2023 Snooker World Championship: Top players, full schedule and how to watch live
Who is competing at the 2023 Snooker World Championship?
Ronnie O’Sullivan is currently world number one but the Englishman faces stiff competition from Wales' Mark Williams, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, England's Mark Selby and Scotland's John Higgins if he wants to defend his crown this year.
Judd Trump won the tournament in 2019 and although he lost to 'The Rocket' last year, the world number five will once again be expected to battle for top honours.
They are among the top 16 players who have already booked their place at the 2023 tournament and will be seeded in the draw.
They will be joined by Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, Jack Lisowski, Robert Milkins, Stuart Bingham, Gary Wilson and Ding Junhui.
Where and when is the 2023 Snooker World Championship taking place?
The 2023 Snooker World Championship tournament runs from April 15th to May 1st, 2023 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK.
This year will be the 47th consecutive year the event is held at The Crucible - a venue that has hosted the tournament every year since 1977.
Sheffield City Council have confirmed the event will stay at the venue until at least 2027.
Who has won the most World Championship titles?
Ronnie O’Sullivan is looking to become the most successful player in the history of the tournament and needs one more victory to overtake Stephen Hendry on seven World Championship titles.
The 2023 Snooker World Championship tournament schedule
The schedule of play for the 2023 tournament is to be decided with qualifiers still underway, however the first round will comprise of 16 players from the qualifiers drawn against the 16 top-ranked players.
Players from the qualifiers will face the following:
First round
Ronnie O'Sullivan (1) v Pang Junxu
Ding Junhui (16) v Hossein Vafaei
Luca Brecel (9) v Ricky Walden
Mark Williams (8) v Jimmy Robertson
Judd Trump (5) v Anthony McGill
Jack Lisowski (12) v Noppon Saengkham
Robert Milkins (13) v Joe Perry
Stuart Bingham (14) v David Gilbert
John Higgins (10) v David Grace
Gary Wilson (15) v Elliot Slessor
Second round
Ronnie O'Sullivan or Pang Junxu v Ding Junhui or Hossein Vafaei
Luca Brecel or Ricky Walden v Mark Williams or Jimmy Robertson
Judd Trump or Anthony McGill v Jack Lisowski or Noppon Saengkham
Robert Milkins or Joe Perry v Shaun Murphy or Si Jiahui
Mark Allen or Fan Zhengyi v Stuart Bingham or David Gilbert
Ali Carter or Jak Jones v Niel Robertson or Wu Yize
Kyren Wilson or Ryan Day v John Higgins or David Grace
Gary Wilson or Elliot Slessor v Mark Selby or Matthew Selt
The opening round will be the best of 19 frames with the second round and quarter-finals being the best of 25. The semi-finals will be the best of 33 with the final being the best of 35.
How to watch the 2023 Snooker World Championship live?
The tournament will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer in the UK and is expected to be watched by nearly 500 million people worldwide.
Based on your location, you can also follow all the action on DAZN (USA, Canada, Brazil), Sky NZ (New Zealand), CCTV (China) and Matchroom Live (global).
Are tickets to watch the 2023 Snooker World Championship at The Crucible still available?
Tickets for the 2023 tournament are also still available and can be purchased directly via the Kazoo World Snooker Championship website.
