Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will go for an eighth world title — unprecedented in the modern era — during the 2023 World Snooker Championship.
This year’s edition of snooker’s most prestigious and lucrative event — featuring a total prize fund of nearly £2.4 million — is being labelled as one of the most open ever due to an unpredictable season that has seen several top stars not win a ranking title.
Once described by commentator Clive Everton as a ‘marathon of the mind’, the final stages of the tournament initially feature 32 players — 16 seeds and 16 qualifiers in round one.
WATCH: World Snooker Championship live on DAZN in the United States
2023 World Snooker Championship scores
Each first-round match (below) is the best-of-19 frames, so the first player to win 10 frames wins the match.
In the first round, each player who made it through the qualifying competition is drawn against one of the top 16 seeds, so no seeded players can be drawn against each other.
Seeded players are on the left with their seeding. Players on the right are randomly drawn qualifiers.
Match Number | Match | Score |
1 | (1) Ronnie O’Sullivan vs. Pang Junxu | 6-3* |
2 | (16) Ding Junhui vs. Hossein Vafaei | |
3 | (9) Luca Brecel vs. Ricky Walden | 6-3* |
4 | (8) Mark Williams vs. Jimmy Robertson | |
5 | (5) Judd Trump vs. Anthony McGill | |
6 | (12) Jack Lisowski vs. Noppon Saengkham | |
7 | (13) Robert Milkins vs. Joe Perry | |
8 | (4) Shaun Murphy vs. Si Jiahui | |
9 | (3) Mark Allen vs. Fan Zhengyi | |
10 | (14) Stuart Bingham vs. David Gilbert | 6-3* |
11 | (11) Ali Carter vs. Jak Jones | |
12 | (6) Neil Robertson vs. Wu Yize | 6-3* |
13 | (7) Kyren Wilson vs. Ryan Day | |
14 | (10) John Higgins vs. David Grace | |
15 | (15) Gary Wilson vs. Elliot Slessor | |
16 | (2) Mark Selby vs. Matthew Selt |
*After Session 1
What is the highest break in the 2023 World Snooker Championship?
The highest break of the 2023 World Snooker Championship so far is a 146 made by Ryan Day during the final qualifying round at the English Institute of Sport.
If no one levels or betters that break during the finals stages at the Crucible Theatre, Day will bank a £15,000 bonus.
It was only the fourth 146 made in world snooker championship history – even rarer than a 147!
Dynamite Day off to an explosive start!
He makes the fourth 146 in the history of the World Championship 🤩#JudgementDay pic.twitter.com/L9UuZCEBXJ
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) April 12, 2023
Where is the 2023 World Snooker Championship held?
One of the most iconic arenas in world sport, the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England is the host venue for the 2023 World Snooker Championship.
Used as a traditional theatre for the majority of the year, the Crucible is best known for and synonymous with snooker’s blue-riband professional event.
Every year since it was first held there in 1977, a champion has been crowned in South Yorkshire, including 2020 and 2021 when the event was played either behind closed doors or with limited capacities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
How to watch the 2023 World Snooker Championship
Region | TV Channel | Streaming |
UK | BBC One, Two and Four | BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website |
Europe | Eurosport | Discovery+ |
USA | – | DAZN |
Brazil | – | DAZN |
China | CCTV5 (including Macau China), | Superstar Online, Migu, Youku, Huya.com |
Pakistan | FastsportsHD | FastsportsHD |
Hong Kong China | Now TV | – |
Malaysia and Brunei | Astro SuperSport | – |
Thailand | True Visions | – |
Philippines | Premier Sports Network | – |
Singapore | Starhub TV | – |
Taiwan and Indonesia | Sportcast | – |
Rest of the world | Matchroom.Live |