• Zhao Xintong (China, 1) v Liam Highfield (England)

• Ding Junhui (China, 16) v David Gilbert (England)

• Xiao Guodong (China, 9) v Zhou Yuelong (China)

• Shaun Murphy (England, 8) v Fan Zhengyi (China)

• John Higgins (Scotland, 5) v Ali Carter (England)

• Ronnie O'Sullivan (England, 12) v He Guoqiang (China)

• Chris Wakelin (England, 13) v Liam Pullen (England)

• Neil Robertson (Australia, 4) v Pang Junxu (China)

• Kyren Wilson (England, 3) v Stan Moody (England)

• Mark Allen (Northern Ireland, 14) v Zhang Anda (China)

• Barry Hawkins (England, 11) v Matthew Stevens (Wales)

• Mark Williams (Wales, 6) v Antoni Kowalski (Poland)

• Mark Selby (England, 7) v Jak Jones (Wales)

• Wu Yize (China, 10) v Lei Peifan (China)

• Si Jiahui (China, 15) v Hossein Vafaei (Iran)

• Judd Trump (England, 2) v Gary Wilson (England)

Will anyone be watching the 17-day marathon?

Can Zhao Xintong break the Crucible Curse?

Live coverage will be on BBC and TNT Sports.

Odds: (Coral)

Zhao Xintong 2-1f

Judd Trump 5-1

Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1

Mark Selby 8-1

Kyren Wilson 11-1

Wu Yize 14-1

Neil Robertson 16-1

Shaun Murphy 16-1

John Higgins 22-1

Mark Allen 28-1

Mark Williams 28-1

Barry Hawkins 33-1

Xiao Guodong 33-1

Zhang Anda 40-1

Chris Wakelin 50-1

Ding Junhui 50-1

Jak Jones 50-1

Zhou Yuelong 50-1

Gary Wilson 66-1

Si Jiahui 66-1

Stan Moody 66-1

Ali Carter 80-1

Dave Gilbert 80-1

Hossein Vafaei 80-1

Pang Junxu 125-1

Fan Zhengyi 150-1

Lei Peifan 150-1

He Guoqiang 200-1

Liam Highfield 200-1

Liam Pullen 200-1

Matthew Stevens 200-1

Antoni Kowalski 300-1

The Barry hawkins v Matthew Stevens match was paused this evening berceuse the advertising screens were a distraction. What numpty thought that moving advertising screens were a good idea for snooker?

That's an new one for me.

Can Xintong overcome the so-called Crucible curse of first time winners never repeating their success the following year?

Went to Crucible once to see a play. Derek was in it from Corrie, stark naked. 🤪

He's got an strong chance although I think if he is in his A game, Ding will give him an run for his money.

Iran's Hossein Vafaei became the first qualifier to beat a seeded player at the 2026 World Championship as he defeated China's Si Jiahui 10-3 to set up a tie with world number one Judd Trump.

Si, a semi-finalist in 2023, held a 3-1 lead, but 31-year-old Vafaei, ranked 32nd in the world, won nine frames in a row, thanks to breaks of 81, 61, 60, 105, 53, 78 and 68.

Those last two frames between Wu v Allen, wow that was dramatic. Mark Allen will be feeling sick as a parrot and that black will haunt him for the rest of his life.

16 hours ago, Mack said:

It’s happened again today in the third frame - some absolute pleb shouting something about the TV License, I can’t even

Anyway, gutted that Higgins couldn’t quite make it to the final but fully #TeamWu now ❤️

Edited May 3May 3 by Lee_J11

They somehow managed to get onto the playing arena.

Someone’s iPhone alarm has just gone off a minute ago aswell - honestly what a shambles this sport is becoming audience wise 🤦🏼‍♂️

Come on Shaun,

Wu Yize held off a Shaun Murphy fightback to ensure he will take a slender 13-12 lead into the concluding session of their World Championship final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Having watched Wu deliver a succession of big breaks to pull clear at 10-7 overnight, Murphy emphatically roared back into contention in the best-of-35-frames final on Monday afternoon.

The Englishman, who was crowned champion in 2005 and is aiming to set a new record for the longest gap between first and second titles, reeled off the first five frames on offer with breaks of 76, 52, 59 and 60.

However, he was given a huge helping hand by his 22-year-old opponent, who initially appeared to be carrying the weight of the occasion on his shoulders.