Ronnie O’Sullivan is biddng for a record eighth World Championship title at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
World number one O’Sullivan, 48, beat Judd Trump in 2022 to match Stephen Hendry’s record of seven world titles but lost in the quarter-finals last year to eventual winner Luca Brecel.
Former champion Trump is also among the favourites.
The tournament takes place from 20 April to 6 May and is live on the BBC.
When does Ronnie O’Sullivan play?
Seven-time champion O’Sullivan completed a 10-1 first-round victory over Wales’ Jackson Page on Thursday.
The second seed will face another Welshman, Ryan Day, in the next round and their best-of-25 encounter will get under way on Sunday morning at 10:00 BST and finish on Monday afternoon (13:00 session).
If matches go according to their seedings – O’Sullivan would meet Trump in the semi-finals.
Mark Allen is the highest remaining seed in the other half of the draw after top seed Brecel lost on Saturday.
Who are the Crucible seeds?
1. Luca Brecel, 2. Ronnie O’Sullivan, 3. Judd Trump, 4. Mark Allen, 5. Mark Selby, 6. Mark Williams, 7. Ding Junhui, 8. Shaun Murphy
9. Ali Carter, 10. Gary Wilson, 11. Zhang Anda, 12. Kyren Wilson, 13. John Higgins, 14. Tom Ford, 15. Barry Hawkins, 16. Robert Milkins
Highest break – 147
Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham hit a maximum 147 break in the third round of qualifying before losing 10-9 to Jackson Page in the final round.
Saengkham secured a £10,000 bonus for his 147 at the English Institute of Sport. He is in contention for the World Championship highest break prize of £15,000, even though it was made in qualifying.
If another player makes a 147, then Saengkham will have to share the £15,000 prize money.
But any player scoring a 147 maximum break at the Crucible will earn an additional £40,000.
The highest break at the Crucible so far is the 142 achieved by Ricky Walden, Mark Williams and Page in the first round.
Crucible 147 maximums
Only 14 maximums have been made at the Crucible.
Last year, Kyren Wilson made one in the opening round and Selby became the first player to make a 147 in a world final.
O’Sullivan and Hendry have made three 147s, with Cliff Thorburn, Jimmy White, Williams, Ali Carter, John Higgins and Neil Robertson the only others to have achieved the feat.
How to watch live on the BBC
You can watch live on BBC TV or follow uninterrupted coverage from your choice of match on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app.
There are also highlights programmes on BBC Two in the evenings.
The BBC Sport website and mobile app will have live text coverage every day of selected matches, plus reports and latest scores, and there will also be updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
Match schedule and BBC coverage times
All times are BST. Coverage can be subject to late schedule changes, so details may differ from this page.
* final session
Saturday, 27 April
Second round (best of 25)
10:00
Match 18: (8) Shaun Murphy 3-5 Stephen Maguire
Match 21: (3) Judd Trump 13-6 (14) Tom Ford (result)
14:30
Match 20: (4) Mark Allen v (13) John Higgins
Match 22: Si Jiahui 7-9 Jak Jones*
19:00
Match 19: (12) Kyren Wilson v Joe O’Connor
Match 23: Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-12:00 – BBC Two
13:15-16:00 – BBC One (starts 14:30 in Scotland)
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two (unavailable in Wales)
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – BBC Two
00:05-02:05 – World Championship Extra – BBC Two
Sunday, 28 April
Second round (best of 25)
10:00
Match 18: (8) Shaun Murphy v Stephen Maguire *
Match 24: (2) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ryan Day
14:30
Match 20: (4) Mark Allen v (13) John Higgins
Match 23: Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
19:00
Match 19: (12) Kyren Wilson v Joe O’Connor
Match 24: (2) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ryan Day
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-12:00 – BBC Two
14:35-18:00 – BBC Two (starts at 16:00 in Northern Ireland)
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
00:00-00:50 – BBC Two (not available in Northern Ireland)
00:50-02:50 – World Championship Extra – BBC Two (starts from 01:25 in Northern Ireland)
Monday, 29 April
Second round (best of 25)
13:00
Match 19: (12) Kyren Wilson v Joe O’Connor *
Match 24: (2) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ryan Day *
19:00
Match 20: (4) Mark Allen v (13) John Higgins *
Match 23: (7) Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham *
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
13:00-18:00 – BBC Two
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – BBC Two
00:05-02:05 – World Championship Extra – BBC Two
Tuesday, 30 April
Quarter-finals (best of 25)
10:00
Match 25: David Gilbert v Stephen Maguire/Shaun Murphy (8)
Match 27: (3) Judd Trump v Jak Jones/Si Jiahui
14:30
Match 26: Joe O’Connor/Kyren Wilson (12) v (13) John Higgins/Mark Allen (4)
Match 28: Jack Lisowski/Stuart Bingham v Ryan Day/Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
19:00
Match 25: David Gilbert v Stephen Maguire/Shaun Murphy (8)
Match 27: (3) Judd Trump v Jak Jones/Si Jiahui
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-12:15 – BBC Two
13:00-18:00 – BBC Two
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – BBC Two (not available in Wales)
00:05-02:05 – World Championship Extra – BBC Two (starts at 00:15 in Wales)
Wednesday, 1 May
Quarter-finals (best of 25)
10:00
Match 26: Joe O’Connor/Kyren Wilson (12) v (13) John Higgins/Mark Allen (4)
Match 27: (3) Judd Trump v Jak Jones/Si Jiahui *
14:30
Match 25: David Gilbert v Stephen Maguire/Shaun Murphy (8) *
Match 28: Jack Lisowski/Stuart Bingham v Ryan Day/Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
19:00
Match 26: Joe O’Connor/Kyren Wilson (12) v (13) John Higgins/Mark Allen (4) *
Match 28: Jack Lisowski/Stuart Bingham v Ryan Day/Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) *
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-11:15 – BBC Two
13:00-18:00 – BBC Two
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – Highlights – BBC Two
00:05-02:05 – World Championship Extra – BBC Two
Thursday, 2 May
Semi-finals (best of 33)
Live coverage
13:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
13:00-16:15 – BBC Two
19:00-20:00 – BBC Two
20:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – BBC Two
Friday, 3 May
Semi-finals (best of 33)
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-12:15 – BBC Two
13:45-18:00 – BBC Two
19:00-21:00 – BBC Two
21:00-22:00 – BBC Four
Highlights
23:15-00:05 – BBC Two
Saturday, 4 May
Semi-finals (best of 33)
Live coverage
10:00-23:00 – uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
10:00-12:00 – BBC Two
13:15-16:30 – BBC One
16:30-17:30 – BBC Two
19:00-22:00 – BBC Two
Sunday, 5 May
Final (best of 35)
Live coverage
13:00-16:15 – BBC Two
19:00-23:00 – BBC Two
Coverage also available on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
Monday, 6 May
Final (best of 35)
Live coverage
13:00-16:15 – BBC Two
19:00-23:00 – BBC Two
Coverage also available on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app
Results
Seedings in brackets
Second round
(16) Robert Milkins 4-13 David Gilbert
(3) Judd Trump 13-6 Tom Ford (14)
First round
(1) Luca Brecel 9-10 David Gilbert
(11) Zhang Anda 4-10 Jak Jones
(3) Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei
(14) Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden
(9) Ali Carter 7-10 Stephen Maguire
(8) Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian
(5) Mark Selby 6-10 Joe O’Connor
(10) Gary Wilson 5-10 Stuart Bingham
(6) Mark Williams 9-10 Si Jiahui
(16) Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu
(12) Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
(7) Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
(4) Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
(15) Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day
(2) Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-1 Jackson Page
(13) John Higgins 10-6 Jamie Jones
(16) Robert Milkins 4-13 David Gilbert
How much prize money is on offer?
-
Players knocked out in the first round collect £20,000, while £30,000 goes to players beaten in the last 16.
What is the tournament format?
Who came through qualifying?
England’s world number 17 Jack Lisowski and Day were among the 16 qualifiers to secure places at the Crucible.
Australia’s 2010 world champion Neil Robertson missed the World Championship for the first time in 20 years after losing 10-9 to Wales’ Jamie Jones.
Source Agencies
