the three triple crown events in a single season. However, O’Sullivan lost a thrilling match, 13-10, to 2015 champion Stuart Bingham.

World number two Judd Trump also fell at the quarter-final stage, misfiring in a 13-9 defeat to qualifier Jak Jones. The Welshman takes on Bingham in the semi-finals while on the other half of the draw, Kyren Wilson faces David Gilbert in the final four.

Luca Brecel won the World Snooker Championship title in Sheffield last year (PA Wire)

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:

When is the World Snooker Championship?

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.

How can I watch it?

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.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

How much is the prize fund?

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.

What is the tournament format?

• First round - best of 19 frames played over two sessions
• Second round and quarter-finals - best of 25 frames played over three sessions
• Semi-finals - best of 33 frames over four sessions.
• Final - best of 35 frames over four sessions

World Snooker Championship results

First round

Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden

Stephen Maguire 10-7 Ali Carter

Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei

Jak Jones 10-4 Zhang Anda

David Gilbert 10-9 Luca Brecel

Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian

Joe O’Connor 10-6 Mark Selby

Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu

Si Jiahui 10-9 Mark Williams

Stuart Bingham 10-5 Gary Wilson

Ryan Day 10-8 Barry Hawkins

Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams

Jack Lisowski 10-9 Ding Junhui

Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale

John Higgins 10-6 Jamie Jones

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-1 Jackson Page

Second round

Judd Trump 13-7 Tom Ford

David Gilbert 13-4 Robert Milkins

Jak Jones 13-9 Si Jiahui

Stephen Maguire 13-9 Shaun Murphy

Kyren Wilson 13-6 Joe O’Connor

Ronnie O’Sullivan 13-7 Ryan Day

John Higgins 13-12 Mark Allen

Stuart Bingham 13-11 Jack Lisowski

Quarter-finals

Jak Jones 13-9 Judd Trump

David Gilbert 13-8 Stephen Maguire

Kyren Wilson 13-8 John Higgins

Stuart Bingham 13-10 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Upcoming schedule

Thursday 3 May – semi-finals

10am (BST)

David Gilbert 4-4 Kyren Wilson

2.30pm (BST)

Stuart Bingham 4-4 Jak Jones

7pm (BST)

David Gilbert vs Kyren Wilson