World Snooker Championship 2026

Qualifying for the chance to play at The Crucible Theatre begins on Monday.

Early stand out matches include:

Bai Yulu v Daniel Womersley
Jimmy White v Gao Yang
Onyee Ng v Michael Szubarczyk
Liam Pullen v Alfie Burden

As the World Champion is playing the World no.1 in the final of the Tour Championship, the top 16 seeds for the Crucible will remain the same as the provisional one the WST published a few days ago.

1.Zhao Xintong
2.Judd Trump
3.Kyren Wilson
4.Neil Robertson
5.John Higgins
6.Mark Williams
7.Mark Selby
8.Shaun Murphy
9.Xiao Guodong
10.Wu Yize
11.Barry Hawkins
12.Ronnie O'Sullivan
13.Chris Wakelin
14.Mark Allen
15.Si Jiahui
16.Ding Junhui

Afterwards Kyren Wilson will lose his 500,000 ranking points for winning the 2024 title, so he's set to go down a few places unless he wins the final, and finally does what he's failed to do all season and win a ranking event.

Made a right balls up of this post the first time so trying again......

Second round potential matches include

Wilson v Allen
Robertson v Wakelin rematch
Higgins v O'Sullivan class of 92 special
Williams v Hawkins
Selby v Wu Yize
Murphy v Guodong

Mind you we had a similar potential last year only for the qualifiers to spoil the fun

Jimmy White is out after agonisingly losing a deciding frame to Gao Yang.
Meanwhile Onyee Ng suffered a 10-7 loss to Michael Szubarczyk.

But here's the great news.......
Bai Yulu has WON 10-7.

#Let's all av a disco
Let's all av a disco
A laaa la la
A laaa la la#

GET IN!!

A historic night! Szubarczyk becomes the youngest player to win a match in the World Championship at the age of 15 years and 2 months. Bai Yulu becomes the first woman to win a match in the World Championship for 9 years since Reanne Evans beat Robin Hull in 2017. Bai Yulu made another century, a 101 break in frame 10.

Jimmy White should have won. he got his snooker on the green, but when he had the chance to clear he left the brown over the pocket. Great drama though.

Mink Nutcharut got the worst possible opponent she could draw. She plays Marco Fu later today, and he's had a good season by his standards.

As expected, Marco Fu thrashed Mink. He won 10-1 and made 3 centuries, including a 137. Mink has slipped to no.3 in the WWS Womens rankings, and is in danger of losing her tour card depending on what happens at the Womens World Championship next Month.

Alfie Burden will remain an amateur after losing a deciding frame against Liam Pullen. Stuart Carrington will remain an amateur after being thrashed 10-4 by Chinaman Xu Yichen. Hungarian Bulcsu Revesz kept alive his faint hopes of renewing his tour card after beating Craig Steadman 10-6. Reanne Evans fought hard but lost 10-7 to Moldovan amateur Vladislav Gradinari.

Bai Yulu is playing against Michael Holt today in round 2. Things aren't getting any easier for her; possibly the worst draw she could have got.

When I think of players who've dropped off the tour and I miss, it's never Stuart Carrington's name that comes to mind.

Bai Yulu lost to Michael Holt 10-4 .

Boooooooo!!

Robert Milkins falls off the tour as he crashed out 10-3 to Patrick Whelan. Milkins is 68th in the Provisional rankings, so won't be able to make the top 64 to get his tour card renewed. He'll have to enter Q School to have a chance of getting back on the tour. Artemijs Zizins also falls of the tour. The Latvian, ranked 67th, went down 10-6 to Dylan Emery.

Bai Yulu may have lost, but she made a bit of history by making another century and becoming the first woman to make 2 centuries in the World Championship.

Wins for Gao Yang, Michael Szubarczyk and Jiang Jun. All 3 have another year left on their tour cards.

Fun though Milko is, besides that good spell he had a few years back, it's not that much a shock that he's down and (for now) out.