World Snooker Championship 2026: Results, schedule and how to watch every match

John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Wu Yize and Mark Allen are battling for a place in the final at Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre
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
World Snooker Championship results
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
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)
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
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
Hossein Vafaei 10-3 Si Jiahui (15)
Neil Robertson (4) 10-6 Pang Junxu
World Snooker Championship schedule in full
Shaun Murphy (8) 11-13 John Higgins (5)*
Mark Allen (14) 11-11 Wu Yize (10)*
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