World Snooker Championship 2025 is the biggest and most famous tournament in professional snooker. It happens every year and brings together the best snooker players from around the world.
The tournament is held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, which has been the traditional home for the World Championship since 1977.
Ronnie O’Sullivan showed that his time away from the snooker table had no effect on him as he crushed Ali Carter 10-4 to move into the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. Even though he had not played in a professional tournament since losing at the Championship League in January, he looked sharp and strong.
Back in January, after that loss, O’Sullivan had broken his cue out of frustration. But now, he seemed back to his best as he hit three centuries in just five frames and easily booked his place in the last 16.
In the next round, O’Sullivan will face Pang Junxu, who beat his fellow Chinese player Zhang Anda by 10-7. Their match will be played over the best of 25 frames. It will start on Saturday afternoon, continue with a second session on Sunday, and end with the final session on Monday evening.
Even though O’Sullivan had said he was nervous about playing again, he decided to return to the Crucible. He shared that he was “scared to go near a snooker table” during his break and thought he had “lost his bottle.”
World Snooker Championship 2025: O’Sullivan and Carter
The match between O’Sullivan and Carter could have been tense, considering their history. Last year, after a heated match at the Masters, O’Sullivan had called Carter “not a nice person” and a “f****** nightmare” reports Independent, but during this first-round match both players behaved well and played in good spirits. There were no problems between them during the game, and the focus stayed on the snooker.
The World Snooker Championship started on Saturday, 19 April. The final will be played over two days, beginning on Sunday, 4 May. O’Sullivan’s strong return has already made the tournament more exciting, and many fans are looking forward to seeing how he will perform in the next rounds.
Who are the top 16 seeds?
Wilson got the top seed because he is the defending champion.
Trump started as the second seed. John Higgins and Mark Selby, who both won four titles before, were the third and fourth seeds.
Higgins moved above Selby after he beat him in the Tour Championship final earlier this April.
O’Sullivan is seeded fifth. He is trying to win his eighth title and break the Crucible record he shares with Stephen Hendry.
Full seedings:
1) Kyren Wilson, 2) Judd Trump, 3) John Higgins, 4) Mark Selby
5) Ronnie O’Sullivan, 6) Mark Williams, 7) Luca Brecel, 8) Mark Allen
9) Neil Robertson, 10) Ding Junhui, 11) Barry Hawkins, 12) Zhang Anda
13) Si Jiahui 14) Xiao Guodong, 15) Shaun Murphy, 16) Jak Jones
How much is the Crucible prize money?
The winner will receive £500,000 and there is total prize fund of £2,395,000.
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-finalists: £100,000
Quarter-finalists: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000
Last 32: £20,000
Highest break (qualifying stage included): £15,000
World Snooker Championship 2025: Results so far
Second round
Chris Wakelin 13-6 Mark Allen
First round
Kyren Wilson (1) 9-10 Lei Peifan
Xiao Guodong (14) 10-4 Matthew Selt
Mark Williams (6) 10-8 Wu Yize
Neil Robertson (9) 8-10 Chris Wakelin
Barry Hawkins (11) 9-10 Hossein Vafaei
Jak Jones (16) 4-10 Zhao Xintong
Mark Allen (8) 10-6 Fan Zhengyi
John Higgins (3) 10-7 Joe O’Connor
Ding Junhui (10) 10-7 Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy (15) 10-4 Daniel Wells
Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) 10-4 Ali Carter
Judd Trump (2) 10-4 Zhou Yuelong
Luca Brecel (7) 10-7 Ryan Day
Mark Selby (4) 8-10 Ben Woollaston
World Snooker Championship draw and schedule in full
(All times BST)
Saturday 26 April
Second round
10:00
John Higgins 11-10 Xiao Guodong – to a finish
Lei Peifan 6-10 Zhao Xintong
14:30
Hossein Vafaei 7-9 Mark Williams – to a finish
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Pang Junxu
19:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui
Sunday 27 April
Second round
10:00
Lei Peifan 6-10 Zhao Xintong – to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
14:30
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Pang Junxu
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui
19:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
Monday 28 April
13:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston – to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump – to a finish
19:00
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Pang Junxu – to a finish
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui – to a finish
Tuesday 29 April
Quarter-finals
10:00
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams
14:30
Ronnie O’Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump
19:00
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams
Wednesday 30 April
Quarter-finals
10:00
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams – to a finish
Ronnie O’Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston
14:30
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin – to a finish
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump
19:00
Ronnie O’Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston – to a finish
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump – to a finish
Thursday 1 May
Semi-finals
Friday 2 May
Semi-finals
Saturday 3 May
Semi-finals
Sunday 4 May
Final
Monday 5 May
Final
